THE future of Launceston’s Phoenix Leisure Centre is secure for at least the next 25 years, a meeting heard last week, writes Amy Dennis.

Liberal Democrat Cornwall Councillor for Launceston North and North Petherwin, Adam Paynter, told Launceston Town Council the local authority’s cabinet has agreed to award the tender to provide leisure centres from April 2017 to the company GLL.

The county’s leisure centres and leisure facilities that are currently owned and maintained by Cornwall Council, are managed by Tempus Leisure.

Cllr Paynter said Cornwall Council has been working for three years on trying to secure the future of the county’s leisure facilities.

He said: “I was very pleased we managed to get a contractor to take on all of Cornwall’s leisure centres, including Launceston’s. It means Launceston’s is safeguarded for the next 25 years.”

The facilities included in the contract have been awarded to GLL on a long-term 25-year lease basis, which means that Cornwall Council will continue to own the freehold of the sites.

Cllr Paynter gave town councillors a bit of background to GLL, describing it as a charitable company set-up in 1993. He said GLL is ‘a very experienced operator’, adding: “I was very impressed, certainly with people I met that work for the company.

“It’s not going to cost [Cornwall] council anything in ongoing costs. We are going to make a loan facility available to them. We will pay it out and then as they spend the money they will repay the whole of that plus interest back to the council again.

“A few years ago there was a question mark over all [of the leisure centres], including Launceston’s.

“The handover will start from now on. Staff will transfer across. It’s very likely all the staff we see in Launceston will stay there. Hopefully that will be good news for the workers we have got at Phoenix Leisure Centre.”

Cllr Paynter added: “There were two bidders in the end — them and Fusion Leisure, who were working with Tempus Leisure.”

Tempus Leisure expressed disappointment that it was unsuccessful in its bid, and the chief executive, Simon Blamey, expressed his thanks for customers’ support over the last five years.

Chris Symons, GLL’s director of development, said the company was ‘delighted’ to have been awarded the contract, adding: “As a charitable social enterprise we have no shareholders to pay, instead we plough any surplus back into improving facilities and boosting community sports participation.”