THE trust which runs Yate and Thornbury leisure centres is celebrating its 10th anniversary.

Circadian Trust is marking a decade since becoming a trust in 2005 with a party for longstanding employees and clubs which use its centres this evening (Thursday, November 26). Local councillors and trustees are also invited to the celebratory event at Bradley Stoke Leisure Centre.

Circadian chief executive Mark Crutchley said: “We have experienced significant changes over the past 10 years: when the organisation was founded, it was designed to provide community leisure facilities within a tight framework set by the local authority.

“Today, as local government funding is continually squeezed, Circadian has evolved to become more commercial and able to respond to significantly changing customer requirements, while continuing to deliver a social impact.”

Since forming, the trust has recorded an 18 per cent increase in customer uptake at its seven leisure centres across South Gloucestershire to 2.5million visits per year since 2010. It has invested more than £7million into initiatives including new sports and leisure facilities and technology such as the MyWellness cloud-based platform which allows users to track activity at home.

The trust has seen turnover growth of 7.6 per cent to £11million in the last financial year.

Amongst those invited to tonight’s party is office manager at Thornbury Leisure Centre, Lorraine Andrews, who worked for Circadian for over 10 years and Yate Leisure Centre’s swim manager Holly Payne, who has worked for the organisation for 15 years.

Added Mr Crutchley: “I would like to thank everyone who has been through the doors of all our leisure centres, whether they be staff, like Lorraine, or customers for their commitment to a healthy lifestyle.

“We’ve seen so many success stories over the years. Holly is someone who has played a big part in that and shown real commitment to a lasting change. We can’t wait for the next 10 years.”

Holly said: “Every day is different, there is always a new challenge around the corner and I get a huge buzz out of teaching people to swim.”