Cabinet to recommend a new leisure services provider

Shropshire Council’s Cabinet will meet next week (Wednesday 18 April 2012) to recommend a new leisure services contractor to manage five of its leisure centres in the county, as part of a new approach to service delivery. 

The report recommends that detailed negotiations take place with a preferred bidder, with the aim of finalising contract formalities and having a new operator in place in early summer. 

The chosen contractor will manage Market Drayton Swimming Centre, Oswestry Leisure Centre, Shrewsbury Sports Village and Indoor Bowls Hall, Whitchurch Swimming Centre and the Quarry Fitness and Swimming Centre in Shrewsbury. 

The new contract will run for 10 years, with an option to extend this for a further five years, subject to the contractor’s performance. 

The successful provider is likely to make significant new investment in improving these facilities and will continue to provide the existing range of programming and pricing, including the council’s BeActive leisure membership scheme.  Strong partnership working will be at the heart of the new arrangements, with a focus on delivering benefits for local communities. 

Steve Charmley, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member responisble for active and healthy lifestyles, said:

“We are extremely passionate about providing excellent public services to our residents. 

“The tender assessment has been thorough, and the contract will be awarded, subject to detailed negotiations, to the company which submitted the best bid both in terms of quality and price. 

“The appointment of a new operator will offer better value for money for local people and guarantee the ongoing provision of excellent leisure services within some of our main market towns.” 

Existing council staff will transfer to the new provider under TUPE regulations on their current terms and conditions of employment. 

The recommendation to seek bids from other leisure service providers to run the council’s main leisure facilities was agreed by the council’s Cabinet at their meeting last year (16 March 2011) and followed an objective, external review of how the council’s leisure services could be redesigned to provide better value-for-money and an improved experience for the local people who use them.