Rutland County Council Leader Gale Waller has provided councillors with an update about the end of the council’s leisure contract and the return of Catmose Sports Centre to Catmose College.
Rutland County Council has been in discussions with Catmose College and Sport England since Councillors took the decision not to award a new contract for the running of Catmose Sports Centre, earlier this year. This decision came after a lengthy bidding process which found that commercial leisure companies would only run the service if they received a significant subsidy from the council.
Rutland County Council has now concluded its discussions with both Catmose College and Sport England, meaning commercially sensitive information that was previously exempt from public reports can now be shared.
The council successfully completed its negotiations with Catmose College and terminated its lease for the Sports Centre building on 17 July, while Sport England has agreed that the council does not have to repay any of the £500k grant funding awarded for the construction of Catmose Sports Centre in 2008.
“There was no easy option for councillors when deciding the future of Catmose Sports Centre and certainly no option that was cost-free. A new 10-year contract to run the centre would have cost the council just under £1million. Councillors took the right decision to protect public money and the leisure market has responded with plans for a new fitness centre at the Burley Road Co-Op site – offering brand new facilities that won’t need to share space with a busy secondary school. When exiting our lease for the sports centre building, the council could have faced costs of more than £500k. Following negotiations, we have successfully limited these costs to just over £120k for dilapidations, energy bills and final operating costs.”
Councillor Gale Waller, Leader of Rutland County Council
Previous reports presented to full council in March and April 2024 regarding the Catmose Sports Centre Leisure Contract, including information previously exempt for commercial reasons, can be found on our council meetings pages.
