South Ribble leisure centre upgrades 'will happen' - in spite of tight timescale

That was the pledge from borough council leader Paul Foster as the authority agreed new contract arrangements for the project.

South Ribble secured almost £5m from the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme back in March and it plans to use much of the cash to install renewable energy systems, air source heat pumps and LED lighting at its leisure facilities in Leyland, Penwortham and Bamber Bridge, where the borough’s tennis centre will also be overhauled.

However, a condition attached to the grant – which the council has agreed to bolster with a £500,000 contribution from its own coffers – means that the scheme must be completed by the end of March 2023.

The authority wants to co-ordinate the decarbonisation work with a separate, self-funded £6.6m revamp to create “state-of-the-art” leisure centres in the borough – and so minimise the disruption caused by both projects.

A recent meeting of the full council heard that that aim would have been impossible under the procurement process agreed by members in September – prompting councillors to give the go-ahead for the authority to directly award the contract for the work from any appropriate “framework” to which it has access.

But Conservative opposition member Alan Ogilvie questioned whether the council would be able to meet the timescale for the decarbonisation project “at this very late stage”.

Labour council leader Paul Foster insisted that the authority “absolutely [has] a plan” for how it will do so – but said that the “ridiculously short” government-imposed timetable had made matters difficult, to the point where many other councils had handed their grant money back.

However, he said that South Ribble had ordered the necessary equipment and that the works would be “completed by the required time”.

The wider upgrade of the leisure facilities – which will include improvements to changing, poolside and reception areas – is due to be completed by next autumn.

The council said back in May that it was hoped none of the centres would have to close fully for more than than a week – and no more than one centre would be shut at the same time.