Bolton Middlebrook Leisure Trust has scooped the contract to run five leisure sites as an agent on behalf of Bolton Council. The 15-year contract starts on 1 April. 

Managing director, Neil Hutchinson, told HCM that the trust, which has been operating Bolton Arena since 2021, has been preparing for the bid since his appointment four years ago.

Underdogs in terms of scale, the team are delighted to have fought off competition from much larger operators.

 “To get to the start line and be in a position to even bid for a large leisure tender is a huge challenge for a small local independent leisure trust, such as us,” he says. “We had to work very hard over the last year just to meet the criteria checklist to enable us to submit a competitive bid.

“Although price was a factor, Bolton Council had written the tender to be more about quality delivery, social value and investing in Bolton communities, this played to our strengths, because our health and wellbeing angle was very highly commended.”

Contract goals include increasing overall participation by 20 per cent and priority groups by 30 per cent. Supporting 10,000 people with inactivity-related health conditions and improving the mental wellbeing of targeted participants by 20 per cent.

“The council wanted an operator that would collaborate with public health and work towards reducing health inequalities across the borough, particularly in areas where there is less access or engagement with health and fitness,” says Hutchinson. “Our health and wellbeing fund is about reinvesting back into Bolton and we’ll also buy most of our support services locally.

“We'll be working closely with Bolton Council and Public Health on an ABCD approach maximising Asset Based Community Development to improve peoples lives across Bolton.

“Initiatives which extend beyond the four walls of the leisure centre are planned, for example utilising the parks and green spaces for activities such as yoga. A whole town activation of a population of 180,000 is in the pipeline that will involve a mass orienteering style event  to engage schools, colleges and families.”

One of the leisure centres is a shared site with the NHS, so as part of the GM Active collective the trust will be running the Prehab4Cancer programme. There will also be GP referral cardiac rehab, stroke prevention and Parkinson support programmes ,as well as further engagement with established partners, including Age UK and Bolton Deaf Society. Some instructors have been trained in sign language to run classes for the hard of hearing and this will be extended.

Around £1.2 million will be invested in gym refurbishments across the sites in the next two to three years, replacing gym equipment, upgrading changing areas and creating a health and wellbeing hub with a specialist gym at one of the sites. A wellbeing membership giving access to mental health services and advice on nutrition and sleep with access to a GP will be offered as part of gym memberships.

 “The next challenge is to mobilise for the 1st April and we can't wait to go live,” says Hutchinson.