Future operating model for leisure services in Ards and North Down

At a Council meeting this evening, Elected Members took the decision that leisure services in Ards and North Down will be run via a hybrid model of operation when current contractual arrangements come to an end in March 2028. 

At present leisure centres in the former North Down part of the Borough are run by Northern Community Leisure Trust (NCLT) and in the former Ards part of the Borough are run by an in-house (Council) team.  The NCLT contract comes to an end in March 2028 and so a decision had to be made about future operational models.   

In coming to the decision, Elected Members participated in three workshops (May, June and July 2025) and received a significant amount of information covering governance, finance, staffing, utilities, staff and customer satisfaction - much of which has been put into the public domain and can be accessed on the Council's website (2025 - Ards and North Down Borough Council).  

Throughout the process and during the Council meeting Elected Members recognised that:  

·         Customer satisfaction is high for both the Council operated and the NCLT operated facilities in the Borough

·         There are excellent staff working in all of the leisure facilities, who deliver a high-quality service to the leisure users.

In making the decision on a hybrid approach Elected Members recognised the success of both existing leisure operation models within the Borough and confirmed that:

• Bangor Aurora Aquatic and Leisure Complex and Queens Leisure Complex would be outsourced
• Sports grounds/ pitches across the northern part of the Borough, including Bangor Sportsplex, will move back to Council
• All other leisure facilities and services will remain in Council management. 

It was further agreed that the new outsourcing contract would include mechanisms to improve contract management, greater mutual access to services for customers e.g. swimming pools, and an audit and plan for capital improvements and maintenance. 

A significant amount of work is now required to progress a new procurement exercise.  The Council has successfully run this process previously and understands the complexities and resources required to deliver it effectively.