Belper Leisure Centre at serious risk of closure after almost 50 years as local councils refuse funding life-line

Charity-run Belper Leisure Centre Limited has been providing valuable services to people in the local community for 49 years, including sports and leisure facilities. The centre is also the primary PE and exam facility for Belper School and is used by several area primary schools for swimming lessons.

Should Belper Leisure Centre close, the local community will lose access to leisure and recreation services, physical education, examination facilities for Belper School and Sixth Form Centre, and statutory swimming lessons for area primary schools.

Belper Leisure Centre has struggled to cope with the 400% increase in energy prices currently faced by leisure centres nationwide. In particular, their annual utility bill has risen from £112k in 2021/2022 to £480k for 2023/2024 and, whilst the centre managed to secure additional funding from Belper Town Council and Belper School, Derbyshire County Council and Amber Valley Borough Council have refused to help bridge the remaining £360k deficit forecast for the next financial year.

Adrian Evans, Chair of Belper Leisure Centre, comments: “Whilst I appreciate that we are an independent charity and are not owned by Amber Valley Borough Council, like the other three leisure centres in the Borough (William Gregg VC, Ripley and Alfreton), Belper Leisure Centre is a pillar of the community and provides a valuable service to our residents and the students of Belper School.

"Amber Valley Borough Council paid over £4m during the financial year 2022/2023 to the other three leisure centres under PFI agreements, including a contribution of £800k towards the rising costs of utility bills, whereas Belper Leisure Centre only received £40k from Amber Valley Borough Council, which is half of what we used to receive from them 2 years ago.

"It would appear that Amber Valley Borough Council and Derbyshire County Council are not prepared to assist in the resolution of this serious issue which will impact directly on the community and the PE and exam provision for Belper School.”

Belper Leisure Centre has engaged the services of Dean Nelson, Business Recovery and Insolvency Partner at PKF Smith Cooper.

Dean Nelson said: “Unfortunately, without significant funding support from either local or national Government, our only option is to market the leisure centre for sale. Whilst we hope there will be an interested party who may wish to continue to offer sports facilities, there is a possibility that purchasers may only be interested in the land. Alternatively, we may not be successful in finding a purchaser. In these circumstances, the leisure centre will have to close permanently, but that will be a last resort.

"We understand that this will cause a lot of concern for the community and for the current users of the Leisure Centre. We really appreciate your support in this matter and ask that you please bear with us and the Leisure Centre whilst we trade throughout this difficult period. If you are a current user or club, please review our FAQ web page at https://www.pkfsmithcooper.com/belper-leisure-centre-what-happens-next/ or email BLCenquiries@pkfsmithcooper.comfor any further queries that are not addressed on the webpage.”

Notes to editor:

Belper Leisure Centre Ltd is an independent Charitable Company (Charity No. 1129019 Company No. 6848040). The primary members of the Company are DCC and Belper School and Sixth Form Centre. The other three leisure centres located in Amber Valley – Alfreton Leisure Centre, Heanor Leisure Centre and William Gregg VC Leisure Centre in Heanor – are owned by AVBC but operated under PFI agreements with Places Leisure.

Subject to a freedom of information request submitted to Amber Valley Borough Council on the 16th March 2023 by PKF Smith Cooper, the following have been confirmed:

The combined funding provided by AVBC for Alfreton, Heanor and Ripley Leisure Centres under the PFI agreements for the financial year 2022/2023 in total is £3,242,450.

It was further confirmed that AVBC will be paying an additional £800k over the three centres (Alfreton, Heanor and Ripley) for the 2022/23 year, to assist with the increased utility expenditure. Whilst this has not been paid yet, it is anticipated to be paid after the annual benchmarking exercise.

The combined estimated funding to be provided for Alfreton, Heanor and Ripley Leisure Centres for the financial year 2023/2024 in total is £3,359,348. There is also likely to be a similar additional payment for increased utility expenditure for the 2023/24 financial year.

For press queries, get in touch with marketing@pkfsmithcooper.com.