Ealing Council has awarded Sports and Leisure Management Ltd (SLM) a 10-year contract, with the option to extend for a further five, to manage leisure services across the borough. The decision was made at a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, 10 December 2025.

In April 2024, the cabinet initially agreed to a collaborative procurement of the council's Tri-Borough leisure contract with the London Boroughs of Brent and Harrow. However, Brent Council later withdrew on 8 September to pursue a standalone procurement for Vale Farm. The details of this decision are noted in the Public Reports Pack.

The contract includes the following leisure facilities:

According to the council report, Ealing's strategic objectives for the leisure contract include:

  • Protecting and enhancing physical and mental health
  • Increasing participation, especially among low participant groups
  • Providing support and services to older residents and those with a disability
  • Providing facilities and activities for women and young people
  • Improving public health and wellbeing
  • Providing employment opportunities for local people
  • Contributing towards tackling the climate emergency

To increase participation among low participant groups, SLM will develop a targeted programme of outreach, tailored physical activity interventions, and wellbeing support designed to tackle health inequalities, reduce loneliness, and foster community connection among those facing the greatest barriers to participation. Delivery will take place year-round across leisure centres, local community settings, high-deprivation estates and outreach venues, with a focus on Southall and Northolt, and referral routes via Ealing GP Federation and Primary Care Networks to Exercise on Referral and low-impact first-steps activity.

SLM will also deliver a local employment and skills strategy across Ealing, working with local authorities, schools, colleges, Active Partnerships, and the wider VCS sector to create meaningful employment pathways. The agreement stipulates that a minimum of 80% of their workforce must be residents of the boroughs they serve, and they will deliver a structured Apprenticeship Careers Programme offering 195 employment pathways. The contract includes a performance monitoring process to manage underperformance if SLM fails to meet this requirement.

The council aims to ensure that activities remain affordable to people on low incomes. The council will retain control of prices for certain activities and make provision for annual increases to account for inflation. The contracted Service Provider will have the option to determine all other activity fees and charges annually in accordance with its annual marketing plan. The council's Leisure Pass scheme will remain for a minimum of one year from the commencement of the contract.

The proposed pricing structures have been developed with extensive local knowledge and insights and will continue to deliver affordable and inclusive access while ensuring the long-term financial sustainability of the service. The model recognises the socio-economic diversity across the borough and will continue to implement a tiered pricing model based on local demographic data and cost-of-living insights, ensuring that no resident is excluded due to financial hardship. Concessions will be available during all opening hours and are designed to capture user demographics and visit behaviour for equality monitoring, with a commitment to no hidden charges.

Core Inclusive Measures include:

Free memberships/passes for:

  • Care leavers and looked after children aligned with local authority priorities
  • Residents with Parkinsons and their supporting carers (currently 154 residents across the contracts)
  • Sporting Champions talented athletes (currently 41 athletes across the contracts)
  • Refugees and asylum seekers, identified in collaboration with local services and VCS partners
  • SEND referrals

Multi-generational discounts, including:

  • Family passes bundling adults and juniors with discounts

Activity vouchers distributed through trusted pathways:

  • GP practices and social prescribers
  • School pastoral teams and HAF coordinators
  • Housing and homelessness services enable no cost or subsidised access to key programmes such as swim lessons or community fitness classes

Free community outreach activities, including:

  • Free Community events such as International Women's Day open events, Family Fun days during summer, Halloween and Christmas
  • Faith-based wellness events, such as Fit4Faith Fridays.
  • Holiday family fun days linked to FSM eligibility.

Community partner access passes, allowing referral agencies (e.g., food banks, disability charities) to offer free short-term access to residents in crisis or transition.

Detailed financial implications setting out the proposed management fee under to the new contract are included in confidential appendix 1 of the Public Reports Pack. The incremental budget impact, set out in appendix 1, will be considered to mitigate current financial pressures within the division, which will be achieved through budget re-alignment. Any surplus not required to mitigate budget pressures will be put forward as savings after allowing for any annual variation as part of the annual budget planning and medium term financial strategy process.