October 14, 2022 6.00 am This story is over 20 months old

South Holland leisure centre operator ‘on notice’ over closures

They’ve been caused by water problems, staff shortages and electrical surges

There have been a range of problems behind the closures

Councillors will raise questions over 32 unplanned closures of South Holland’s pools and leisure centres.

Operator Parkwood Leisure has been ‘put on notice’, council documents say.

Castle Pool in Spalding had 22 full or partial closures in the first quarter of the financial year, and Peele Leisure Centre in Long Sutton had 10.

The causes ranged from pool water quality and staffing shortages to an electrical surge after a storm.

Parkwood has accepted responsibility for some, while others were out of its control.

South Holland District Council is investigating each of the closures and has brought in additional monitoring.

Castle Pool had three full closures and 19 partial closures between April and June.

Two were due to electrical surges, and five were teething problems with the new Building Maintenance System.

Peel Leisure Centre had one full closure and nine partial closures, including one caused by a sewage pump failure.

Castle Sports Complex in Spalding has been affected | Photo: Google

A report into the disruption will go before South Holland’s Performance Monitoring Panel on Wednesday, September 19.

“Parkwood Leisure was put on notice during the quarter, whilst the council started investigating each closure,” it says.

“The council is currently in the process of managing these service failures through the terms of the contract and through additional monitoring of management practices.”

It adds that rising energy costs are a worry for leisure centres, and Parkwood has informally raised concerns.

The leisure centres have also faced staffing problems in recent months.

The pay has been increased for lifeguards under 23 in an effort to retain young people entering the industry, and more casual workers have been recruited.