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Leisure centres bailed out

North Devon stumps up £40k

The operators North Devon leisure centres have been given a £40,000 bailout from the council to cover losses from the coronavirus pandemic.

Parkwood Leisure, the company that runs the leisure centres and the Tarka Tennis Centre on behalf of North Devon Council, were provided with the funding after an urgent decision taken by the council’s chief executive Ken Miles to enable them to enter into a new interim contract for the leisure facilities.

The leisure centres, Ilfracombe Pool and Fitness Centre, and Tarka Tennis Centre closed on 20 March and despite 97 per cent of their staff being furloughed and utility consumption reduced to a minimum, Parkwood Leisure were losing £40,000 a month.

Contracts delivery manager Mark Kentell explained that without financial assistance to cover the losses, Parkwood would not be able to enter into the interim contract arrangements which ensure leisure services continue between the expiry of the existing contracts and the opening of the new leisure centre in February 2022.

His report said that if financial assistance were not made available, Parkwood would either have to close indefinitely or be run in-house by the council. “This is likely to exceed the £40,000 per month costs associated with providing support to Parkwood so has been rejected,” he writes.

“The other alternatives are to either close the facilities indefinitely and no longer provide leisure services or retender an interim, 18-month contract to run the facilities. Closing the centres is not considered acceptable and it is unlikely any leisure provider would be interested in tendering for such a short contractual period, particularly in light of the current COVID-19 crisis, so both of these alternative solutions are rejected.”

Mr Kentell’s report says that the budget should still be adequate to cover repairs for the rest of the financial year but there is a low risk that the budget won't be enough if a high number of unexpected maintenance issues arise.

The bailout for the leisure contract is one of a number of urgent decisions that the chief executive has taken, including decisions to close and subsequently reopen some public toilets, cease and resume car parking charges in some car parks, and revisions to the council’s MOT and vehicle licensing policy.

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