A SOUTH Lakeland adult education centre is set to close due to a combination of reduced funding and dwindling numbers.

The Lakes Adult Education Centre, which is based at the Lakes School in Troutbeck Bridge and runs courses in other locations in the area, will close at the end of the month.

Cumbria County Council said a decrease in the number of people enrolling for courses meant the school was no longer viable.

Margaret Hartley, 67, of Windermere, who has been a regular attendee at exercise classes held at Carver Church Hall, said: “A lot of the people who go to the classes are over 60 and it is a shame, because really it is the older people this is going to hit because, apart from the exercise, it is also a social occasion for lots of people.”

She said more than 20 people regularly attended the weekly class.

Now that funding had been withdrawn for the centre, the tutor who ran the class was going to keep providing them, but for an increased cost of £5 a session compared to £34 for 10 sessions previously.

“Some people may not be able to afford to go because not everyone has lots of money,” said Mrs Hartley.

A spokesman for Cumbria County Council said: “The Lakes Adult Education Centre is to close at the end of September because dwindling numbers enrolling for courses meant they were no longer viable. Students who pre-enrolled will be offered alternative courses at Ambleside, Kendal and Dallam.

“Most of the money that the county council invests in adult education comes directly from external funding agencies such as the Skills Funding Agency and the Educational Funding Agency, and this funding is being reduced by central government.

“We are also required to use the funding to provide courses directly linked to work-related skills, rather than the leisure-based courses traditionally associated with adult education.”