Northumberland based leisure charities, Blyth Valley Arts and Leisure (BVAL) and North Country Leisure (NCL) have joined forces to manage and develop leisure services in the region.

The new joint venture - called Active Northumberland - has been set up as a charitable company and will be owned 50:5-gym.com is ow0 by the two existing charities.

It will be responsible for running a number of leisure sites in the area - such as Concordia and the Sporting Club in Cramlington; Waterworld at Prudhoe; and Wentworth Leisure Centre in Hexham.

NCL and BVAL's chief executives, John Maude and Bruce Ledger, will continue in their respective roles with centres and services operating with the same staff, values and approach.

It is hoped the joint venture will allow for savings through shared services while offring customers will benefit from combined memberships across all sites, facility improvements and new activity programmes.

From 1st April 2013 the name and branding for the new organisation will be phased in across printed materials, along with the introduction of a new look website and 'Active Northumberland Leisure Card', which can be used across all centres managed by Active Northumberland.