THE Sands Centre auditorium in Carlisle, which has been closed since September, will not be reopened this year, it has been revealed.

In September it was announced that events at the centre's auditorium had been postponed following the change in government guidance on reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC). It had originally been found to be present in the auditorium roof in 2019.

This initially led to the scrapping of Shrek The Musical along with three other scheduled events in the month ahead, including The Simon & Garfunkel Story and Fastlove: A Tribute to George Michael.

At the time, a Cumberland Council spokesman reiterated that the new main building of Sands Centre, which houses pools, gym, sports halls, café, bars, and restaurant, remained unaffected and open.

On Tuesday (April 30), during a meeting of the council at the Civic Centre in Carlisle, when members were discussing an annual report relating to call in and urgency rules, the subject over the continued closure was raised.

Councillor Robert Betton (Botcherby, Independent Group) asked the council leader, councillor Mark Fryer (St Johns and Great Clifton, Labour) about the closure.

He said nothing had been said about the centre or the contractor which was carrying out the work to repair the ceiling.

He added: "People need to know about the Sands."

Cllr Fryer confirmed that it would not reopen this year and added: "It won't be opened until it's safe and secure. I will write to you with the details about the contractor."

In January it was announced that Carlisle firm Cubby Construction had been appointed to design and replace the Sands Centre RAAC roof after councillors approved the move during the private part of that month's meeting of the full council.