Southwell Leisure Centre Trust and Active4Today announce that leisure centre will continue daily options until next March

A leisure centre is set to enter a new era following a formal agreement to continue its daily operations until next year.

The agreement between Active4Today and the Southwell Leisure Centre Trust ensures that the centre will continue providing its services to the community until March 31, 2026.

This coincides with the termination of the lease agreement between the Trust and Newark and Sherwood District Council, bringing an end to a lengthy period of uncertainty for the leisure centre and the conclusion of a mediation process between the Trust and the council.

Under the new arrangement, Active4Today, the centre leisure provider, will continue running the day-to-day operations of the centre, while ownership and responsibility return to the Trust.

Andy Freeman, chairman of Active4Today, said: “It is incredibly important to ensure a smooth and continuous leisure service to all our customers at Southwell Leisure Centre.

“In continuing the daily operations of the Centre as it moves back under the management of Southwell Leisure Centre Trust, we can ensure that happens.

“Our customers and staff are always at the heart of everything we do, ensuring we deliver a high-quality leisure provision to those in Southwell and beyond.

“I am looking forward to working collaboratively with the Trust to ensure we continue to maintain our excellent standards and service.”

The Trust chairman, Philip Barron, said the new partnership with Active4Today was the best option for ensuring continuity and stability.

He added: “It is important to us that customers and staff are not unsettled by the move, and we are confident that continuing to work with Active4Today, who know the Centre, its customers, staff and the town, is the best thing.

“We have committed to repairing the pool from day one. We can start the repair works now and reopen the pool as soon as possible.

“When the pool re-opens, we know that Active4Today will ensure it offers a great swimming programme to the customers and residents of Southwell and district.”

The pool had been closed since October 2023, when a 9,000-litres-a-day leak was discovered, and the council’s subsequent proposal to build a new £5.5m pool facility failed to garner support.

The council then instead agreed to provide the trust with £247,000 to repair the pool, as had previously been suggested to be sufficient, and a further £250,000 for essential dryside repairs “conditional upon the district council exiting the lease thereby leaving the trust to manage its own affairs from now on”, which has now been formally agreed.

The Trust has already made contact with its preferred contractor and expects to begin repair work within weeks.

A quote obtained by the Trust estimates the full repair cost at around £500,000.

Trustees say the funding now secured will allow the pool to be brought back to a standard that ensures long-term function, improved safety, reduced environmental impact, and better accessibility for people with disabilities.