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Decision to be made over future of leisure services in Bridgend

Halo Bridgend Life Centre The leisure centre based in Bridgend town (Pic: Google Maps)

MEMBERS of Bridgend council have been weighing up their options when it comes to the future of leisure services in the county borough.

The current service, which has been managed by Halo Leisure on behalf Bridgend County Borough Council, has seen the registered charity run the area’s eight leisure centres and swimming pools since 2012.

However with the council’s contract with the provider set to end in March of 2027 members heard how a decision must now be made on what the future of the service will look like.

A report given at the meeting highlighted a number of achievements that had been made during what was described as an innovative and  “highly successful partnership” with Halo such as gaining an excellent ratings for sport and leisure as well as delivering it with £1.8m less investment from the council.

Recommendations were also given to extend the current contract by five years until at least 2032 with the cost of extending service thought to be a minimum of £4.4m cheaper over the same five-year period than it would be to bring them back under the councils control.

The report read: “The current partnership agreement term is due to end in March 2027. The council will, in the interim, need to determine the future model for delivery of Healthy Living Services, the facilities in scope, targeted outcomes and indeed the affordability of services in the highly challenging budget context facing public services.

“It may be in the coming years that the council needs to formulate its longer-term position and a short-term extension may be helpful in that context. Any extension would need to retain the flexibility that might be needed for further changes in requirements and also be more cost effective than alternatives.”

During scrutiny council members asked if Halo had earned the extension with the work they had done. The council’s deputy leader Jane Gebbie said she felt the officers’ report showed how well they had sustained leisure facilities across the borough describing them as having “more than earned” the extension.

Members of the committee later said they would support the move to extend the contract short-term with further discussions over the future of the service now scheduled to be held at a cabinet meeting in October.

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