A COUNCILLOR has predicted staff redundancies if Mid Sussex leisure centres are managed by the private sector to save more than half a million pounds a year.

The Olympos Triangle in Burgess Hill and the Olympos Dolphin leisure centre in Haywards Heath are managed by Mid Sussex District Council but councillors met last night to consider appointing an external operator to run them after being told by private consultancy firm PMP that payroll costs and utility costs had 'increased significantly' during the last four years, while income had remained static.

PMP has told the council that the private management option for both leisure centres and the Kings Leisure Centre in East Grinstead will save the council £600,000 a year.

The Cabinet set aside £25,000 to pay the consultancy firm, which is advising the council to make "staffing and programming changes" regardless of how it responds to its recommendation to outsource the management of all three centres, which operate at a loss and are subsidised by more than £1.4million.

Liberal Democrat councillor Richard Bates said: "One can read between the lines. The staff are very concerned and have had a meeting with management. Making staffing and programming changes can only mean cutting back on staff and the services the leisure centres provide."

A spokesman for the council said: "PMP has advised that in some specific areas of our leisure business we could improve our operational arrangements. As always we will look carefully at this advice but the council will deal with these issues sensitively and in a way that will not impact adversely on services."

The council has said that if the leisure centres are privately managed, the rights of staff will be protected by TUPE, a protection of employment regulation safeguarding employees' terms and conditions when they transfer.

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