Blake Morgan supports major North Norfolk public leisure contract

Leading law firm Blake Morgan has completed work on a major leisure operating contract on behalf of North Norfolk District Council.

The  project saw the law firm supporting the council on the procurement of operational services for several key leisure facilities in the district, including the new £10.7m Sheringham leisure centre to replace the existing Splash facility and two further leisure centres. The operator has also taken on the out-of-hours operation of dual use sports centres adjoined to three local schools: Cromer Academy, North Walsham High School and Stalham Academy.

Led by partner Penny Rinta-Suksi, the Blake Morgan team advised primarily on the contracts for the new operator, SLM, trading as Everyone Active, to cover all sites and supported on drafting templates to bring the dual use agreements up to date, to dovetail with the contract. The Blake Morgan team included Rob Jefferies, Rajiv Joshi, Gillian McCue and Ron Burgess, who provided detailed property, employment and pensions advice to the council as well as support during the procurement process.

Penny Rinta-Suksi, partner in the commercial team at Blake Morgan, who led on the project, said: “This is an exciting programme of leisure investment being made by North Norfolk District Council and we’re proud to have been involved. It’s a complex project due to the alignment of the contract with a new build centre and the opportunity to incorporate the £3m Cromer tennis hub into the project. We needed to work closely with the Council’s team to ensure the dual use facilities were also appropriately incorporated into the operational requirements to ensure a joined up leisure service as envisaged by the Council’s leisure strategy. It’s been a pleasure to have been able to work in partnership with the Council’s team and their leisure consultant Damien Adams of FMG, who have all been dedicated to seeing this project complete on time.”

Blake Morgan’s local government solicitors advise a wide range of clients, including Hampshire County Council, Reading Borough Council and Test Valley Borough Council, as well as the Department of Health.