Fusion Lifestyle won't have its contract to run Bedford's leisure centres renewed

The tendering process to provide Bedford Borough Council’s leisure services will start next month after it decided not to extend Fusion Lifestyle’s contract, a meeting heard.

Sarah Hall, chief officer for regulatory services & culture, told the Environment and Sustainable Communities Overview and Scrutiny Committee yesterday (July 20) that Fusion Lifestyle’s 10-year contract with the borough council is due to expire on January 31, 2024.

“Fusion Lifestyle have been informed that we don’t intend to trigger the clause in the contract that would allow the contract to be extended beyond that expiry date,” she said.

“But to ensure that we have continuity of service for all our leisure provision, we’re now preparing to commission an interim leisure provider for all of the sites to take effect from February 1, 2024.

“The contract with the successful provider will be for an initial period of two years, with the option of extending for up to three more years in multiples of 12 months at the discretion of the council.

“That time will enable us to develop and implement a modernisation and investment strategy that reflects the future vision for leisure provision in the borough,” she said.

Ms Hall said that Bedford’s offer was received “very positively” by the leisure sector during market engagement sessions, adding that the borough council expects to receive a number of bids when the procurement process opens.

“The tender process will run from August 31 to October 2, all bids will be evaluated during October and we will be looking to award the contract to the successful bidder in mid-November,” she said.

“We are already working with Fusion and we’ve had discussions with them today (July 20) in terms of communications for their staff and their contractors,

“We’ll work with them throughout this process to ensure that we have a smooth transition into our new contract in February 2024,” she said.

A council spokesperson said: "The procurement process will be carried out in accordance with all relevant procurement rules and will be conducted in a fair, open and transparent manner."