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SPORTS CENTRES
Derby City Council is considering
privatising five sports centres to improve facilities and
raise cash for building repairs. The council estimates it
needs to spend a minimum of £3.8m updating the five
venues - Moorways Sports Complex, Queen's Leisure Centre,
Springwood Leisure Centre, Shaftesbury Sports Centre and
Lancaster Sports Centre.
It paid £37,000 to Manchester-based consultancy firm
Strategic Leisure Ltd to come up with recommendations for
its review of its sport and leisure service. Under the
privatisation option, the council would seek to bring in
a private leisure management company to run the centres,
perhaps by November 2005.
It is not yet known how such a move would affect charges
for users, but the council's opposition Labour group
fears that the public would lose out. Paul West, cabinet
member for leisure and cultural services, said, "The
leisure facilities need investment. That's no secret.
What we're looking at is the best way to realise
that." He insisted no preferred option had been
agreed.
Other options among the review's 27 recommendations
include setting up a not-for-profit trust to manage the
sports centres, and retaining an in-house management
structure. The council previously considered closing one
of its five sports centres, but this idea has been
shelved.
Martin Repton, Labour's former cabinet member for
recreation, said, "The idea of privatisation fills
me with fear. Private organisations won't be coming in
for philanthropic reasons, they'll be coming in to make
money." Mr Repton said a firm might
"cherrypick" the most profitable elements of
sporting provision and neglect the others, and added that
paying out thousands of pounds in consultancy fees was
"a scandalous waste of public money". (Source: Derby Evening Telegraph)
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