Cinema, bowling, it’s the future!

Council plans a leisure revolution
Plans for a new major family centre including sports facilities, a pool, cinemas and a bowling alley are part of Oldham Council’s vision for its future leisure facilities.

A review is under way because operating council pools, pitches and sports centres as it does now is not an option, according to a new report.

And a search for a new partner to work with the council to design and construct new buildings, refurbish others and manage them all will begin immediately if councillors approve the idea this week.

The joint report from Councillors John McCann and Mark Alcock says the condition of leisure buildings varies from new and refurbished, to end-of-life, while some pitches and changing rooms are poor.

But passing the entire responsibility to a third party would potentially cost more and the council would lose control of its buildings.

Instead they are considering a new system called competitive dialogue which is used for complex contracts, and which would give the council some control over its leisure buildings and land.

The whole process, which has to be advertised across Europe, could take more than a year to set up.

The services are currently managed by Oldham Community Leisure, but the contract ends in November. OCL will be invited to continue working with Oldham Council for another two years.

If not an interim management company could be called in, or they could be managed in-house.

Councillor McCann, cabinet member for community services and housing, said: “We can’t go on as we are and giving the services to a private operator would mean they would only want things which would make a profit.

“Some of our buildings are getting very old. Chadderton and Saddleworth are brilliant but the two oldest and in worst condition are Shaw and Royton.

“We have spent money on them, but there is a limit, and we are constantly looking for spares.”

Councillors are keen to use sports facilities in Oldham’s new secondary schools for general use, and not to duplicate them with other facilities close by.

The report will be considered by cabinet members on Wednesday.