Up to £8 million to be set aside for leisure centres in the Chichester District

The decision was made by councillors at their Full Council meeting on Tuesday 19 November.

Chichester District Council owns three leisure centres — Bourne Community Leisure Centre in Southbourne; The Grange Leisure and Community Centre in Midhurst; and Westgate Leisure Centre in Chichester.

Over the last 10 years, the day-to-day management of these facilities and its Sports Development Service has been carried out by external company Everyone Active, but the contract comes to an end in April 2025.

The council has been working with specialist leisure consultants, Cabinet Members, council officers and external stakeholders to develop a procurement strategy that sets out the council's preferred approach to procuring the new leisure contract.

The procurement is due to begin in January 2025 and it is expected that the contract will be awarded in January 2026, following approval by Cabinet and Council.

Councillor John Cross, Cabinet Member for Culture, Sport and Place at Chichester District Council, says: "As a council we have been really pleased with the Everyone Active partnership over the last 10 years. The contract is, however, coming to an end, so we must now go out to the market to ensure that residents receive the best value and the highest quality for this service for the future. 

"By ring-fencing up to £8 million, the council will be able to ensure that we can invest in our leisure centres to make sure they continue to meet the needs of our local community. As part of the procurement exercise, contractors will identify where the funding could be used to enhance the current leisure offer."

Date of Release: 20 November 2024                                                    

Reference: 4406