However, the lease of Edmonton Leisure Centre could be passed to leisure operator Greenwich Leisure Limited (GLL) under a new agreement, meaning the centre would no longer be under direct control of Enfield Council.
Upgrades could include a new ten-pin bowling alley, in an attempt to make the centre commercially viable.
The facility in Fore Street has been closed since last December due to serious structural issues, some of which go back as far as 2007 when the part-residential building was completed by developer St Modwen, now part of Crosstree Real Estate Partners.
GLL carried out an assessment at Edmonton Leisure Centre between January and March, soon after taking over the management of the council’s leisure facilities from Fusion Lifestyle, and estimated the full cost of getting the centre back to an ‘acceptable standard’ to be £4.38 million.
At a cabinet meeting last week (October 16) cabinet member for environment, culture and public spaces Cllr Chinelo Anyanwu revealed the council’s plan.
She said the centre would be reopened in phases, with the first phase anticipated for completion within six months.
To fund the work, the council is set to agree a ‘shared investment partnership’ with GLL, which would see the local authority pay £2.5 million up front to cover essential maintenance.
With the lease handed to GLL, the money invested by the council would be repaid by the centre’s new owners over 30 years, with the company investing £5 million to upgrade and add new facilities.
Admitting the closure of the centre had had a “significant” impact, Cllr Anyanwu said the initial reopening phase would be completed within six months.
A council report explaining the plan in more detail also revealed that Edmonton Leisure Centre as it stands is commercially worthless, since £1.8 million is needed “to simply address the serious health and safety issues and breaches of legislation” at the facility, including fire safety system faults.
A further £2.5 million is needed to tackle issues such as roof leaks and corrosion of the steel supporting beams above the pool hall.
The report states that the cause of the issues “has been a combination of building design faults and other faults that have developed whilst maintenance responsibility was provided by the previous leisure operator”.
The proposed list of facilities and activities GLL is aiming to provide as part of its upgrade are a 92-station gym, swimming, fitness classes, soft and adventure play for children, ten-pin bowling and trampolining.
Cllr Anyanwu added: “There will be a whole host of different activities; our team is pairing together with leisure so we’re bound to see great improvement and attraction in the area.”
In a statement following the meeting, Peter Bundey, GLL’s chief executive officer, said: “We are pleased that in partnership with Enfield Council, we have a solution that will secure the long-term future of Edmonton Leisure Centre and enable us to carry out the vital renovations it requires.
“We anticipate a phased reopening of the centre, once a series of essential works are completed.”
