Ards and North Down council to decide future of leisure services

Locals in Ards and North Down have said they are worried that privatisation would price them out of using their leisure centres.

Councillors are set to decide whether to further outsource leisure services on Thursday evening.

At the moment, facilities in the North Down area are owned by the council but operated by a private firm, whilst others in Ards, Comber and Portaferry are run in-house.

Councillors will discuss whether to continue with the current hybrid system or move to a new model, which could affect ratepayers and users of the facilities.

Options being debated include bringing all leisure facilities in the borough in-house, fully outsourcing the facilities or setting up an arm’s length company owned by the council to operate facilities.

Gwen Crozier, who visits Ards Leisure centre twice a week for the active-aging classes to help with her arthritis, said she would “really miss” the centre if it went private.

“If it was to go private, I don’t think I could afford it. I would probably end up having to leave.”

Iris Brown said she does not understand why councillors are considering privatising the centre.

“It’s already making a profit.”

Barbara Martyn said the leisure centre helps her “keep moving”.

“A privatised firm is not going to be interested in coffin dodgers like us,” she said.

“For some people, this place is the only social interaction they have.”

Ards and North Down Council have been approached for comment.

Andrew, who uses the leisure centre multiple times a week, said he and his whole family use the facility.

“They should absolutely not privatise it. I’ve seen it before with other leisure centres, and they’ve been an absolute shambles,” he said.

“Places like this are wonderful for people’s mental health. And it’s saving the NHS.”

Andrew, who has three children who all use the leisure centre, added that the centre is beneficial to local children.

“There are very few places for kids to go. If it goes private, children will be in front of computers, which means their mental health starts to go.”

Stephen Clarke said he thinks the meeting is “important to try and garner the opinion of the public.”

“The facility is excellent. I don’t think I would welcome privatisation,” he said.

Stephen added: “While there can be many many problems with the way the council run it, I’m not absolutely convinced that privatising it will improve the quality of the service.

“I think, with privatisation, inevitably prices do go up, and not always necessarily with the corresponding increase in facilities.”

Joanne Manley said Ards Leisure Centre is “much better” than many of the leisure centres in Liverpool, where her and her family lived until recently.

She said she hopes it will not be privatised.

“I wouldn’t like to see it change,” Joanne said.

Jessica, who uses Ards Leisure Centre regularly, said she is worried the facility may become less community-oriented should it become privatised.

“If you have both local leisure centres run for profit, I think you are going to see a lot of cost-cutting happening,” she said.

Trade union bodies GMB, NIPSA and Unite have called for all leisure facilities in the borough to be brought back under council ownership.

The unions claim this will make facilities accessible and affordable for the community, and offer greater job security and fair pay to staff.

GMB senior organiser Alan Perry has said it is time to “cease lining the pockets of shareholders whose only interest is profit for themselves”.

Unions have organised a rally, to take place outside the council meeting on Thursday evening.

Green Party councillor Lauren Kendall has also voiced her support for bringing leisure services back in-house as she said it is “essential to ensure accountability, equity, and reinvestment in our communities”.

She branded the hybrid system as “unfair” and “economically unsound” as she claimed staff face “unequal terms” and there is “management duplication”.

Alliance representatives for the borough are also in favour of the fully in-house model.

Meanwhile, Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) and Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) councillors have said they will be supporting the continuation of the hybrid style.

This would see Bangor’s Aurora Aquatics and Leisure Complex and Holywood’s Queen’s Leisure Complex continue to be outsourced to a private provider.

The facilities in the North Down area are currently delivered by Serco and its operating partner Northern Community Leisure Trust (NCLT).

Alderman Philip Smith of the UUP said he is unsure how those who support bringing all the facilities back in-house expect to cover the cost.

He said he expects this to be up to £1m a year, which would need to be raised through rates hikes or cutting other services.

The Northern Community Leisure Trust has operated facilities in the North Down area on behalf of the council since 2012, but the contract is due to end in March 2028 and there is no opportunity for the contract to be extended.

In 2023, councillors voted to delay a decision on the future of its leisure services.

Workshops have been held since to allow the topic to be discussed and to facilitate a report being brought to the council for a decision.

Leisure services at most councils in Northern Ireland are run by in-house operators, but facilities in Belfast have been outsourced to a management company.