North Hertfordshire leisure centre contract awarded to Everyone Active

Harry Styles and Emma Corrin filmed Amazon Prime's My Policeman in one of the affected pools in Hitchin

A company which has run council leisure centres for the past 14 years has lost its contract to another business.

Everyone Active won a 10-year deal for centres owned by North Hertfordshire Council including outdoor swimming pools in Hitchin and Letchworth.

Stevenage Leisure Limited (SLL) was told by the council to rebid for the contract which expired in 2024.

Memberships at the centres will be transferred to Everyone Active when the contract starts on April 1.

Liberal Democrat councillor Steve Jarvis, who is responsible for leisure centres in North Herts, said the contract awarding process "was rigorous and exhaustive".

"During the course of our partnership, there will be some exciting improvements to look forward to, not least the building of a gym extension at Royston Leisure Centre," he said.

Letchworth outdoor pool is also one of North Hertfordshire District Council's venues

North Hertfordshire Council's cabinet agreed to award the contract at a meeting on December 12, and the authority named Everyone Active as its chosen operator in January after a cooling-off period.

The authority's venues include Royston Leisure Centre, the outdoor pool at Letchworth and Hitchin Swimming Centre, which has an outdoor pool used in the Harry Styles film My Policeman.

Everyone Active previously took over contracts which SLL operated in Central Bedfordshire and Stevenage, including the Dunstable Centre and Stevenage Arts and Leisure Centre.

The firm also runs venues on behalf of the Dacorum, East Herts, St Albans, Three Rivers and Watford district councils in Hertfordshire.

North Herts Council's contract register, updated last November, shows SLL's existing contract to run leisure centres in Letchworth, Hitchin and Royston is worth around £475,471 per year.

Mr Jarvis thanked SLL on behalf of the council for "their hard work over the last 14 years and their continuous efforts to improve our facilities".