The rooftop lido at the Oasis Sports Centre

THE contractor in charge of Camden’s swimming pools and leisure centres has asked the Town Hall to help it through the coronavirus crisis.

Greenwich Leisure Limited, or Better, recently signed a deal with the council over the management of a portfolio of facilities which includes Swiss Cottage Leisure Centre, the Prince of Wales Baths and the Oasis Sports Centre. With no users during lockdown, however, all leisure and gym operators have been stretched.

On Tuesday evening, councillors in the ruling Labour group agreed to negotiate a deal with GLL that would relieve the pressure, including the possible deferral of rent payments.

Similar negotiations have taken place with other local authorities. Camden’s council leader Georgia Gould said in a video interview with the New Journal that she was determined that leisure centres would survive the pandemic, even though it was not clear how long restrictions would be in place.

Yesterday (Wednesday), however, Camden confirmed the request for help had been received. Culture chief Councillor Jonathan Simpson said: “The overriding priority for the council is to ensure that residents receive high quality leisure provision and value for money. GLL, like many similar organisations, is facing significant financial challenges due to the coronavirus pandemic. The company has since submitted a formal request to the council for support and we are considering this request carefully.

“We will ensure that all leisure centres in Camden re-open when it is safe to do so and in a way which protects users and their staff members in line with government advice.”.

A GLL spokesman said: “As a trusted local authority partner with a strong financial and social business model, we are working in close partnership with our council partners and clients to mitigate the impact of the pandemic. GLL remains financially robust, but, whilst we have no customer income during lockdown we do need financial support from our partners in addition to the government’s Job Retention Scheme [furlough] support.”