Plans to set aside £260,000 for an interim provider to run GL1 leisure centre and Oxstalls Sports Centre will be discussed by Gloucester civic chiefs this evening.
Leisure provision in the city was thrown into disarray last month when Aspire Sports and Cultural Trust decided not to extend its contract with Gloucester City Council and cease trading.
Initially, City Council chiefs felt it would be unlikely the facilities would reopen before September next year after a new long term leisure provider was appointed.
However, they have now worked on a phased plan to re-open both sites within the next few weeks.
Tonight, councillors will be asked to allow officers to enter negotiations with Aspire Trust to work with their liquidators to secure the best outcome for all their creditors.
They are also looking to procure a temporary provision and award a contract to an interim services provider to manage the facilities at GL1 and Oxstalls.
Their aspiration is that the 150 people who were recently made redundant by Aspire are given guaranteed priority interviews for relevant roles by the new leisure provider.
The council will also continue to procure a long-term partner to manage the leisure provision within the city.
And officers are to provide regular updates to councillors on the reestablishment of leisure services to the community, and to periodically report to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.
Councillors will also vote on setting up a leisure contingency reserve fund of £260,000 to support the development of this interim leisure service management.
During the meeting, which is scheduled for 6.30pm at North Warehouse, members of the public and councillors are expected to ask questions about Aspire’s debacle.
And a motion has been tabled by the Liberal Democrat group which calls on the Conservative administration to reopen the facilities as soon as possible by using staff directly employed by the City Council.
Their motion also calls on councillors to agree that the public should not have to wait 12 months before the sports facilities are reopened.
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