Everyone Active has got the new financial year off to a flying start by taking on 11 new sites over four weeks.

The leisure operator started three new partnerships on Monday (1 April), resulting in an additional nine centres being added to its growing estate. Two more leisure centres will come on board as part of a new contract that begins on 1 May.

What does this mean?

The new contracts mean that, as of 1 May, Everyone Active will manage a total of 190 leisure and cultural facilities across the country on behalf of more than 60 local authorities.

On Monday, the leisure operator started a new partnership with Harborough District Council to manage two leisure centres in the Leicestershire towns of Market Harborough and Lutterworth.

It simultaneously commenced a 10-year agreement with North Norfolk District Council to run three leisure centres and three dual-use sites. As part of this contract, Everyone Active will oversee the construction of a new £10.7million leisure centre that is being built to replace the 30-year-old Splash Centre in Sheringham.

An extension of its long-standing partnership with Blaby District Council also officially began today. The new 10 plus-five-year agreement sees Everyone Active continue to manage Enderby Leisure Centre in Leicestershire, as well as take on the operation of the Pavilion Leisure Centre in Huncote. More than £5million is being invested in the two centres in order to introduce a range of improved facilities and new activity opportunities for the community.

What new facilities will Everyone Active take on?

Everyone Active will take on a further two facilities in May, when it begins a 25-year partnership with North West Leicester District Council to manager Hood Park Leisure Centre in Ashby de-le-Zouch and Hermitage Leisure Centre in Whitwick. The latter is due to be replaced by a new state-of-the-art centre in Coalville in 2021. Everyone Active submitted plans for this development as part of its winning tender, and will be constructing the new site when work begins later this year.

All four contracts fall under the remit of Everyone Active’s regional director, Paul Dowling, who said: “This is an extremely exciting time for Everyone Active and our partners, and we’re delighted to have been chosen to provide more people in the country with the means and motivation to get active.

“As a company that started out over 30 years ago by running a single site in the Midlands, it is especially significant to have begun so many new contracts in this area.

“Despite our growth, we remain unwavering in our commitment to provide leisure services and facilities that meet the unique needs of individual communities. All our partners share our ambition of improving lives through activity, and I’m excited to support them to achieve their health outcomes and improve the wellbeing of local communities.”

Everyone Active has also been announced as the preferred leisure partner of Taunton Dean Borough Council and Winchester City Council in partnerships that will begin later this year and in 2021 respectively.