A £27million investment by Manchester City Council will bring three state-of-the-art leisure centres to Beswick, Hough End and Levenshulme.
This October will see the opening of the much anticipated East Manchester Leisure Centre in Beswick. The facility will compliment Connell College and the City Football Academy.
Work is currently underway on a new leisure complex at Hough End that will be completed in spring 2015.
Construction on Levenshulme new leisure facility is expected to start this November, with an opening penciled in for autumn 2015.
“We are committed to providing local residents with the best leisure facilities possible,” councillor Rosa Battle, Manchester City Council Executive Member for Culture and Leisure said.
“And the creation of these three new leisure centres will mean local people have access to facilities fit for the 21st century,”
The council has also announced it has decided to unburden their budget by awarding Greenwich Leisure Limited (GLL) the contract to run all of them.
The not-for-profit company has more than 20 years experience of running leisure centres.
Outsourcing operation of the city’s new leisure services will save £400,000, insists Manchester City Council chiefs.
Councillor Battle added: “Changes to the way the leisure services are operated will also enable us to improve performance further and increase the number of people using our centres.
“Greenwich Leisure Limited has innovative and exciting plans to boost participation rates, employ local people, increase volunteering and create apprenticeships.
“At the same time their proposal will save the council almost £400,000 a year without compromising the quality of service.
“Integral to our choice of GLL is their commitment to working with us to help tackle health inequality across the city by reaching out to local communities.
“In a climate where budgets are tight we believe the investment in new facilities, along with the change in leisure provider offers the best deal for Manchester.”
The council say the new management has innovative plans to increase the number of activities on offer, improve the quality of service, employ Mancunians and create apprenticeships.
Image courtesy of Soft Surfaces Ltd with thanks
