The council has successfully secured £340,000 of funding to help with the ongoing financial support for our leisure operator Everyone Active.
The money is being granted by Sport England as part of its National Leisure Recovery Fund, which was launched in December 2020. The council applied for the revenue grant, which has been awarded as part of the £100m eligible to local authorities with outsourced leisure services, in January 2021.
Michael Shepherd, Leisure Development and Client Manager, Slough Borough Council said: “It’s been a challenging time and we are looking towards moving out of lockdown and reopening our fantastic leisure facilities in a safe and responsible way.
“This funding will play a significant part in helping us to do this and we want to extend a big thank you to Sport England for this valuable contribution, and to Luke Routhorn, Everyone Active’s contract manager and the rest of the Everyone Active team for working under tight timescales to provide the information required to secure the funding.
“We are looking forward to welcoming residents back to the facilities they need for leisure and exercise, which are vital to maintaining a healthy lifestyle by supporting both physical and mental wellbeing, following what has been, and is currently, an extremely stressful time for us all.”
Luke Routhorn, Everyone Active’s contract manager, said: “We’re very much looking forward to reopening our centres and welcoming back the local community.
“After being closed for three months, the latest step in the Government’s Roadmap is a positive move forward for the leisure industry and gives people of all ages the opportunity to resume activity and exercise in their leisure centre.
“Ensuring our colleagues and customers remain safe continues to be our number one priority and we have carefully considered the strict measurements to ensure we adhere to the guidance. We will be contacting all customers directly over the coming days regarding the centres reopening. We look forward to welcoming everyone back and thank them for their patience.”
“We are so grateful to Sport England and Slough Borough Council for continuing to support us and helping us to secure much-needed funding during these challenging times.”
Residents can find their nearest centre and more information about Everyone Active’s join now pay nothing until May gym membership offer which is available for a limited time only, by visiting https://www.everyoneactive.com/centre/