Shropshire Council names preferred bidder for new leisure services contract
Shropshire Council’s Cabinet today approved the recommendation to select Serco as its preferred bidder to manage five of its leisure centres across the county, as part of a new approach to service delivery.
Contractual negotiations will now start with Serco and if successful the new operator will begin in early summer to manage Market Drayton Swimming Centre, Oswestry Leisure Centre, Shrewsbury Sports Village and Indoor Bowls Hall, Whitchurch Swimming Centre and the Quarry Fitness and Swimming Centre in Shrewsbury.
The new contract, when concluded, will run for 10 years, with an option to extend this for a further five years, subject to the contractor’s performance.
Steve Charmley, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member responsible for active and healthy lifestyles, said:
“We are pleased to announce Serco as the preferred bidder who, subject to the successful conclusion of detailed negotiations, will manage five of our leisure centres.
“The tender assessment has been thorough, and we hope to award the contract to the company which submitted the best bid both in terms of quality and price.
“We are extremely passionate about providing excellent public services to our residents, and the appointment of a new operator will offer better value for money for local people and guarantee the ongoing provision of excellent leisure services within some of our main market towns.”
Existing council staff will transfer to the new provider under TUPE regulations on their current terms and conditions of employment.
The recommendation to seek bids from other leisure service providers to run the council’s main leisure facilities was agreed by the council’s Cabinet at their meeting last march and followed an objective, external review of how the council’s leisure services could be redesigned to provide better value-for-money and an improved experience for the local people who use them.
