Following public outcry at the potential closure of Catmose Sports Centre, last year Rutland County Council (RCC) worked with the current operators to keep the centre open for another 12 months - but with this contract nearly up, the future of the local gym and sports centre is once again an uncertain one.

RCC's Full Council will meet on Monday 25 March to make a decision on the contract for public leisure services at Catmose Sports Centre in Oakham.

A report about the ongoing procurement exercise aiming to find an operator for Catmose Sports Centre beyond the end of the Council's current contract with Stevenage Leisure Ltd (SLL) has been published ahead of the meeting and can be read online. 

Full Council debate and a decision on the contract for Catmose Sports Centre is expected to take place in a private session because it relates to a live procurement exercise and will require the disclosure of commercially sensitive financial information, supplied by leisure operators as part of a confidential bidding process.

The meeting on Monday 25 March will be open to the public and streamed online via the Council's website, as normal. However, if Council needs to move into private session, members of the public will be asked to leave the Council Chamber and the live video stream suspended. 

Confirmation of the decision reached by Councillors at Monday's Full Council meeting can only be made after bidders have been notified about the outcome of the procurement. The Council hopes to confirm details of its final decision within a week of the meeting taking place.

Catmose Sports Centre has been open to the public since 2011. The original 10-year contract to operate the Centre was awarded to SLL and commenced in April 2011, running until March 2021. This contract and the entire public leisure offer at Catmose Sports Centre were developed to be run at a net-nil cost to Rutland County Council. However, the Council has needed to provide substantial financial support to Catmose Sports Centre over the past four years, totalling £801,807. 

Following approval of a contract extension for SLL, a procurement exercise for a new leisure contract was launched in July 2022 but could not secure an operator to run Catmose Sports Centre at nil cost to Rutland County Council.

Cabinet on 14 February 2023 approved a second procurement exercise which once again sought an operator who could run Catmose Sports Centre at net-nil revenue cost to the Council, but also allowed bids that carried some degree of financial risk to Rutland County Council, so these could be properly evaluated and considered.  

Following an end to the bidding period for this second leisure procurement, the Council is faced with two main options in relation to Catmose Sports Centre: 

1. Award a new contract for the operation of Catmose Sports Centre based on the outcome of the new procurement process. 
2. Do not award a new contract for the operation of Catmose Sports Centre and seek to surrender its lease for the sports facilities with Catmose College.  

Rutland County Council's annual budget for the year 2024/25 was unanimously approved by Councillors in February and has been set based on Catmose Sports Centre running at a net-nil revenue cost to the Council. If the Council approves any ongoing financial support for the provision, it will also need to agree additional savings or service reductions on top of the £4.5million already earmarked over the next four years.

Councillor Christine Wise, Cabinet Member for Communities at Rutland County Council, said: "We're nearing the end of a second tender process to try and secure a leisure operator who can take on a new contract for the running of Catmose Sports Centre. This time, we have actively sought and considered bids that would incur additional costs to the Council, so there is a lot for Councillors to consider. Catmose Sports Centre was only ever intended to run at net-nil cost, with the operator banking any profits they make.

"User numbers have not recovered to pre-pandemic levels, while running costs have risen sharply, requiring us to inject more than £800,000 into the Centre to keep the doors open. I understand that everyone who uses Catmose Sports Centre will be eager to know the outcome of Monday's meeting and we will share details of the decision just as soon as the procurement process allows."

The agenda and reports for Full Council on Monday 25 March 2024 can be found online, together with details of how to follow the meeting live online. Full Council meetings have a maximum capacity of 60 seats for members of the public, which are allocated on a first come first served basis.

Details of how to submit a question or deputation at Full Council meetings can be found here.

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