‘Freedom Leisure’ Appointed Preferred Bidder To Run Wrexham’s Leisure Services

A new company to take over the management of the Council’s leisure centres has been chosen, ‘bucking the trend’ of closures around the country.

Wrexham Council Leader Mark Pritchard welcomed the news, saying it is something ‘you are not hearing too often with local authorities’, saying while others are closing water facilities Wrexham is ‘bucking the trend’.

Cllr Pritchard added he wished to “Thank the staff and members who have been involved in the work over the last two years” stating the public should “judge us at the end of our term to see the facilities we have kept open.”

The tender process started with a notice in Wrexham.com’s favourite publication, the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU). The tender appears to be competitive with the report submitted to Councillors for review next week noting “The tenderers submitted widely differing investment proposals and resultant management fees”, the report notes ‘The management fee to be charged by Freedom is the lowest of the tenderers’.

Wealden Leisure Ltd operating as Freedom Leisure has emerged as the preferred bidder to run Wrexham’s leisure services. Wealden Leisure appears to be a charitable trust operation spun out of an East Sussex council to run their services, and now operates over 50 sites as a ‘not for profit trust’ with the majority down south but some in Powys. Freedom Leisure is run by a management board, with the the latest set of public(ish) accounts for the company showing a turnover of £41,141,000 and a glowing statement of their work last year:

The facilities to benefit from the changes are confirmed as Waterworld, Wrexham; Gwyn Evans, Gwersyllt; Queensway, Wrexham; Chirk.

A decision on dual-use facilities currently run in several schools will not be made until the end of November.

The report notes the would be a total investment of £6.0m over the 10 year contract term (£2.25m upfront plus £3.75m on repairs and maintenance) is ‘much larger than proposed by any of the other bidders’.

Detail of investment includes:

• £1.2m at Waterworld (larger gym, new café & reception, changing facilities)
• £0.25m at Chirk (gym extension)
• £0.3m Chirk and Queensway to replace 3 synthetic turf pitches, as well as 50% funding contribution for a new pitch at Morgan Llwyd
• £0.5m energy efficiency investments at Waterworld, Gwyn Evans, Chirk, and Queensway to reduce CO2 emissions and cost

The funding of capital works appears it could be sourced via an interest free loan from the Welsh Government, with an option for the Council directly to fund the initial capital works ‘which would reduce the VAT liability to nil and reduce the borrowing costs factored into the management fee’.

With leased and contractual control of pricing previously not appearing be an option (for example with Eagles Meadow car parking pricing) the report notes there will be firm contractual control: “The Council has retained control of the prices of core activities such as swimming, casual gym sessions, sports hall usage and usage of the artificial pitches, so as to ensure wide public access to the facilities.”

The preferred bidder status means that consultation will now start with employees and unions about the process, known as TUPE to ensure the transfer runs smoothly. It is expected that Freedom Leisure, a charitable trust, will invest heavily in the service to make significant improvements and the completed transfer will take place in January.

Cllr Hugh Jones (Lead Member for Place – Communities and Partnerships) said that Council Officers would now work with Freedom to conclude an agreement, and on the ‘mobilisation’ stage of the contract, which will involve consultation with staff and the unions and discussion and information sharing with partners and customers: “The purpose of this exercise will be to ensure a smooth transfer of management that protects the rights of affected staff while also maintaining and improving the level of service to the customers, a level of service that the Council has strived to achieve over so many years.

“Because of this contract, the Council has ensured the continuation of the leisure service for the foreseeable future while also securing investment in the buildings, increased participation levels and the necessary financial savings”.

The report is not currently public despite being listed on the agenda for next week’s Executive Board meeting, as it appears it is an information report.

(Pic: Waterworld that will see a £1.2 million revamp, a contrast from a consultants report in 2013 that would have had it demolished.)