Rutland County Council's U-turn saves Catmose Sports Centre in Oakham until March 2025

A U-turn by Rutland County Council has potentially saved Catmose Sports Centre in Oakham for another two years.

The cabinet met today (Tuesday, February 14) to review its decision to allow the much-used centre to close at the end of March and was brought about following renewed interest from third parties willing to run it at no cost.

The council had previously announced that it only had two options available: firstly, close the centre after the current contract runs out on March 31, 2023, or, secondly extend the contract of the current service provider, Stevenage Leisure Ltd, past March 31. The cabinet originally chose the first option - to close the centre.

However, the public outcry and the interest generated by the wider-Rutland community has brought a number of interested parties forward, each willing to comply with the council’s strict understanding that any bid would on a nil-cost basis, even though such a bid might come with some financial risk to themselves.

The decision made by cabinet today will allow for them to re-visit their second option - to extend the contract of Stevenage Leisure Ltd, and also to offer the contract to other interested parties, on a nil-cost to the council basis, so that they too can make bids to run Catmose Sports Centre at least until March 31, 2025.

In addition, £300,000 already set aside in the council’s latest budget to either exit the Catmose Sports Centre contract or extend it, will be used to help meet costs associated with the new procurement and any negotiations.

Speaking after the meeting, leader of the council, Coun Lucy Stephenson (Con), said: “The cabinet has had a change in material considerations following all the publicity around our original decision. Some further operators have come forward expressing an interest in taking over the contract, being very clear about the nil-cost position – obviously, that decision had been taken because we had no compliant bidders come forward. That position has changed, so it seemed a sensible and rational decision to relook at what we had decided.

“The outcome of today’s cabinet meeting is that we’ve moved a motion saying that we can re-visit the second option available to us i.e. enabling a new procurement process to be undertaken, still keeping that nil-cost position, but also saying that if there is a variant bid we at least want to be able to evaluate it, which we weren’t able to under the previous procurement conditions.

“Obviously I can’t comment yet on the procurement process and what comes in from that, but I certainly hope that those bidders who will come forward as clearly leisure facilities are very important to the residents of Oakham and Rutland in general as was demonstrated by the passionate protests we had here last week. This will enable an opportunity of that nature to hopefully come forward which was the right thing to do.”

Provided the procurement process arrives at a suitable bid, based on the nil-cost to the council basis, Rutland County Council is hoping for a service provider to keep the Catmose Sports Centre open at least until March 31, 2025.