Council Approves £50,000 Repair for Fire Alarms at Frome Leisure Centre

Somerset Council has authorised up to £50,000 for essential repairs to the fire alarm system at Frome Leisure Centre. Located on Princess Anne Road in the northern part of Frome, the centre is one of five leisure venues recently transferred to operator Freedom Leisure following the administration of Fusion Lifestyle.

In late April, the council announced a new two-year contract focusing primarily on stabilising services across these sites, rather than implementing major improvements or investments.

The contract for the fire alarm repairs has been awarded to Coomber Security Systems Ltd, a Taunton-based company, as detailed in tender documents published on a central government portal. The maintenance work is scheduled to take place between 10 August and 28 September and is not expected to require any closures or cause significant disruption to users of the centre.

The other venues included in the rescue deal, valued at £215,000, and taken over by Freedom Leisure in early July are:

Council deputy leader Liz Leyshon, representing the Street division, indicated in early June that further repairs might be identified through a comprehensive review of leisure services across Somerset. She stated:

“The new operator already runs leisure services in Somerset, and the two year contract will ensure that we can keep the facilities open and protect the staff who have continued to work there through a very unsettling time.

The experienced leisure operator will now undertake a comprehensive audit of all the facilities, and we will move towards awarding a new long-term contract from 2028.”

Additionally, the Tor Sports and Leisure Centre underwent a £2.2 million upgrade as part of a government-supported town deal for Glastonbury prior to Fusion Lifestyle’s administration. The council confirmed in early May that none of this grant funding was paid directly to the operator.