The Early Years

In 1993 Greenwich Council faced severe rate capping, and proposed an additional 30 per cent cut in the funding of leisure centres. The service impact of this was the closure of two or three leisure centres and a 28% loss of permanent staff.

A review instigated by Cllr Bob Harris, Chair of Leisure Services Committee (in London Borough of Greenwich), recommended a not–for–profit organisation to manage the Council’s leisure facilities with continued influence rather than control from the council.

A Society for the Benefit of the Community, registered under the Industrial & Provident Societies (IPS) Act, was recommended and adopted. This structure held particular appeal due to the ability for staff of the Society. The existing seven leisure centres were transferred to the new organisation – Greenwich Leisure Limited (GLL) in July 1993.

The new organisation quickly proved to be a great success in the London Borough of Greenwich. Instead of cuts, new jobs were created and new services delivered in the existing centres. In addition three new facilities have been built since 1993 – two leisure centres and a health and fitness centre.

Expansion since 1993 has seen GLL working in partnership with the London Borough of Barnet, Camden, Ealing, Hackney, Hammersmith and Fulham, Lambeth, Merton, Newham, Sutton, Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest as well as working with Epsom and Ewell Borough Council, Reading Borough Council, Bellingham Community Project, London Development Agency and the London Playing Fields Foundation and currently operating over 65 leisure facilities.

Membership levels across GLL have also risen from an initial 7,000 at the time of the transfer (1993) to around 250,000 total memberships in 2006.