Leisure staff have been furloughed at South Kesteven District Council and its leisure budget has been 'shot to smithereens' by lockdown, council chiefs said this afternoon.

The response from Cabinet member Barry Dobson and SKDC chief executive Karen Bradford came at a meeting of the full council this afternoon.

Bourne councillor Philip Knowles asked what changes would be made to the business plan of the newly-created council-owned company LeisureSK, which now runs the district's leisure centres.

Cabinet member for Leisure, Coun Barry Dobson replied: "It's an unprececedented situation. We didn't know it (the third national lockdown) was coming. We are in it, All our business plans have been shot to smithereens."

Coun Dobson then added the board of LeisureSK was working on a new busienss plan to account for this.

Mrs Bradford then told the meeting: "We are revisiting the business plans. The business plan that was presented to Companies Committee were in place for open facilities."

However, they have been closed since the start of the third lockdown on January 4.

Staff at LeisureSK have been furloughed and new plans would be drawn up to minimise the financial impact on the company and presented to a future meeting of the Companies Committee, she added.

No mention was made about any possible impacts on SKDC's ambitious leisure centre proposals.