Basildon Council has announced that the operators of a multi-million pound sports complex due to open in April will have to meet a number of performance targets.

Community Solutions for Leisure (CSL) will be tasked with attaining Quest accreditation by May 2012 and will also have to improve participation rates as part of the measures. The local authority has confirmed that financial penalties will be imposed if CSL fails to meet the conditions, which also include maintenance and customer service requirements.

Basildon Council manager of leisure services Paul Brace said: "As is common with a contract of this type there are a series of escalating penalties should they fail to meet the targets we set. "The council and CSL will be working closely to ensure that both services provided and the building are maintained to the highest quality."