The Culture and Environment Scrutiny Panel was scheduled to discuss the performance of the council's leisure centres and review the panel's work programme for the upcoming year. The meeting also included an update on the leisure centre contract performance, which was to be discussed in two parts, with one part containing exempt information.

Leisure Centre Contract Performance

The panel was scheduled to receive an update on the contract management performance of the council's leisure operator, Greenwich Leisure Ltd. (GLL), who trade as Better. The report covered the period from January to December 2025. GLL has managed the council's leisure facilities since December 2023 on a three-year contract, which was extended by two years in August 2025 due to good performance and improved commercial terms.

The report indicated that GLL manages six leisure facilities: Albany Leisure Centre, Arnos Swimming Pool, Bramley Bowls Centre, Edmonton Leisure Centre, Southbury Leisure Centre, and Southgate Leisure Centre. Performance data was to be presented across five categories: customer visits, membership, customer demographics, customer satisfaction, and financial performance.

Projections for 2025 suggested up to 1.2 million visits to the council's leisure centres, a significant increase from 2024. Southbury Leisure Centre was identified as the busiest, while Arnos Swimming Pool received the fewest visits. The majority of visitors (86.5%) were from within the borough, with a smaller percentage travelling from neighbouring areas such as Barnet.

Membership numbers had also increased substantially in 2025, with health and fitness members rising by 14.9% and Learn to Swim programme members by 26.9%. The report noted an emerging threat from new private gym facilities, JD Gym and PureGym, which offer cheaper memberships but a less extensive range of services. Marketing campaigns were planned for January 2026 to maintain market share.

Regarding customer demographics, over half of leisure centre users identified as white, a slightly higher proportion than the borough average. Usage was higher among females than males, which contrasted with Sport England's Active Lives Survey and was potentially explained by targeted work by GLL's Community Team to encourage women's participation.

Customer satisfaction was measured through Trustpilot and Net Promoter Score (NPS). The Trustpilot rating for Enfield facilities had improved to 3.8 stars from 3.3 stars the previous year, though it remained slightly below ratings for Nuffield Health Enfield and David Lloyd Enfield. The NPS score had shown a positive movement over three years, increasing from -32 in 2023 to 7 in 2025, indicating a greater number of 'promoters' of the council's leisure centres.

The report also detailed the refurbishment of Edmonton Leisure Centre, which involved a shared investment partnership between the council and GLL. The council invested £2.5 million, with GLL contributing over £5 million. The dry side facilities reopened in April 2025, followed by the main pool in August 2025 and the teaching pool in December 2025. A third phase of works is planned to enhance the family offer.

The leisure centres are considered a core element of the borough's sport and leisure provision and support the Council Plan priority of Strong, Healthy and Safe Communities, specifically the objective of improving our leisure and sports opportunities to enable more active lifestyles.

A separate, confidential report was scheduled to be presented regarding the financial performance of the leisure centres.

Work Programme 2025/26

The panel was also scheduled to review and note the Culture & Environment Scrutiny Panel Work Programme for 2025/26. This programme outlines the topics that the panel intends to discuss throughout the year, including future meetings scheduled for 16th March 2026.