Council extends partnership with leisure operator for five years

East Staffordshire Borough Council has agreed a five-year extension to its contract with award-winning operator Sports and Leisure Management Ltd (SLM) for the continued management of its leisure facilities and services.

SLM, which operates as Everyone Active, had previously been awarded a ten-year contract which commenced in February 2019.

This extension will now see Everyone Active continue to manage Meadowside Leisure Centre, Uttoxeter Leisure Centre, Shobnall Leisure Complex and the Active Communities Team until 31 March 2034.

As part of their commitment to local leisure services, the Council and Everyone Active have invested heavily in the facilities, undertaking significant refurbishments and other improvements to the services since the contract began back in 2019.

This has ensured a high-quality leisure offering for the community and has provided an affordable and diverse range of sports facilities for everyone to enjoy.

This commitment to high standard facilities will continue, including a £350,000 investment into the full refurbishment of the Meadowside’s Village Changing Rooms, funded by the Council. This is due for completion in early April.

The partnership has also seen the recent opening of three brand new padel courts at Shobnall Leisure Complex, an £85,000 joint project.

Everyone Active has nearly four decades of experience managing leisure facilities across the country and is the longest-established leisure operator in the UK.

It prides itself on being a community-focused organisation that aims to get everyone active by doing at least 30 minutes of activity, five times a week.

Everyone Active currently operates over 240 leisure and cultural facilities across the UK, in partnership with more than 65 local authorities.

The business also has long-standing experience of operating services within the Midlands, including South Derbyshire, Derby City, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and Warwickshire.

Under Everyone Active’s management, Meadowside Leisure Centre was recently awarded the ‘2025 Regional Public Club/Centre of the Year’ in the East Anglia & Midlands category at the annual ukactive Awards, a fantastic achievement for the partnership.

Councillor Paul Walker, East Staffordshire Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Tourism and Cultural Development, said: “We are very excited at the prospect of continuing our working relationship with such a well-established leisure brand as Everyone Active.

“The Council is very proud of its inclusive leisure facilities and the services they provide for our local communities. We look forward to them going from strength to strength throughout the extended contract period, which will ensure that residents of the Borough continue to have access to a range of fantastic and affordable sports, leisure and health & wellbeing programmes”.

Dan Mclean, Everyone Active’s area contract manager, said: “We are delighted to extend our relationship with East Staffordshire Borough Council and look forward to serving local communities for many years to come.

“We are confident that in continuing to add state-of-the-art facilities to our centres and evolving our innovative activity offering, we will encourage local people to improve their physical health and mental wellbeing.

“No matter what your age, ability or interests, there is something for you at your local Everyone Active leisure centre.”

The leisure contract will now be operated under an agency model, which allows the Council to retain oversight and ownership of the leisure centres while partnering with an expert operator to manage the day-to-day services.

This approach ensures high service quality, while enabling the Council to secure better value for money for its citizens.