A sports and social club threatened with closure following massive redundancies at Newport steelworks could get a new lease of life from the South Wales Argus.

The end of steelmaking at the giant Llanwern steelworks has seen nearly1,500 people lose their jobs.

And steel firm Corus has now announced the closure of the Llanwern sportsand social club – a facility with more than 2,000 members across Newport thatserves 39 different sports clubs.

Argus editor Gerry Keighley said: “This is an important campaign. Corusignored waves of protests to go ahead with its programme of job losses. Now it isthreatening to rip the heart out of the community.

“This club is a vital part of Newport life. It has first-class sports andsocial facilities that cannot easily be replaced.

“The town feels as if Corus is kicking it while it is down.

“We want the firm to think again.”

Corus says the club costs £70,000 a year to run and “very, very few” of itsemployees use the facility.

But the committee running the club claims it made a £12,000 profit last yearand has more than 1,000 Corus workers as members – though many of these willhave now been made redundant.

The Argus campaign to save the club involves readers signing a pledge ofsupport and writing letters to the steelworks’ boss – hundreds have alreadytaken up the challenge.

The paper has urged Corus to reverse its decision or simply hand the clubover to its members.

The campaign has the support of local MP Alan Howarth, Welsh Secretary PaulMurphy and National Assembly First Minister Rhodri Morgan.

Celebrity backers include the famed ‘Pontypool Front Row’ – former Wales andBritish Lions rugby players Graham Price, Bobby Windsor and Tony Faulkner.

And the National Playing Fields Association has already offered to take onthe running of the club from Corus.

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