Freedom Leisure's contract to run Crowborough, Uckfield and Hailsham leisure centres ends on 31 March 2027, and the council is tendering a 15-year replacement.

Who runs Crowborough Leisure Centre is about to change hands, or be re-signed for another 15 years. Wealden District Council is running a procurement exercise to appoint a long-term operator for its three leisure centres, and the contract it is replacing runs out on 31 March 2027.

The council put that in the notes to editors at the foot of a press release about summer visitor numbers, published on 26 August. The release itself says nothing about it. (Wealden District Council, 26 August 2026)

The expiry date is in the council’s own procurement record. When Wealden advertised for a leisure management consultant to help with the re-procurement, the notice said plainly: “Wealden has three leisure centres located in Crowborough, Hailsham and Uckfield. The current leisure management contract with Freedom Leisure, expires on the 31 March 2027.” (Contracts Finder, notice IT-234-38319-WDC)

That consultancy was awarded on 15 April 2025 to The Sport, Leisure and Culture Consultancy Limited, at £62,870.94, and it runs to 31 March 2027, the same day the operating contract ends.

The dates

  • 2002: Wealden Leisure Ltd, trading as Freedom Leisure, begins operating the district’s leisure centres. The company says it is now in its 25th year of the partnership. (Freedom Leisure, Crowborough Leisure Centre)
  • 15 April 2025: the council awards a £62,870.94 consultancy contract to support re-procuring the operator.
  • 26 August 2026: the council confirms it is “currently undertaking a procurement exercise to appoint a long-term leisure operator”.
  • 31 March 2027: the Freedom Leisure contract, and the consultancy supporting its replacement, both end.
  • Next contract: 15 years, on the council’s own description.

The council has not published the value of the new contract, and its committee papers site was not reachable when we checked on 30 August, so the figure could not be confirmed today.

What the centres did over the summer

The release that carried the procurement line was about visitor numbers. Across Crowborough, Uckfield and Hailsham since the start of the school summer holidays, the council reports:

  • 24,799 visits in total
  • 11,297 pool visits
  • 8,254 gym visits
  • 4,676 group exercise class attendances
  • an 8% rise in memberships against the same period last year
  • more than 219 fitness classes a week

Councillor Kelvin Williams, the lead councillor for public health and asset management, said: “The figures show just how important these facilities are to residents.”

Where the money went, and where it did not

The council named the recent investment centre by centre. The split is uneven, and Crowborough’s entry is the only one with no cost attached to it.

Centre What was done Cost given
Uckfield New sports hall floor, refurbished gym, indoor cycling studio, pool area improvements, plus solar panels through Sport England funding £300,000
Hailsham Pool flume repairs and pool relining, funded by Freedom Leisure, plus Sport England funding for solar panels and pool covers £100,000
Crowborough New sports hall floor and the introduction of HYROX functional indoor fitness Not stated

That does not mean nothing was spent in Crowborough. It means the council did not say how much, and we could not find the figure in a published record.

Two of the new programmes named in the release are also elsewhere: a cancer rehabilitation programme at Hailsham, and Stronger for Life sessions starting in Uckfield in September with the NHS and Active Sussex.

What it means for you

  • Nothing changes at the centre before April 2027. Memberships, lessons and bookings run as now. Crowborough Leisure Centre is on Eridge Road, TN6 2TN, open 6.30am to 10pm Monday to Friday and 8am to 5pm at weekends.
  • This bank holiday, Monday 31 August, the centre’s own website is showing opening of 8am to 3pm, with swim school lessons running in the morning. Check before you travel.
  • If you want a say, a 15-year contract for the town’s pool, gym and sports hall is decided by the council, not by the operator. Watch for the cabinet report that sets the contract’s terms; that is the document that fixes opening hours, prices and what has to be provided.
  • If you run a business in the sector, the tender has not yet appeared on Contracts Finder under the council’s name. The consultancy award is the only published step so far.

Our Crowborough planning news page tracks council decisions affecting the town, and things to do in Crowborough covers what is on locally.