'No option' but to hand over leisure facilities

Gateshead FC was told it could not take part in the National League play-offs at the end of the last season

A council leader said the authority had "no option" but to hand over the management of its leisure centres and stadium to a private operator.

Gateshead Council agreed on Tuesday to appoint leisure service provider GLL to run Gateshead International Stadium, as well as Blaydon, Dunston and Heworth leisure centres.

Council leader Martin Gannon said the move would result in savings for the Labour-led authority, which faced "extreme" financial pressures.

The council had come under fire after Gateshead FC was unable to take part in the National League play-offs last season, because it had not been granted a 10-year licence for the council-owned stadium required by the English Football League (EFL).

The club said after negotiations with the council and the EFL, the new agreement meant it would be eligible to compete in play-offs in the future.

'Acted sooner'

GLL was awarded a 10-year contract, with an option to extend by five years, effective from 1 April, marking the conclusion of a controversial reshaping of the town’s leisure services, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Gateshead Leisure Centre and Birtley Pool were both closed down by the council due to budget cuts last year, with the authority saying it faced up to a £34.4m deficit up to 2030.

Both have since reopened under community ownership and Gannon said he was "optimistic" the permanent closure of "any of Gateshead’s leisure facilities" could be avoided.

However, he admitted had the council made the move sooner, the authority "would be in a better place now".

GLL, which is a charitable social enterprise, operates more than 240 leisure centres nationwide and is behind the Better group of facilities, including a number of centres in Newcastle.

It will also operate tennis courts in Derwent, Chopwell and Marley Hill parks, which are due to reopen in the spring after refurbishment, the council said.

Those with a membership by previous operator GO Gateshead will be contacted with details of new memberships.