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Three recently-closed leisure centres are a step closer to reopening after a national firm agreed to take over running them.
Sevenoaks District Council has confirmed a deal with provider Everyone Active who will look to take on the leases of Edenbridge and Sevenoaks Leisure Centres and Lullingstone Park Golf Course.
This follows on from the news that Sencio’s board of trustees will surrender the leases to all three facilities tomorrow.
The three locations were forced to close when the old firm fell into liquidation with the decision believed to have been made in an emergency meeting on March 8.
In a later meeting held on March 23 it was agreed that a budget of £1.83 million would be set aside to help reopen the sites.
The leisure centres were once again the topic of a meeting on April 4 where councillors discussed looking for a new provider on an interim basis and it seems it has found one in Everyone Active.
The council will now send in specialist teams to restart the maintenance and begin a deep clean of the sites.
Sarah Robson, the council’s chief officer for people and places, said: “We’re excited to be partnering with Everyone Active to manage Edenbridge and Sevenoaks Leisure Centres and Lullingstone Park Golf Course on an interim basis.
“Everyone Active, with its excellent track record of innovation and amazing customer service, has transformed leisure provision in Swanley bringing hundreds of thousands of customers through the doors in the first year alone.
"They have helped to make the leisure centre accessible and attractive to new customers of all ages and backgrounds. With their new ideas and experience of running more than 200 leisure facilities nationwide, they will play an important role in re-opening the three leisure sites.
“Now the council has an agreement with Everyone Active in principle and the keys to the leisure sites, it can move forward at pace with its plans to reopen Edenbridge and Sevenoaks Leisure Centres and Lullingstone Park Golf Course.”