Leisure facilities in Nottingham could get a £1.2m investment as part of a drive to transform the service and save the council money.
The investment could lead to better facilities across Nottingham City Council’s six sites, including the Harvey Hadden Sports Village, and the Clifton, Djanogly, Ken Martin, Southglade and Victoria leisure centres.
These could include a gym expansion and two new padel courts at Harvey Hadden, as well as better energy efficiency measures to bring costs down.
Proposed changes will be discussed at the People, Communities and Environment Scrutiny Committee on November 5.
“As part of the council’s wider transformation and improvement programme, a comprehensive review has been undertaken to explore the future direction of the sport and leisure service,” council documents, published ahead of the meeting, say.
“To ensure the council achieves best value while maintaining and enhancing these outcomes, independent consultants FMG Consulting were commissioned to assess a range of strategic options.”
The council says its main objective is to reduce the amount of money it subsidises the service with.
It has so far made savings totalling £2.5m since 2021, and visitor numbers are up.
Across the council’s six leisure centres, there have been 2.3 million visits in the year to March 2025 – a rise by 7.5 per cent compared to the previous year.
Harvey Hadden had the most attendances at 816,534. Its other leisure centres had visitor numbers ranging from lows of 278,913 to highs of 332,698.
The service is currently in-house, but the consultancy firm suggested the best model would be an enhanced in-house model, giving the council more control.
Under this model, the council would have to invest £1.256m into the service, including new drowning detection systems at three centres, the repurposing of the indoor track at Harvey Hadden into two padel courts, a gym extension, catering upgrades, energy efficiency measures, as well as new party and events equipment and next-generation wellbeing facilities.
Council documents indicate that the initial investment could result in annual savings of around £782,000, with additional income generated from the expanded facilities and revised pricing, as well as savings achieved through improved energy efficiency.
The energy savings would total £22,000 each year, documents show.
Harvey Hadden is currently thought to be the largest solar-powered leisure centre in the country, following the installation of solar panels across its car park and roof.
“[The leisure] service currently operates six leisure centres and plays a vital role in supporting community health and wellbeing, with over 2.3 million attendances recorded in 2024/25 – a 7.5 per cent increase on the previous year,” documents add.
“Alongside delivering more than £2.5 million in savings since 2021, the service has generated an estimated £6.9 million in social value benefits, including significant contributions to NHS outcomes through health referrals and partnerships with primary care networks and social prescribers.
“[The consultant’s] appraisal considered both financial sustainability and operational effectiveness, with a particular focus on reducing the level of council subsidy.
“The preferred option emerging from this work is an enhanced in-house plus model, which offers greater autonomy over key areas such as energy management, marketing, and procurement, while building on existing strengths and partnerships.
“This model is projected to deliver substantial annual savings and aligns with the council’s ambition to become carbon-neutral by 2028.”
