councils news

Social enterprise, Places Leisure, which is part of the Places for People Group, has appointed Belinda Steward as MD. Steward was previously MD at Derwent ... More

Edinburgh Leisure has appointed Jen Holland as chief executive. She will take over from June Peebles on 18 March. A qualified accountant, Holland has been ... More

The UK government acknowledged in its recent budget that economic recovery depends on the health of the nation, but failed to find the investment needed ... More

Solving the UK's social care problem is the key to overcoming the financial challenges facing public sector leisure, argues industry veteran and social change agent, ... More

A proposed change to the way councils organise the operation of their leisure facilities – including gyms and health clubs – could see not-for-profit leisure trusts ... More

Councils in the UK will benefit from hundreds of thousands of pounds of extra revenue due to a change in VAT legislation. Prior to March ... More

In an announcement made today in advance of tomorrow's Spring Budget (15 March), the UK government has pledged £63m to support publicly-owned swimming pools and ... More

The government’s energy relief for swimming pools, leisure centres and gyms is scheduled to end on 31 March leaving thousands set for closure or service ... More

A report issued by the UK Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has accused Sport England of losing track of how £1.05bn in grants have been ... More

Mark Sesnan, co-founder and CEO of GLL (Greenwich Leisure Limited), has announced that he will be standing down as chief executive at the end of ... More

A number of UK local authorities and their leisure management partners are in crisis due to rising energy costs, with 40 per cent saying leisure ... More

Mark Sesnan, CEO of GLL, has pushed back on Tower Hamlet Council’s decision to take the operation of its leisure services back in-house when GLL’s ... More

Easton Leisure Centre in the UK has announced a 100 per cent reduction in heating costs of its 25m swimming pool this summer. Leading a ... More

Planning permission has been granted for a new 60-metre floating wellness barge in London, designed to offer an urban hydrotherapy retreat for city dwellers. Named ... More

Key organisations from the UK’s leisure industry are lobbying the government for financial support to help operators manage the impact of rising energy prices. A ... More

Go Fit has been selected by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) as an example of best practice for public–private partnership collaboration (PPP). ... More

The Local Government Association (LGA) has called on the UK government to invest £875m in the nation's health and fitness and leisure facilities in order ... More

Tanni Grey-Thompson has outlined her vision on how the physical activity sector can play "the fullest role in improving the health of the nation". Speaking ... More

The UK government is to invest £338m in transforming active travel through infrastructure upgrades, changes to The Highway Code and new requirements to ensure that ... More

One in three councils in England are expecting to close at least one of their leisure centres permanently during 2021. What more, up to 117 ... More

The UK government is exploring whether incentivising people financially to take part in physical activity could help drive down obesity levels. Sir Keith Mills, who ... More

The government has been forced to make a U-turn and to spend more than £400m to support vulnerable children and their families in England. Following ... More

Mid Ulster District Council (MUDC) in Northern Ireland has won a landmark VAT case, which could see councils in the country receive a multi-million pound ... More

The government has pledged to invest £100m in supporting public leisure centres this winter, as part of a £1bn additional support package for local councils. ... More

Almost half of all public health and fitness, leisure and community facilities in the UK, including swimming pools and leisure centres with gyms, will close ... More