Southwell Leisure Centre Trust (SLCT) and Newark and Sherwood District Council hold ‘non-contentious’ meeting over Southwell Leisure Centre future
A productive meeting between councils could see steps forwards in an on-going negotiations over a town’s swimming pool.
Southwell Leisure Centre opened in 1965 with only a single stand-alone 25-metre swimming pool, and after significant investment from Newark and Sherwood District Council, the facility now boasts squash courts, sports hall, studio, fitness suite and changing rooms.
The management of the leisure centre transferred from Southwell Leisure Centre Trust (SLCT) to Newark and Sherwood District Council’s leisure company, Active4Today, in March 2021, with the district council signing a lease with SLCT to take over the running and costs of the pool, and SLCT retaining ownership of the leisure centre.
The pool, however, was closed in October 2023 following the discovery of a water leak, and the district council then announced plans to invest in a new £5.5million pool facility to replace the existing pool in December 2023, but after a dispute with the trustees, the council’s cabinet then withdrew its £5.5m funding offer in May 2024.
The district council submitted a request to terminate their lease on Southwell Leisure Centre and hand the leisure centre back to the Trust, and negotiations have been ongoing to determine the centre’s future ever since.
The ongoing saga was discussed at Southwell Town Council’s full council meeting on Wednesday (September 18) where it was said by member John Lightwood that a productive meeting had been held with the district council.
He said: “I want to dispel the negativity around the leisure centre and the trustees want to move things forward, and for the council to have confidence in the trustees.
“We had a meeting two weeks ago which wasn’t contentious, and now we’re at the point of getting three quotes [for repairs to the main swimming pool] and when we have these, we will meet with the district council to discuss these and see if we can reach a compromise.
“Until then, it will be helpful for there to be a period of quiet with no comments on the situation until we’ve got to a point where we can move forward.”
Fellow council member Roger Blaney said that there were currently a lot of comments on social media, with people asking when swimming will return to Southwell, and fellow councillor Steve Perry said that the community had been left on a “cliff-hanger” as there had been little updates in the meantime.
Mr Lightwood said that these things “take time”: “It’s frustrating that we can’t move forward quicker, but I can assure you we’re doing our damnedest so we can get to that point and as soon as we’ve had a response from Newark and Sherwood [district council] you will be the first to know.”
