Issue details

East Herts Council and Hertfordshire County Council entered into a joint use agreement with Leventhorpe School swimming pool on 27 August 1975. Hertfordshire County Council granted East Herts Council a licence and authority to maintain and manage the swimming pool, and allow members of the public and pupils from Leventhorpe school and surrounding schools to use the facilities. It was agreed that East Herts Council would maintain and manage the swimming pool and Hertfordshire County Council would pay 40% of the costs, whilst East Herts Council paid 60% of the annual costs.
In 2011 Leventhorpe School became an academy, and Hertfordshire County Council handed the pool and liability to Leventhorpe School, since then the school owns the freehold to the swimming pool and the responsibility of 40% of the annual costs of running the pool.
East Herts Council’s leisure providers SLM, trading as Everyone Active, have managed the site on the council’s behalf. On 1 January 2020, Everyone Active entered in to a 15 year contract with East Herts Council. In 2017, East Herts Council published a strategic action plan, with the input of Sport England, the plan concluded that investing in the two Council owned facilities including swimming pool provision, would provide suitable alternative facilities if the joint use pools closed. Throughout the agreement with the joint use pools, the school’s relied on funding allocated for the running of the pools from the Department for Education to continue the 40% contribution to East Herts Council.
In October 2024, the school announced that the Department for Education were ceasing funding for the pools, and the site would have to close on 23 December 2024. The swimming pool and building are owned by Leventhorpe school and are not the responsibility of East Herts Council, and therefore the decision to close was made by the school. The school also had to consider the ongoing costs of running and maintaining an old building, which requires significant works to the plant room.
Currently, the building is safe, with hoarding surrounding it and the gas and electricity isolated. Everyone Active carry out weekly checks to ensure the premises is safe and there are no issues. East Herts Council are currently liable for any accidents or injuries that occur, and for the ongoing cost of utilities and Everyone Active visiting the site. Therefore, a termination of the joint use agreement is necessary to relieve East Herts Council from the liability of the swimming pool that is owned by Leventhorpe School.