OCL chief bows out

Departure ‘a massive loss’

OLDHAM Community Leisure’s chief executive is set to step down, it has been confirmed.

Yorkshireman Ian Kendall (59) put big plans in place to improve the borough’s facilities when he joined OCL in June, 2003.

Saddleworth Leisure Centre and the Chapel Road football site in Hollinwood are just two of his legacies.

He spent £2 million on refurbishment and created 55 new jobs. Today OCL boasts a turnover of almost £7million — triple that of eight years ago.

But Mr Kendall said he is disappointed that OCL’s contract with Oldham Council has not been extended beyond 2013.

He said: “We have done really quite well, considering. We’ve created a lot of jobs, improved visitor experiences and reduced the number of complaints. It was all about getting a plan in place and making sure everybody knew what we were trying to achieve.

“I know people have complained about things like changing rooms, but if we got a longer contract or someone wanted to give us £10million we could sort them out!

“That’s one of the major disappointments — not managing to extend the contract beyond 2013 — which is partly my reason for stepping down.”

When OCL was set up in November, 2002, it was given a grant from Oldham Council of £1.68million. But despite hikes in inflation, pay rises and the costs of utilities increasing by £400,000, OCL has been run efficiently, despite a dip in funding from the council.

Mr Kendall added: “If we get a long enough contract we will be able to borrow finance to improve more facilities — like we did at Saddleworth.

“Because we couldn’t get a long enough contract we couldn’t borrow money from banks — it was a real chicken-and-egg situation.”

Mr Kendall said that Oldham had undeservedly been given a bad name when it comes down to integration — but said that OCL’s figures show a vast range of ages and people from different commmunities using the facilities.

Now Mr Kendall has decided to leave to pursue other business projects around the country, giving himself some time off in November to make some decisions.

But he hopes his replacement will be someone internal from OCL, as they would be able to shadow him for a month, before he leaves on December 31.

He will also step down from his senior positions with various national bodies, although he said it had been very exciting to get involved with national strategies and see how the industry has changed shape.

Colin Moore has worked closely with Mr Kendall over the past four years, as a director of Oldham Community Leisure and in his role as manager of the community programme at Oldham Athletic Community Trust.

He said: “I have seen first-hand Ian’s commitment and passion to maintaining and improving our leisure facilities in the borough.

“Ian has also been a driving force, working tirelessly, to open sporting and physical activity opportunities to communities across the borough through innovative programmes at OCL’s leisure facilities and by driving forward and supporting partners through Active Oldham of which he is the chair.

“Ian’s departure is a massive loss, not only to OCL but to partners and the borough as a whole.”