Two Gloucester leisure centres set to receive funding boost
Leisure facilities at GL1 and Oxstalls will have up to £8m spent on them
Gloucester’s leisure facilities at GL1 and Oxstalls will have up to £8m spent on them as civic chiefs backed revamp plans for the sites.
Gloucester City Council approved last night (September 19) its capital investment for the two leisure sites after a fractious meeting in which questions were raised over scrutiny.
Council leaders agreed in March this year to procure and award a contract for the longer-term provision of leisure services including the management of the facilities at GL1 and Oxstalls from January 2, 2025 following a full and robust tender process.
The strategy set out the council’s approach to the procurement and contract, including the inclusion of the University of Gloucestershire building at Oxstalls Sports Park, the new Blackbridge Community Sports Hub in Podsmead.
Although management of the University of Gloucestershire and Blackbridge Community Sports Hub facilities were to be tendered as contracts separate to that of the council, their inclusion in the procurement exercise was intended to ensure a single operator working across the city to provide benefit to customers and provide economies of scale for all parties.
Bidders were asked to demonstrate how they would deliver programmes to reduce health inequalities and improve wellbeing in line with the council’s sports and physical activity strategy.
And the strategy further included the intention to include a potential capital investment fund of up to £8m within the procurement, in order that the potential return on investment could be tested at the initial tender stage.
Council leaders were keen for the capital investment to be approved last night to avoid the risk of the services closing again in the new year to avoid a similar debacle as last autumn’s sudden closure of Aspire.
Council leader Jeremy Hilton (LD, Kingsholm and Wotton) said his policy was to finish off previously started by the previous Tory administration.
He said he was confident the rules have been followed through.
“If overview and scrutiny want to scrutinise this after the contracts have been awarded and we know who the new provider is there is nothing to stop them meeting every night to discuss the GL1 leisure centre if they wish.
“Having used GL1 to go swimming recently, it needs updating. It needs improving.
“The capital investment will generate a greater income to cover the capital investment. It will benefit in increased usage and we really need to make sure it is really used.
“What we don’t need to do is mess around with the process we’ve already got to. Remembering we had 44 days when nobody could swim in the Barton Pool. We do not want a situation like that again.”
Labour group leader Terry Pullen (L, Moreland) said there has been far too much uncertainty about leisure services in the city.
He said the previous provider was not fully supported by the previous Conservative administration.
“Frankly the facilities fell into a poor state of review,” he said.
“And I’m sorry but the previous administration took their eye off the ball and that’s why we found ourselves in the situation that we were in earlier this year.”
He said his group would have preferred to bring the services back in house but his group would strongly support the recommendation to ensure certainty in the city’s leisure facilities.
Community Independent councillor Alastair Chambers (Matson, Robinswood and White City) said councillors were there for the electorate and “not to pander to the council’s demands”.
He unsuccessfully proposed that overview and scrutiny should be able to look at the recommendations and said councillors were being “bamboozled”.
“Asking the questions about where this money has been spent and how it is being spent isn’t letting anyone down,” he said. It’s safeguarding, that’s what happened with Aspire to begin with. People weren’t asking the questions.”
He said it was imperative to ask questions as the council had a track record of “getting it wrong” and he mentioned debacles such as the Club at Tuffley and GL1’s sudden closure last year.
Former culture and leisure cabinet member Andy Lewis (C, Quedgeley Severn Vale) said his previous administration offered Aspire Trust more money and they turned it down.
He said he was the only councillor who was in all the meetings about Aspire and who started the procurement process.
“We started this procurement process. This is the result of that procurement process and it is a damn good and robust bid these people have put in.
“That is what the leading leisure advisers advised us to do. That’s fine, we are in a better position now because of it.
“The scrutiny will happen. It’s a 15 year contract.
“We offered them everything they asked for and they still pulled the plug. The one sticking point was the capital controls.
“We wanted to know where they were spending the money. That was micromanaging, we can’t do that, they said.
“A certain person who used to work down there doesn’t even speak to me when we meet in public now.”
The council agreed to approve the capital investment in GL1 and Oxstalls.