SALISBURY district council is taking over the management of the troubled Five Rivers leisure centre.

The council's cabinet has decided not to renew the contract with Leisure Connection, the company that has run the complex since 2002, when the £6.5m swimming pool was opened.

Leisure Connection's contract expires on March 31. From April 1, the centre will be brought under direct council control.

The council emphasised that, as far as customers were concerned, it would be business as usual. It has also promised to keep the public informed of all developments.

Existing staff will transfer to the council's employment and the change of management will cause no redundancies.

Meetings will be held with all the staff to inform them of the changes and ensure a smooth handover.

The centre is owned by the district council but its day-to-day running was contracted out to Leisure Connection, which had also been in charge of the city's old swimming pool in College Street.

A council spokesman said: "Since its opening, the centre has had several contractual and operational problems.

"Most of these issues have been resolved and the council is confident that this first-class centre can now go on to be a great success."

Council portfolio holder for community and housing John Cole-Morgan told the Journal: "I believe it is right to take the management of the Five Rivers leisure centre in-house at this stage. The past 18 months have been a huge learning curve and, as with many new projects, we have experienced a few difficulties along the way."

He said the council had invested heavily in the centre to give the people of south Wiltshire a first-class venue.

"This change ensures that we can provide sports and recreation facilities that meet the expectations of our residents, while we investigate fully the proposals to create a leisure trust."

Councillor Steve Fear, leader of the Labour group on the council, said the decision was the "right one to make."

Mr Fear said: "I think it shows the weakness of contracting out to service providers. It is far better to be run by the local authority which has the management skills."

Chairman of the city area committee Councillor Simon Howarth also agreed it was the right decision.

"I would hope now that the council will develop better communications between itself and the public than Leisure Connection did," he added.

Leisure Connection, one of the UK's leading leisure management companies currently operates more than one hundred local authority sites across the country.

The company said it had originally been offered an extension of twelve months to the management contract, but it had been impossible to agree mutually acceptable terms.

Commercial director Chris Reeves said: "In the next three weeks we will continue to support Salisbury district council to ensure a smooth transition period. Our priority remains to service the local community."

The move means that all three council-owned leisure centres - Durrington leisure centre, Tisbury leisure centre and Five Rivers - will now be managed by the council.

Meanwhile, the council is considering transferring its leisure centres into one leisure trust. This would be a non-profit-making organisation, which would take over the running of the facilities on behalf of the council.

A decision on this idea is expected later this year.