Upgrade for Spectrum Under Confirmed £10m Leisure Facility Contract

Published on: 4 Aug, 2025
Updated on: 4 Aug, 2025

The Spectrum Leisure Centre

By Chris Caulfield

local democracy reporter

A much-loved Surrey leisure centre will receive a major upgrade, Guildford Borough Council has confirmed. A new 10-year contract deal worth almost £10 million is being prepared for signature.

GBC full council meeting July 29 Emily Dalton

Freedom Leisure, which currently runs places like Guildford Spectrum, Guildford Lido and Ash Manor Sports Centre, has been chosen to continue operating them from November 2025 – but with some big improvements on the way.

Cllr Catherine Houston

Cllr Catherine Houston, lead for Climate Change and Leisure, told the full council: “Ultimately this contract is a win, win, win. A win for the council, a win for residents, and a win for the planet.”

After scrutinising the terms at meetings earlier in the month, councillors waved through the contract agreement.

What’s changing? The new contract means better facilities, longer opening hours, greater community outreach, and almost £10m investment across the leisure centres.

Some of the headline changes include:

A brand new soft play area
A revamped gym at the Spectrum
Year-round access to Guildford Lido, including winter opening from 7am-9pm if new lighting is installed
Padel tennis at the Lido, subject to planning permission
New food and catering offering
A new mini golf attraction called ‘Puttify’

The council’s current contract runs out in October 2025 so it ran a competitive process to find the best operator to take over. After what the council described as a “robust” assessment, Freedom came out on top again. The new deal will last for 10 years with the option to extend for another five years after that.

Guildford council is putting nearly £10 million into improving its leisure facilities. The company running the centres will also take on more responsibility such as paying for their own utility bills which had previously driven up council costs before.

In the new contract, the winning tenderer has committed to paying an average annual management fee of approximately £2.5 million over a 10-year period.

Details of the new contract also include a commitment to lower the carbon footprint of the three leisure sites which will help the council achieve its net zero goal by 2030.

Although Guildford council is expected to be absorbed into a unitary council by 2027 under local government reorganisation, it is anticipated the contract would move over to the local authority.

A motion to proceed with the contract was agreed verbally without a recorded vote and no apparent dissent.

Responses to Upgrade for Spectrum Under Confirmed £10m Leisure Facility Contract

P Bray Reply

August 5, 2025 at 5:48 am

Whilst the bulk of this deal sounds good I worry that introducing “Paddle Tennis” to the Lido means the loss of some of the grounds.

When visiting the Lido I enjoy being able to set down a picnic blanket as a base for the day to come back to between swims, read and snooze. In the summer it’s very popular and reducing the grounds either reduces the number of people or reduces the enjoyment of the place.

We have precious few facilities that open and airy – let’s not lose one to a niche sport. If we need a “Paddle Tennis” court can’t it go to the Spectrum centre?

I’m very pleased at the prospect of longer opening times and earlier swims. Whilst I’m not brave enough for winter swimming I do know many who liked it and will support it year round.
David Pugh Reply

August 5, 2025 at 9:03 am

Excellent news, but from a governance point of view:
1) Why was the agreement only verbal and not recorded?
2) If it is only “anticipated” that the contract will move to the local authority after the local government organisation, what happens if it does not?

Editor’s response: It is normal council procedure for motions to be passed with a verbal vote if no significant dissent is anticipated or detected. In this case I heard no calls of “No”. There will be a large number of contracts that will need to be transferred to the new unitary authorities from all the existing county, borough and district councils. It is hard to imagine that the transfers will be refused.