Leisure centres to remain open after £370k funding

A council has committed £370,000 to keep five leisure centres open after their operator entered administration.

Fusion Lifestyle, who operate a number of council-owned sites in the Mendip area, including Shepton Mallet Lido, announced on 1 April it had appointed administrators after a "prolonged period of financial difficulty".

Somerset Council has now said it will step in to keep them open for the next three months, until a new contractor can be secured.

Councillor Federica Smith-Roberts said the facilities were "vital" to communities and schools and securing another operator was the council's "number one priority"

Fusion Lifestyle, which is a registered charity, also managed:

• Frome Leisure Centre on Princess Anne Road, Frome
• Strode Swimming Pool and Fitness Centre in Street
• Tor Sports and Leisure Centre on Oriel Drive in Glastonbury
• Wells Leisure Centre on Charter Way in Wells

The charity, which has its headquarters in Dartford, Kent, said its financial struggles were down to "rising operational costs, reduced government funding, and post-pandemic recovery challenges".

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), Nadeem Sweiss and Adam Stephens of S&W Partners LLP being appointed as joint administrators.

Through the additional council funding, the gyms and swimming facilities will all continue to operate for the next three months while a new operator is secured, with the lido in Shepton Mallet expected to open in May as planned.

Customers and regular members are encouraged to keep using their gym or swimming pool and to maintain memberships, which will continue into any new contract period with an alternative operator.

Staff at the facilities have also been reassured operations are continuing as normal, with the hope most of them will be able to transfer to the new operator.

The council owns a total of 16 leisure facilities across Somerset, which are managed through a variety of contracts and leases through a number of different companies.

Tor Leisure Centre reopened to the public in February 2025 following a £2.2m refurbishment, mostly funded from the £23.6m Glastonbury town deal.

The council announced it would use £370,000 in corporate contingency reserve "on a one-off, short-term basis, to ensure continued service provision" on 27 March, ahead of Fusion's announcement.

Sara Skirton, the council's service director for partnerships, localities and culture, did not specify the grant related to the five Fusion sites, citing commercial sensitivity.

Frome and East Somerset MP Anna Sabine has "repeatedly highlighted" issues at Frome Leisure Centre, claiming it offered an "unreliable" service for local residents due to "years of poor maintenance", including a broken boiler and "unusable" changing rooms.

After the administrators were appointed, Sabine launched a petition to keep the leisure centre open under the new contract, especially for students at Frome College who rely on its facilities for their PE lessons and sports science courses.

Sabine said while it was "brilliant" the council had "recognised the need for immediate action to keep the doors open", the "prospects of the leisure centre remains unclear"

"We must take serious measures to ensure public entities like this are saved and safeguarded for the future," Sabine added.

Follow BBC Somerset on Facebook and X. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630.