Councillors have become embroiled in a row over Tameside’s leisure trust after a Tory member claimed it was a ‘ticking time bomb’.
At a meeting of the full council on Tuesday night, Conservative Stalybridge South councillor Liam Billington was critical of the money that had been loaned to Active Tameside by the town hall.
In November the council agreed a £1.8m loan to keep the leisure trust afloat for the remainder of the financial year.
But councillors involved with Active Tameside told the meeting it was ‘more than a gym’ and had already paid back most of the loan money used following an insurance payout.
Coun Billington said: “I have raised the issue of Active Tameside being a ticking time bomb.
“At the last budget I stated that they had already had loans of over £7.5m outstanding with the council.
“This is a massive risk to taxpayers across the borough.”
He said the level of financial support was ‘not fair’ compared to the government lockdown grants offered to commercial gyms and leisure facilities, and the trust didn’t deliver ‘value for money’.
Coun Billington added their management of a weight loss campaign meant it would have been cheaper to send participants to ‘Lithuania to have liposuction’.
“Active Tameside remains operational as it has received hundreds of thousands in annual contract payments from public health commissioning, a luxury which other businesses don’t have,” he said.
“Recently Active Tameside was given £204,000 to run a weight loss campaign on behalf of the council.
“Only 448 people took up the programme and less than half of those who did join actually lost any weight. This ended up costing taxpayers £1,200 per person to lose weight.
“Looking at Google it would be cheaper to send people to Lithuania to have liposuction, with one ad suggesting a cost of 413 euros.
“I believe that independent gyms in Tameside should be able to bid for these contracts rather than just being handed out to Active Tameside.”
The council currently commissions services for adult and children’s health and social care from Active Tameside to deliver the ‘Live Active’, ‘Active Education’ and ‘Everyone Can’ programmes.
The town hall says that the reopening and closing of its centres during lockdowns has resulted in a loss of almost £1m a month in lost trading income.
If the trust were to become insolvent, officers say it would likely lead to the permanent closure of all of the gyms, leisure centres and swimming pools it runs.
Councillor Denise Ward told members that she chairs the board of the Active Tameside trust in an unpaid, voluntary capacity.
Addressing Coun Billington she added: “Active Tameside has had a year like no other and I’d just like to bring to his attention all the staff that are there that have gone above and beyond the call of duty with no extra pay, with no extra day off.
“In this pandemic where many of the centres have been closed they have still delivered a first class service to the vulnerable people and children in Tameside.
“We delivered, free of charge, 750 free hot meals to vulnerable families in our borough, it doesn’t matter where they live, we were there.
“Some of the food came from the allotments that Active Tameside use, again supervised by vulnerable children.
“I really don’t know what he expects from this Active Tameside but I do know that your David Lloyds and the Village gyms and the people like that do not do this service.
“This Active Tameside is more than a gym and now with some of the centres closed they are a vaccination centre as well.”
Cabinet member for neighbourhoods, community safety and environment, Coun Allison Gwynne added there was a ‘misunderstanding’ around the £1.8m loan to the trust.
“Active Tameside as a prudent and responsible business took specific insurance to cover losses in the eventuality of unforeseen circumstances but the insurance industry have been slow to settle these claims meaning the organisation would have suffered crippling cashflow issues if the council had not set up the facility to provide a loan to them securing people’s jobs and facilities residents really do rely on,” she said.
“Now £500k of this loan facility was drawn down by Active Tameside but it is scheduled to be repaid and I think I’m right in saying it has pretty much all been paid already when they received part-pay settlement from their insurance.
“There’s no further money from this council being loaned or given to Active Tameside in this financial year.
“Active Tameside is not a failing provider, more a valued partner providing key public health and leisure services to the borough.”
The meeting was also told that the long delayed extension to Hyde Pool would be completed by April this year.
A public consultation has been launched on initial proposals to withdraw Active Tameside services from Adventure Longendale, Active Oxford Park and the Etherow Centre.
