Council faces prosecution over management of legionella at leisure centres

A district council in Essex has confirmed it is to be prosecuted as a result of a case of Legionnaire’s Disease contracted by a customer at one of its leisure centres two years ago.

A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation was launched in November 2016 after the case at Walton-on-the-Naze Lifestyles leisure centre.

The watchdog has now charged Tendring District Council over its systems for managing the risk of Legionella at its leisure centre sites.

Ian Davidson, Tendring’s chief executive, said systems had been changed as a result, working alongside specialist contractors.

“It would be inappropriate for me to comment further about this specific incident and the charge ahead of the court case,” he said. “However, I would once again like to reiterate our apologies to the individual concerned.

“As soon as we became aware of the presence of Legionella bacteria at the new facility at Walton-on-the-Naze Lifestyles we moved to address the issue immediately, with the centre closed for three months while remedial works took place.

“Our investigation was quickly widened to include a review of our systems and practices right across the council and, working alongside the HSE, these are now extremely rigorous.

“We have been open and transparent throughout this process.”