Royston Leisure Centre, managed by Stevenage Leisure Limited (SLL) on behalf of North Hertfordshire District Council, was crowned as the Highest Scoring Facility Management Centre 2012 out of more than 600 facilities at the recent national Quest/NBS Conference held at Holywell Park, Loughborough.

In a two day assessment, Royston Leisure Centre was rated as 'excellent' in areas including maintenance and equipment, teamwork and continuous improvement.

It was also rated 'excellent' in environmental management, by demonstrating that comprehensive energy saving measures are in place, with tangible results measured, evaluated and fed back to customers and clients to help make future improvements.

Ian Morton, SLL's Managing Director, said: "To be rated as the best in the country from more than 600 centres which were Quest assessed is a fantastic achievement, and it is a fitting tribute to the hard work and high standards that the team at Royston delivers on behalf of NHDC and the local community."

Cllr Ian Knighton, NHDC's portfolio holder for leisure, said: "This award is a superb achievement and recognition of the excellent management of the Council's leisure centre by Stevenage Leisure Limited. The real winners are people in and around Royston who know that they have a nationally acclaimed leisure facility serving their community."