Company that runs Ollerton leisure centre for council shares key to success
A council-run leisure company is expected to make excess cash for the first time since its inception.
Its success and a predicted £68,000 surplus have been attributed to its values being rooted in the community, and all profits being reinvested into the service.
Newark & Sherwood Council’s wholly-owned, not-for-profit leisure company, Active4Today (A4T), has been delivering leisure and sports development on behalf of the council since 2015.
It manages four leisure centres, including Dukeries in Ollerton.
Andy Freeman, board chair, says the company’s achievement comes despite soaring energy bills and competition from popular gym and leisure chains.
He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “We are based in the community and we are for the community.
“There may be a bit of buy-in from that, and that we are not for-profit.
“Everything we make is reinvested, there is a local connection
"We are not a big chain and the prices are competitive.
“Our success is because people come to use our facilities.
"Our surplus is down to people using the service.
"It’s a really good story, even though we’ve had the costs of gas and electricity going up.
“The success is down to the professionalism of the staff.
"We get regular comments saying how helpful the staff are at all of our sites.”
Council documents show the total number of live memberships has increased since the beginning of the year, from 12,186 to 12,602 as of September.
The number of users who are over-60 has also increased ‘significantly’ in comparison to the same period in 2024.
There were 87,634 visitors from this age group using the leisure centres as of September 30 this year, compared to 76,822 for the same period in 2024, representing an increase of 14 per cent.
The number of referrals received from healthcare professionals in the same time period reached 270, marking a ‘significant increase’ on the referrals in 2024, increasing from 184 (or 47 per cent).
More community groups are now supported by the sports development and active lifestyles team too, with the number rising from 96 in 2024 to 113 as of this year.
Mr Freeman admitted the number of young people using the leisure service was a challenge, with the number of junior memberships ‘decreasing slightly’.
He said: “That is one low point, we have seen a drop-off in young people.
"We need to get them off their screens and using the service.”
He said the leisure company hosts and workshop once a year to determine what it can do better, and this includes improving outreach into communities where usage is low.
In light of the predicted surplus, the board has also agreed to renew key gym equipment in the new year.
He added: “We are always looking at ways to improve our service.
“We are reliable, the staff are friendly, and the offer we make to residents is fairly varied.
“We are fortunate we have the council’s backing.
"It appreciates the business is running well.
“It is really good to have the support from the council and council officers.”