LEISURE and library services in Flintshire have reopened after the council took over the running of them from Aura.

Aura, which had run most leisure, library and heritage services in Flintshire since 2017, passed the reigns over to Flintshire Council at the end of October. 

It came after the non-profit organisation failed to reach a funding agreement with the council for an extension to its contract. 

Council officials said they were "disappointed" after a proposed new deal offered to the employee-owned company during the summer was rejected.

However, Aura representatives said it contained stipulations they could not legally agree to.

Services were briefly closed as the transition from Aura to the new Flintshire Libraries and Leisure Limited (FLL) took place.

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The council has confirmed services are now operational and thanked people for their understanding.

A spokesperson said: "We appreciate the support and understanding from customers during this time. To say thank you, everyone with an existing leisure direct debit or annual membership will get a FREE month.

"For direct debit customers, we will not collect payment in November, but all benefits will remain. We will resume collections as normal on either December 5 or 19. For annual members, your current end date will be extended by 1 month.

"We are also working hard to upgrade our website and online booking service, so please bear with us while this work is ongoing."