Leatherhead Leisure Centre to be leased to a Charitable Trust

8.49.09pm BST (GMT +0100) Fri 11th Jul 2008

Following a lengthy review of Leisure Services in Mole Valley the District Council has decided to pass over management of Leatherhead Leisure Centre to a Charitable Trust. In October 2008 "Fusion Lifestyle" will be granted a full repairing lease of the buildings for 15 years and will take over complete management of all facilities. Fusion Lifestyle is a non-profit making organisation which already carries out a similar function for several other Councils.

While therefore this is not a sell off to a commercial organisation it does mean that direct control by elected councillors will cease and there must be concern as to how this will work in practice. It is clear that the bulk of financial benefit claimed for the change will come from tax advantages enjoyed by the charitable trust. It is well known that such advantages can disappear if and when tax law is reviewed.

At the Council meeting on June 3 Liberal Democrats drew particular attention to the proposal to delegate the final decisions on tariffs and charges to the management company. An amendment to delete this provision was moved by Councillor Michael Howard and seconded by Councillor Andrew Freeman but was defeated by the Conservative majority. There must now be particular anxiety about the likelihood of increased charges affecting individuals and organisations with limited means. Councillor Bridget Lewis-Carr said "When we agreed to the huge investment of £12.5M for refurbishment of the Leisure Centre we were not envisaging that control would be passed to an outside body. We will be keeping a close eye on the charging policy adopted after the takeover."