A council will seek new bids from contractors to run its leisure centres after failing to agree a deal with its current operator.

Maidstone council currently contracts via an intermediary – the Maidstone Leisure Trust – with Serco Leisure to run the Maidstone Leisure Centre, the Mote Park Outdoor Adventure Zone and the newly acquired Lockmeadow Heath Club.

But that contract runs out in August next year. The council has asked Serco to renew the arrangement until 2031, but the price sought by the firm “could not be accommodated within the budget framework”.

Members of the council’s communities, leisure and arts policy advisory committee were told the council could take the running of the centre back in-house, or it could seek an alternative provider.

But bringing the service in-house would lose the various tax incentives and cost savings achieved by running it at arms-length.

In particular, the council would have to start paying business rates on the buildings of £200k for the leisure centre and £120k for the Lockmeadow site.

All the extra costs combined could amount to £400,000 a year for Maidstone Leisure Centre, £30,000 a year for the adventure zone, and £350,000 at Lockmeadow, so that option was not advised.

In February this year, the council agreed it would make improvements to the Maidstone Leisure Centre building, designed to make it more efficient to run in terms of energy costs. These include separating the “wet” and “dry” areas of the centre.

But the committee heard from finance director Mark Green that the changes were unlikely to be implemented before April of next year, simply because of the technical difficulty of the work.

The committee voted to put the contract out to public tender, but Cllr Claudine Russell, the cabinet member responsible for leisure, said: “The Maidstone Leisure Trust is familiar with Serco and works well with them.

“The ideal outcome would be for our current contractor to come back with a better offer, but we must ensure that we are getting the best use of taxpayers’ money.”

Meanwhile, Serco is holding an open weekend at both Madistone Leisure Centre and Lockmeadow this weekend.

On Saturday and Sunday there are various free and discounted activities for the whole family, including membership discounts, free gym and swim sessions and free taster classes.