Cash for South Hams' leisure centre company

It's for shortfall during covid

The organisation employed to run leisure services in South Hams will receive hundreds of thousands of pounds from the council over the next two years.

The sum, to be paid to Fusion Lifestyle, a not-for-profit company, is on top of £435,000 it received from the council during the pandemic.

South Hams District Council agreed the package of financial help in a meeting on Thursday.

The move will fund a £272,242 shortfall in income of the leisure management fee for 2021-22.

The sum will come from the covid grant funding from the government.

In addition the council agreed to fund a further £174,632 predicted shortfall in income of the leisure management fee in 2022-23 from the same grant, as well as a £174,632 shortfall in 2023-24.

This is made up of £33,915 from the government covid grant, £42,851 from the leisure earmarked reserve and £97,866 from the business rates retention earmarked reserve.  

The council acknowledged that the covid pandemic has significantly impacted the use of leisure centres across the country, with challenging conditions affecting Fusion Lifestyle following the reopening of the facilities in April last year.

However, it was noted that centre participation across all six leisure centres in South Hams and West Devon has increased since re-opening from  around 19,500 to approximately 62,000 in January 2022. Swimming lessons have been in very high demand and overall memberships are at 93 per cent of their original level.  

Peter King, Devon business manager at Fusion Lifestyle said: “Despite the significant effect that the last two years has had on the leisure industry as a whole,  we are delighted to see that our business has bounced back again and attendance levels are now higher than before the pandemic.

“The Fusion teams across our centres in South Hams and West Devon have worked tirelessly throughout the pandemic to ensure a steady flow of communications to our members, ensuring they were kept updated at every stage.  

“Our centres were kept in tip top condition, with rigorous cleaning regimes in place throughout, to ensure we could welcome everyone back to a safe and secure environment as soon as any restrictions were lifted.”

But, despite the significant recovery, the move to give further financial support to Fusion was questioned by some members. 

Cllr Peter Smerden (Cons, South Brent) said: “We cannot continue to defray payments, otherwise they will stack up a bill which will become increasingly difficult to pay.  I don’t want it to happen again. I want to know, is it a one off?”

Council leader Cllr Judy Pearce (Cons, Salcombe and Thurlestone) said she recognised the difficulties faced but the leisure services but said this was a practical step forward. 

“When you look around the peninsula the results, of the pandemic have been pretty catastrophic for other people’s leisure centres,” she said. 

Exeter City Council recently paid £1.5 million to bring the leisure service back in-house, with further sums to be released from contracts. East Devon has also subsidised its local leisure trust by nearly the same amount.

Despite large subsidies, at least one leisure centre in Cornwall has closed. 

“So, we know this has been a torrid time for leisure centres over the pandemic,” said Cllr Pearce.

“It’s been really terrible. The increase in energy prices now aren’t going to help, but I think that this is a sensible and pragmatic way of squaring the circle that we’ve got to make things work. 

“And we’re in a partnership with Fusion. But there’s obligations on both sides to make that partnership work. And if we can come to a sensible agreement on how to make it work, we go forward with that agreement. 

“This is the most pragmatic way of solving the problem for the moment. But we may have to revisit it. Or it may all go smoothly. And that’ll be great.”

A majority of councillors agreed the decision.