Council approves leisure operator bailout + new pool plan

Leisure operator Greenwich Leisure Limited (GLL) will get a coronavirus bailout after the council approved the lifeline last night.

Known publicly as Better, the social enterprise was granted the bailout last night due to the coronavirus pandemic forcing it to close for four months.

Reading Borough Council's (RBC) Policy committee backed the plan last night, with all but one councillor in favour, while it also voted to progress plans for new leisure centres in the town, which will cost more than £800,000.

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Councillor Rob White voted against both plans, calling the expenditure “eyewatering”.

He suggested the decision on the bailout be deferred until the option of bringing Rivermead in-house was fully considered.

Cllr White also renewed calls for Arthur Hill, which is set to become key working housing, to re-open.

But Cllr Hoskin said the decision was a “pragmatic” one and called Cllr White’s request to delay a decision “reckless” as it “would basically close Rivermead down”.

‘Eyewatering’ bailout keeps Rivermead open

The council will pay GLL up to £410,000 in total, with £254,000 for lost income during the lockdown, from mid-March to July 25.

It will then pay up to £156,000 in installments for the rest of the financial year, i.e. until April 5, 2021.

This amount could be reduced if it costs GLL less to run the centre than anticipated.

In comparison, Bracknell Forest Council (BFC) is giving its leisure operator a £2.5 million bailout, although this is for three leisure centres.

UKactive, the leisure sector representative body, has warned that due to the Covid-19 pandemic half of leisure centres in the country could close without support.

Cllr Hoskin said: “I am quite angry about the government reneging on supporting the council with additional costs.”

Opposition councillors Ricky Duveen and Cllr White both raised concerns that GLL would make a similar request next year if the Covid-19 continues to have an impact on leisure.

But Peter Robinson, RBC’s assistant director of finance, said the council would be able to enforce the contract if a further request came, unless there was a further lengthy lockdown.

He said GLL could have terminated the contract if the bailout was not agreed as it lost income for more than three months during the lockdown.

New pools delayed as contract stalls – but new plan agreed

Plans to build a new leisure pool to replace Rivermead Leisure Centre and another new pool in east Reading to replace the closed Arthur Hill will be delayed by around six months, after the council agreed a new plan with GLL for building the pools.

GLL was awarded a contract earlier this year to design, build, operate and maintain two new leisure centres but the social enterprise organisation says it can no longer sign the contract this year due to the uncertainty brought on by Covid-19.

The organisation will now wait until spring 2021 to decide whether to sign the contract but the council and GLL both still want to push forward with the plans.

RBC’s Policy committee agreed last night to sign a planning costs agreement with GLL, paying them £816,000 to undertake preparation work for the new pools.

This allows the council to take over the plans if GLL decides not to sign the contract next year and the £816,000 would be deducted from the £40 million contract if GLL does sign it.

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Leader of the council Jason Brock said the plan is “very sensible and prudent”.

A leisure centre and 25m six-lane community pool at Palmer Park was previously expected to be ready by early 2022 but is now expected to open in September 2022.

While the new leisure centre at Rivermead, which will have a 25m eight-lane competition pool with diving boards, was due to be completed by summer 2022 and is now expected to open in January 2023.