Stevenage Leisure Limited loses council contract to run town sites

Stevenage Leisure Limited (SLL) had run the arts and leisure centre in the Hertfordshire town for more than two decades

A company which has run the arts and leisure centre in a town for 24 years has lost its contract with the authority.

Stevenage Leisure Limited (SLL) also ran other venues in the town including the Gordon Craig Theatre.

The borough council said the contract was out of date and, after putting the role out to tender, Leicestershire-based Everyone Active will provide the facilities from 1 April.

SLL said it was "disappointed".

The council said the contract with SLL was due to finish at the end of March 2023 and it started a review of the current contract 18 months ago.

It said it looked at several options for managing the facilities from April.

"It was clear from our review that the contract was out of date, and the leisure market and user demand had changed considerably over the past 24 years," a statement said.

"By rewriting the contract and putting it to the open market, we're ensuring we get best value for money by allowing other reputable operators to competitively bid for the management and operation of our leisure facilities and services in Stevenage."

The council said Everyone Active would provide the same facilities and services

As well as the leisure centre and theatre, the affected venues also include Stevenage Swimming Centre, Fairlands Valley Outdoor Activity Centre and Stevenage Golf and Conference Centre.

On its website, the council said there would be a smooth transfer over to the new operator and Everyone Active would provide the same facilities and services.

All swimming lessons, gym and golf memberships will continue as before, and all tickets for the Gordon Craig Theatre will still be valid.

It added it had considered managing the facilities itself, but this would have been at a "greater cost to the taxpayer" and it did "not have the in-house expertise and structure" to do this.

SLL still runs centres in other parts of Hertfordshire and Central Bedfordshire.

Chief executive officer, Richard Allan, said it was "disappointed to have been unsuccessful in winning the new contract", but it was "hugely proud of the impact they have made to the health of the Stevenage community".

"SLL are working with Everyone Active to ensure a seamless transfer of the operations, and can guarantee it is business as usual for our customers at all of the facilities," he said.