No “new and exciting” improvements will be delivered over the next two years to five Somerset leisure centres, including Frome’s, as part of a new contract to keep them open.
Fusion Lifestyle, which operated five facilities across Somerset, including Frome Leisure Centre, went into administration on 1st April after experiencing “significant financial difficulties” following the coronavirus pandemic.
Somerset Council provided £370,000 of interim funding to keep the five sites open for a further three months, while it races to procure a new provider to run each of the facilities from early-July.
Officers have now confirmed that two companies who already operate numerous sites in Somerset are interested in taking on the Fusion facilities, with the initial contract being for two years.
However, the council has warned customers to be cautious about how many short-term improvements could be reasonably carried out over that period.
A detailed discussion of the Fusion contracts took place when the council’s communities scrutiny committee met in Taunton on 30th April.
Stuart Winslow, the council’s culture and leisure manager, said, “We are looking at a short-term stabilisation of two years.”
Stuart confirmed that two providers were being considered to run the facilities: Everyone Active (which currently runs facilities in the former Somerset West and Taunton area, including Taunton Pool and Wellington Sports Centre) and Freedom Leisure (which currently runs facilities in the former Sedgemoor and South Somerset areas, including the 1610 gyms in Bridgwater and Chard).
Councillor Adam Boyden (Lib Dem, Frome North) said that urgent improvements were needed at Frome Leisure Centre, arguing its standard had declined since the pandemic.
He said, “When Fusion won the contract in 2015, it was very good in the early days – they put a lot of money into Frome and Wells, and stopped us having to subsidise the lido.
“What’s led to this problem now is covid, where the leisure centres were closed for several months but had to be maintained to keep the pool safe. There’s been a drop in member, use and income.
“It’s been very evident that in the last few years, and particularly in the last few months, Fusion has been unable to adequately maintain Frome Leisure Centre, in terms of cleanliness, health and safety and general maintenance.”
The council will announce which company will take on the new leisure contract in early-June, with the winning bidder formally taking control in the first week in July.
