South Somerset: Potential £3.5m boost for leisure centres

Freedom Leisure is managing leisure centres owned by South Somerset District Council, including Goldenstones Leisure Centre in Yeovil

More than £3.5m is set to be invested council-owned leisure centres over the next 15 years.

Not-for-profit trust Freedom Leisure began its leisure contract with South Somerset District Council on 1 April.

The trust will run the Goldenstones Leisure Centre, Westlands Sports and Fitness Centre, both in Yeovil, and Wincanton Sports Centre.

The investment will be shared between the council and Freedom Leisure.

The trust's managing director, Ivan Horsfall Turner, said: "Together with South Somerset District Council we aim to continue to encourage a happy, healthy community - enabling more people to be more active more often."

In February 2019, the council pledged to carry out more than £900,000 of upgrades to its two existing swimming pools over a five-year period as part of its capital programme.

However much of this work, such as replacing the pumps and boilers, re-tiling the pool and improving ventilation in Wincanton's changing rooms, was put on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic.

No details have been released of how the £3.5m will be spent.

A council spokesperson said: "The £3.5m is a joint investment from both the council and Freedom Leisure."

The authority added that some of the investment, in part, was "subject to approval further down the line".

"A proportion of the capital expenditure will be required to replace or upgrade plant and machinery, which would have been necessary regardless of who held the contract," the spokesperson added.

The East Sussex-based trust will also manage Chard's new leisure centre which is due to open by March 2022 at the latest, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.