A LEISURE boss has thanked residents in Test Valley for their “years of support”, on the day his charity prepares to relinquish control of the borough’s sporting facilities.

Valley Leisure chief executive, Kevin Paterson, says it has been a “real privilege” to run leisure facilities such as Romsey Rapids and Andover Leisure Centre over the last 26 years.

The charity’s current leisure contract with Test Valley Borough Council expires today, with Places for People Leisure set to take over on April 1.

Reflecting on the end of the contract, Mr Paterson said: “We would like to thank all of our customers for their support over the years.

“It has been a real privilege to be part of the fabric of the community.

“Our staff have worked with literally thousands and thousands of people over the past 26 years in our endeavour to get more people more active.

“We are ending our association with the leisure centre’s in Test Valley on an all-time high, delivering seven consecutive years of growth in usage and now comfortably exceeding one million visits per annum.

“Alongside catering for record usage, the leisure centres were independently graded as excellent under the quest scheme placing them within the top 10 per cent nationally.”

Valley Leisure was initially established to operate the Romsey Rapids. However the charity grew over the years with the successful award of contracts to operate Andover Leisure Centre, Romsey Sports Centre, Knightwood Leisure Centre and Charlton Pavilion for Test Valley Borough Council. Valley Leisure employs 300 people across all sites, the majority of which will be transferred across to Places for People from tomorrow.

Regarding its departure, Test Valley councillor Mark Cooper, who spent more than nine years as a director of Valley Leisure, from 1995 to 2004, said: “When it was set up in the 1980’s by Test Valley Borough Council to run Romsey Rapids it was seen as an innovative way of providing and running local authority leisure services whilst at the same time avoiding government spending controls.

“But the annual grants being paid over to Valley Leisure to fund the £5.1 million build cost and run the Rapids and eventually all Test Valley’s other leisure facilities were huge.

“The overall impression is, therefore, that Valley Leisure has not been a ‘good deal’ for Test Valley Borough Council and Test Valley residents. The new leisure provider, Places for People, will be paying Test Valley to run the leisure facilities rather than the taxpayer paying them.

“It’s a much better deal for everyone.”

For customers who currently have gym memberships with Valley Leisure, the incoming provider has confirmed that these will be transferred over.

In an email, it wrote: “The good news is that for those of you paying monthly you need to take no action to continue your membership, from 1st April 2017 your monthly direct debit payment will show as ‘Places for People Leisure Management Limited’ on your bank statement. You will continue to enjoy the benefits of the Direct Debit Guarantee, as detailed below. Your direct debit payment day will remain the same.”