Basingstoke sports centre under new management

Basingstoke sports centre located in Festival Place was previously run solely by Basingstoke Sports Trust (BST) but they have now merged with Greenwich Leisure Limited (GLL), who began running services on Saturday, January 1.

James Starbuck, former CEO of BST is hoping that the merge will help the centre recover from Covid.

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He said: “Given the financial challenges of the past two years, this merger is great news and ensures an extremely positive future for these centres in Basingstoke and Newbury. GLL’s experience and innovation will allow the centres to thrive as we recover from the pandemic."

The sports facility is currently home to swimming pools, squash courts, a gym, sports hall, three fitness studios, a pedal studio and a multi-purpose activity room.

Paul Shearman, the partnership manager for GLL, who has been a Basingstoke resident for 13 years is pleased the sports centre can carry on running.

He added: “The Covid situation has like so many residents have impacted the ability for visitors to continue to train and to stay sustainable and fortunately, the centre in Basingstoke has been able to stay sustainable throughout.

“So, this really was the most sustainable way to ensure that it can be protected for more years to come. It is one of the most long-standing facilities in Basingstoke.

“Ultimately GLL values and the sports centre values are pretty much the same and we are both community trusts and we don’t have shareholders and anything we make gets reinvested back into the centres so in terms of being able to pick a suitable a partner that can merge with the trust and maintain those values as the centre has been so well respected it seems a good thing. Ultimately Covid proved the catalyst for that.

“It hopefully means exciting times and I have been a user of the centre for many years myself, so I am doubly excited, and it means sustainability and a long-term future.”

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Simon Toop, head of customer experience at BST said the centre is excited to be a part of the merge "given the financial difficulties of the past two year".

He added: "This merger is fantastic news and ensures an extremely positive future for our centres in Basingstoke and Newbury. As GLL is a charitable social enterprise, it is a great fit with our own values and ensures the long term health and wellbeing of the community. Their employee-led model also opens up great opportunities for all employees in terms of training and career progression so we are very excited to be a part of that."

Basingstoke resident Paul Basham, who lives in South View, was surprised to hear the news.

He said: “I know that many longstanding Basingstoke residents – the rugby club – and possibly members of the cricket club - did lots of sponsored activities in the 70s to pay for it. My father-in-law was a member of the Rugby Club and I think he walked to Whitchurch and back about 10 times in a large circular sponsored walk.

“If the trust was up for sale, I am sure that residents would have would have welcomed the opportunity to do another large fundraiser to keep it in community."

GLL has said services will be offered under the BST brand initially, meaning service will run as normal for customers.

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