Agenda item

This report seeks approval for Brent to withdraw from the current Tri-Borough leisure procurement with Ealing and Harrow and commence a standalone procurement for Vale Farm Sports Centre based on a five-year agency agreement until 2031 to ensure continuity of service and strengthen local control.

Cabinet RESOLVED:

(1)       To approve withdrawing Brent from the current Tri-Borough leisure procurement with Ealing and Harrow.

(2)       To commence a standalone procurement for Vale Farm Sports Centre, based on a five-year agency agreement model until 2031.

(3)    To delegate authority to the Corporate Director of Service Reform and Strategy, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care, Public Health and Leisure, to finalise the procurement process and award the contract, subject to legal advice and the Council’s governance procedures.

Eligible for call-in: Yes

Deadline for submission of call-in: 6pm on Monday 15 September 2025

Councillor Nerva (as Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care, Public Health & Leisure) introduced a report from the Corporate Director Service Reform and Strategy seeking approval for Brent to withdraw from the current Tri-Borough leisure procurement with Ealing and Harrow and commence a standalone procurement for Vale Farm Sports Centre based on a five-year agency agreement.

In introducing the report, members were advised of the key objective in terms of the approach outlined which had been designed to ensure residents would retain access to high quality leisure services while also enabling Brent to take control of the procurement process in terms of future delivery.  Reflecting on the previous decision taken in 2024 to participate in a Tri Borough procurement with Harrow and Ealing for the provision at Vale Farm Leisure Centre, Cabinet was reminded this had been felt to represent the best option at the time in terms of achieving the required economies of scale.  In developing the process, however, members were advised it had become clear that the Tri Borough approach for the specific nature of service being sought would not provide Brent with the certainty or flexibility required given the barriers the contract would present in enabling the Council to bring together all of its major leisure sites from 2031, linked to the Willesden PFI coming to an end and new Bridge Park facility being opened and limited control over pricing, programming and investment in Council facilities.

As a result, the revised approach presented had sought a different pathway with it recommended that the Council consider withdrawing from the Tri Borough process and running its own standalone procurement for Vale Farm Sports Centre in a way that would not only secure continuity of service from 2026 but also strengthen local control over price, programming and investment.  Members were advised that, subject to approval, the new contract would be based on a five-year agency agreement designed to keep future options open while providing certainty over current provision and also representing the first step towards delivery of a single, borough wide Active Wellbeing model from 2031.

The adoption of the agency model approach was also highlighted as being able to deliver additional benefits to residents in terms of greater oversight of income and costs, and a clearer line of sight on reinvestment with the example provided of funding secured from Sport England to install solar panels at Vale Farm as a demonstration of the kind of practical improvement it was felt a Brent led approach would be able to deliver.  As further assurance in support of the move towards a broader Active Wellbeing approach, members were advised that the approach would also involve use of the Strategic Outcomes Planning Model (SOPM), including Sport England’s Leisure Services Delivery Guidance (LSDG) in order to provide further evidence and ensure all future delivery models (including insourcing) could be fully appraised enabling Members to take an informed decision on the best long-term operating model from 2031 for Brent’s residents and communities.

In considering the report, members welcomed the approach outlined as a means of not only ensuring continuity of service but also strengthening local control and in supporting the move towards a transformation in how leisure and wellbeing was being delivered across the borough alongside an assessment of longer-term options in terms for future provision.

Having thanked all officers involved for their support in developing the revised approach outlined Cabinet RESOLVED:

(1)       To approve withdrawing Brent from the current Tri-Borough leisure procurement with Ealing and Harrow.

(2)       To commence a standalone procurement for Vale Farm Sports Centre, based on a five-year agency agreement model until 2031.

(3)    To delegate authority to the Corporate Director of Service Reform and Strategy, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care, Public Health and Leisure, to finalise the procurement process and award the contract, subject to legal advice and the Council’s governance procedures.