No reopening date for Edmonton Leisure Center as repairs cost more than £4m

Problems with the Fore Street facility are said to include sewage leaks and structural issues with the pool, James Cracknell reports.

The cost of repairing the Edmonton Leisure Center has been revealed to be almost £4.4m – with Enfield Council still unable to say when it will reopen.

Problems with the Fore Street facility are said to include sewage leaks and structural problems with the pool, and Dispatch understands that the council does not currently have the money available to fix the problems themselves.

Edmonton Leisure Center has been closed since December when Greenwich Leisure Limited (GLL) took over the council’s leisure contract from previous operator Fusion Lifestyle.

During the handover, GLL discovered serious problems with the center that had developed in previous years but remained unresolved.

Edward Smith, shadow cabinet member of the Conservative leisure group, said Dispatch that the fault lies with the council rather than GLL. He said: “This is a long-standing issue and in my view the council failed to oversee it properly when it was handled by Fusion.

“There has been a long-standing problem with sewage leaking from the flats above which are managed by various housing associations and will need to be resolved (…) there are also structural problems with the pool which are very serious.”

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Cllr Smith said the council had commissioned structural studies which had now established the extent of the problems and the cost of the work would be “very substantial”. The Dispatch understands this cost has been estimated at £4.38m.

Asked directly when work to repair and reopen Edmonton Leisure Center would take place, a council spokesperson said: “Following the transfer of our leisure offering to Greenwich Leisure Limited, in-depth research into Edmonton Leisure Center has now been completed.

“We are looking at all possible options with GLL to invest and reopen the center and provide activities for Edmonton residents. Once this work is complete, we will be able to establish a detailed timeline.

“We remain committed to minimizing the impact of the situation on center members, who continue to have access to each (other) Enfield leisure center while we assess options.”

Other council leisure facilities include Albany Leisure Center in Enfield Wash, Southbury Leisure Centre, Southgate Leisure Center and Arnos Pool.

Aynsley Taylor, a user of the Edmonton Leisure Centre, said: “This facility is so important to the health and wellbeing of the area and it is disgraceful how the previous operators let it down. We all know that Enfield Council doesn’t need the cash, but there doesn’t seem to be any sense of urgency here and it all adds up to the feeling that Edmontonians are getting the short end of the stick.”

Problems with leisure centers previously managed or run by Fusion Lifestyle are not limited to Enfield – in Haringey, two units in Tottenham and Crouch End were closed for extended periods last year while maintenance issues were dealt with. Haringey Council later decided it would manage the leisure centers itself, in-house, rather than bringing in another external provider.

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