Paving way for leisure investment

Charity trustees have a new agreement with council bosses to pave the way for more investment in the borough’s sports facilities.

Ashford Leisure Trust (ALT) has been running the Stour Centre and the Julie Rose Stadium for the council, but there was a row about the trust’s role in the future when councillors sought to find a new private sector provider.

In March 2016, councillors tried to appoint Serco to run the Julie Rose Stadium and Conningbrook Lakes site, ending the month-bymonth rolling contract between them and the trust.

The move sparked anger among trustees, but in July the council was forced to ditch the plan when it emerged that Serco couldn’t agree to meet the level of contributions needed for staff members in the Kent Pension Scheme.

Now, the two sides have agreed a new deal which will see the leisure trust maintain a role in monitoring contracts and overseeing the way the sites are operated, while a larger firm will be brought in for the day-to-day running of the sites.

ALT representative David Hill said: “We strongly believe this is the best way to deliver top quality leisure facilities in Ashford, by attracting the investment that we would find difficult to achieve on our own.

“This will create the development of a more resilient management structure and bring better economies of scale.”

The trust will secure new longterm leases with the council, and will then subcontract out the daily operation of the facilities to a new company in a process expected to last between 18 months to two years.

As a result, the two bodies have appointed Max Associates to provide expert advice and to oversee the procurement process for private sector firms to run the facilities.

The leisure trust will continue to run the facilities while the process is underway, and will adopt the monitoring role once a company has been appointed.

Council cabinet member for leisure Cllr Mike Bennett said: “As the borough continues to grow, our leisure offer must evolve to meet demand and expectation.

“Both ourselves and ALT believe this is the right step to take to secure the future of the borough’s leisure facilities.

“The emphasis here is on a partnership. We will proceed together.”

ALT representative David Hill and Ian Bull meet Cllr Gerald White and ABC chief executive Tracey Kerly