Gloucester’s leisure sector set for boost with major new partnership
Gloucester City Council, University of Gloucestershire and Blackbridge Charitable Community Benefit Society have chosen Freedom Leisure to run GL1, Oxstalls and the Blackbridge Community and Sports Hub that is set to open next year.
Freedom Leisure is one of the UK’s largest not-for-profit leisure trusts and operates 120 leisure and cultural facilities across England and Wales, investing any profits back into its services.
It took on the interim running of GL1 and Oxstalls following the closure of the Aspire Trust. The new agreement sees Freedom Leisure awarded a 15-year contract to run GL1 and Oxstalls Indoor Tennis Centre, and ten year contracts for the other two facilities.
The strategic new approach is set to enhance leisure provision for residents, building on the Gloucester Sport and Physical Activity Strategy launched last year, that saw partners pledge to reduce levels of inactivity and help those who take part in physical activity and sport to be the best they can be.
Freedom Leisure was chosen following a full and robust procurement process.
It has committed to making swimming more accessible for the whole community and to further expand the already successful swimming lesson programme and encourage both adults and children to learn to swim.
The contract to run GL1 comes with a £8.3 million pound investment into updating the leisure centre to attract new users, reduce operating costs and offer an improved experience for residents.
The city council will invest £5.9 million as part of the plan, which will be paid back over the term of the contract with the remaining investment coming from Freedom Leisure.
Since stepping in last year to run the facilities, the organisation has increased the number of users to pre-closure levels with the number of people playing tennis more than 20 percent higher and gym goers at GL1 up by 30 percent.
GL1 is also now re-established as a major events venue and will host large scale events this year, including a sporting event with boxing legend Nigel Benn, as well as other notable national events in Street Dance, Boccia and Martial Arts. In 2025 there will be an evening with legendary Rugby League player Kevin Sinfield.
Next year Freedom Leisure will take on the management of Blackbridge Community and Sports Hub which is set to offer state of the art facilities for sport, youth work, learning and socialising including a 3G all-weather football pitch, fitness gym and studio space.
The Podsmead community and its partners have secured £6.2 million to build and open the Blackbridge site. The Blackbridge Community and Sports Hub will enter into a 10-year contract with Freedom Leisure from next year.
Councillor Caroline Courtney, Cabinet Member for Culture and Leisure at Gloucester City Council, said: “This is great news for our residents. This agreement not only secures the long-term future of our leisure facilities, it also ensures people have access to some excellent facilities and can benefit from a more joined up approach with our partners. Having modern and welcoming places to exercise and take part in sport is vital if we’re going to encourage more people to take part in sport and physical activity, which we know is vital for people’s health wellbeing and sense of community.”
Ivan Horsfall Turner, Freedom Leisure’s CEO said; “We’re delighted to have been awarded the management contract by Gloucester City Council, Blackbridge CCBS and University of Gloucestershire for an initial 15-year-term at GL1 and 10-year-term at other facilities. Since we have been managing the leisure centres on an interim basis, we have seen an increase in footfall across all the centres in Gloucester and we have been overwhelmed by the positive feedback from the people of Gloucester on the improvements we’ve made to date and continue to do so.
“Between Gloucester City Council and ourselves, we have committed to a significant investment throughout the life of the contract to better the facilities and reduce our impact on the environment and we look forward to working with the different stakeholders to improve the lives of the people of Gloucester through leisure.”
Dame Clare Marchant, CEO and Vice-Chancellor at University of Gloucestershire, said: “We’re delighted to working together with the City Council, Blackbridge Community and Sports Hub, and Freedom Leisure in the coming years to deliver a vision for an active and healthier Gloucester.
“We are committed to building stronger connections between the university and communities across the county. This can already be seen in our ambitious plans to transform Gloucester’s former Debenhams building into our new City Campus.
“This new contract with Freedom Leisure is further testament to the importance we place on developing long-lasting relationships with our communities and contributing to a vibrant and prosperous Gloucestershire.”
Sue Cunningham, Chair of Blackbridge CCBS said: “The overriding objective of the Hub project has been to develop high quality facilities and services for local people in Podsmead. Building the places and spaces is of course the first step, but it is their management and operation that will really bring them to life. Being able to bring in Freedom Leisure to run the Hub will enable us to hit the ground running, delivering a professional and welcoming offer to the community from day one.
“Also, working with Gloucester City Council and University of Gloucestershire to secure Freedom Leisure’s services has been a fantastic experience: we all want the partnership to continue as we think there are so many benefits to having a joined up leisure offer across the city.”