SCORES of staff in ten Wiltshire leisure centres are to be transferred as the county council today confirmed plans to bring them back 'in-house' under its own management.

The transition will come into effect from October as the council said it wants to improve the physical and mental health and wellbeing of its communities.

Back in April, Wiltshire Council was given a £865,000 cash injection by the Government to help support the ten leisure centres as they reopened after the third Covid-19 pandemic lockdown.

The funds are intended to support those leisure centres which have lost income due to the coronavirus crisis.

Cllr Ian Blair-Pilling, Wiltshire Council's cabinet member for leisure, said: “The Covid pandemic has heightened the need for us to look after our health and wellbeing. We want to create as much opportunity as possible for our residents to be active, get healthy and stay well.

“Our priority is to ensure that staff and users of these leisure centres enjoy a smooth transition to our management.

“I'd like to thank Places Leisure for being tremendous partners and supporting our running of leisure services in the county.”

The decision was made back in December by the Wiltshire Council Cabinet but has only just been announced today.

The council says it made the decision to bring them back in-house in October to support its ambition to provide an equitable level of quality leisure services across the county, with the aim of creating a more active Wiltshire.

The council operates ten leisure centres across the south and east of the county, with ten leisure centres in the north and west that are managed by Places Leisure on the council's behalf.

The leisure centres that will move to Wiltshire Council management are:

• Bradford on Avon Swimming Pool

• Castle Place Leisure Centre, Trowbridge

• Lime Kiln Leisure Centre, Royal Wootton Bassett

• Leighton Recreation Centre, Westbury

• Melksham Blue Pool & Gym

• The Activity Zone, Malmesbury

• The Olympiad, Chippenham

• Trowbridge Sports Centre

• Warminster Sports Centre

• Westbury Swimming Pool

It is anticipated that Places Leisure staff will transfer to become Wiltshire Council employees, and plans are ongoing to ensure a smooth transition for leisure centre users.

All leisure members will be regularly updated on any changes as a result of the transition.