Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976

19 Recreational facilities

(1) A local authority may provide, inside or outside its area, such recreational facilities as it thinks fit and, without prejudice to the generality of the powers conferred by the preceding provisions of this subsection, those powers include in particular powers to provide—

(a) indoor facilities consisting of sports centres, swimming pools, skating rinks, tennis, squash and badminton courts, bowling centres, dance studios and riding schools;

(b) outdoor facilities consisting of pitches for team games, athletics grounds, swimming pools, tennis courts, cycle tracks, golf courses, bowling greens, riding schools, camp sites and facilities for gliding ;

(c) facilities for boating and water ski-ing on inland and coastal waters and for fishing in such waters;

(d) premises for the use of clubs or societies having athletic, social or recreational objects ;

(e) staff, including instructors, in connection with any such facilities or premises as are mentioned in the preceding paragraphs and in connection with any other recreational facilities provided by the authority ;

(f) such facilities in connection with any other recreational facilities as the authority considers it appropriate to provide including, without prejudice to the generality of the preceding provisions of this paragraph, facilities by way of parking spaces and places at which food, drink and tobacco may be bought from the authority or another person;

and it is hereby declared that the powers conferred by this subsection to provide facilities include powers to provide buildings, equipment, supplies and assistance of any kind.

(2) A local authority may make any facilities provided by it in pursuance of the preceding subsection available for use by such persons as the authority thinks fit either without charge or on payment of such charges as the authority thinks fit.

(3) A local authority may contribute—

(a) by way of grant or loan towards the expenses incurred or to be incurred by any voluntary organisation in providing any recreational facilities which the authority has power to provide by virtue of subsection (1) of this section; and

(b) by way of grant towards the expenses incurred or to be incurred by any other local authority in providing such facilities;

and in this subsection " voluntary organisation" means any person carrying on or proposing to carry on an undertaking other wise than for profit.

(4) The Inner London Education Authority may provide swimming pools inside or outside the Inner London Education Area; and sections 120 and 121 of the [1972 c. 70.] Local Government Act 1972 (under which local authorities may acquire land by agreement or compulsorily for the purposes of their statutory functions) shall have effect for the purpose of enabling the said Authority to acquire land for the purposes of its functions under this subsection as if the Authority were a principal council within the meaning of that Act.

(5) Any property which, immediately before the date when this subsection comes into force, is held by a local authority or the Inner London Education Authority for the purposes of section 221(b) of the [1936 c. 49.] Public Health Act 1936 or by a local authority for the purposes of section 4 of the [1937 c. 46.] Physical Training and Recreation Act 1937 or, in pursuance of section 144(1)(b) of the Local Government Act 1972, for the purposes of recreation shall on and after that date be held by the local authority for the purposes of this section or, as the case may be, by the said Authority for the purposes of the preceding subsection.

(6) In section 222(1) of the Public Health Act 1936 (which relates to charges in respect of any baths, wash-house, swimming bath or bathing place under the management of a local authority) for the words " washhouse, swimming bath or bathing place " there shall be substituted the words " or washhouse ".