FREEDOM Leisure has taken over the day to day running of Tenterden Leisure Centre.
Freedom worked with previous operator Serco to make the handover as smooth as possible, and customers should not notice any differences to bookings or memberships as the new operator takes over the reins of the popular facility.
The gym, sports hall and group exercise studios all opened as normal at the beginning of May, and the café is now up and running with a newly installed Costa coffee machine.
Freedom is in the process of recruiting and training the necessary lifeguards in order to open and operate the pool.
Freedom Leisure chief executive Ivan Horsfall Turner said: “We are delighted to be managing this well-loved facility in Tenterden on behalf of Ashford Borough Council.
“Together with the existing leisure centre team, we will fulfil our promise to ‘improve lives through leisure’ in Tenterden as we have at the nearby facilities in Ashford.”
Tenterden Leisure Centre will be incorporated into Freedom’s existing leisure contract for an interim two-year period whilst Ashford Borough Council undertakes a full procurement process to appoint long term operator of the centre.
As landlord, the council has committed to capital works for the building to improve the structure and ensure sustainability for the leisure facilities in the future and this included a new roof, a new air handling unit, a new pool filtration system and switchgear.
Further works are committed over the coming months as part of the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme which include an air source heat pump and photovoltaic panels.
Jo Fox, assistant director of environment, property and recreation, added: “We know how vital leisure facilities are at Tenterden Leisure Centre for our residents’ health and wellbeing.
“The council has invested significant money into improving the facilities on offer, now and in the future, showing our long-term commitment to providing leisure facilities for residents of Tenterden and the surrounding area.”