Agenda item

The Director of Neighbourhood and Environmental Services submits a report which sets out the primary and secondary research that will inform the next five-year plan and outlines how Active Leicester will continue to respond effectively to both commercial pressures and wider social challenges.

The Director of Neighbourhood and Environmental Services submitted a report which set out the primary and secondary research that would inform the next five-year plan and outlined how Active Leicester would continue to respond effectively to both commercial pressures and wider social challenges.

The Head of Sports and the Leisure Facilities Development Manager attended the meeting to present the report and assist with the discussion.

Key Points included:         

·       This was a discretionary service which had been on a significant transformation journey over the last ten years.

·       In the first five years, the service had been re-structured, and issues had been considered, such as: Opening hours, expenditure controls, and ways to drive and improve performance and manage expenditure.

·       The following 5 years the focus has been on smart investments and strong branding.

·       Key products such as Learn to Swim and Healthy Fitness membership had grown significantly.  This had generated income.

·       There was a need to underpin the next five-year Leisure centre plan by doing a deep dive with primary and secondary research, looking at the condition of the centres and their performance.  Residents’ surveys had been carried out, and non-users had been engaged with as well as users.

Questions and comments were invited from the Commission; it was noted that:

• It was positive that membership had recovered following the Covid-19 pandemic, and it was noted that people were becoming more mindful on fitness and health.
• It was positive that work done on women in sport had been implemented.
• There were many challenges, some of which could be related to finance.  The growth in health and fitness had been tangible, but the biggest challenge was to reconcile improvement in financial performance whilst remaining accessible.
• Active Leicester services had done well at working with other departments to manage this challenge and the piloting of active wellbeing. In response to queries around cleanliness and pool temperature, it was recognised that ideally, more cleaners would be employed and temperatures increased, however, there was a need to balance this with staffing costs and bills.
• It was suggested that without continuous improvement, the centres would lose custom.
• It was suggested that there was a need to be innovative.  It was necessary to collect data and the views of the public before making proposals.
• It was noted that the service was subsidised by £2m.
• With regard to points made about some people being hard to reach, it was acknowledged that there was work to be done, and it was necessary to explore this more fully as much of this was done through the council’s Livewell service.  12 weeks were given free to clients of Livewell, followed by 18 months of subsidised access, however, it was necessary to get the message out.  The social responsibility aspect was factored in.
• The number of County residents using the Centres could be up to 30-40% in some centres such as Braunstone, Evington and Leicester Leys due to their catchment, however, users of other specific centres such as Cossington were likely 85-90% from the city.
• It was suggested that success stories from the centres could inspire people in sport.
• The next step was the development of a five-year plan for the leisure centres that will inform how take issues forward. The plan will be informed from the primary and secondary research.
• In response to suggestions surrounding the installation of Padel courts, it was explained that the council was aware of the padel market and facilitating external interest to invest in the city and therefore at the moment the focus would be to monitor the market. Analysis had been undertaken and whilst the emergence of Padel as a sport had been noticed, there was no current plans for the Council to provide Padel. Points were noted about its potential to encourage Young People.
• In response to questions about how to bridge the gap between the plan to increase income by £2m and also address the concerns around cost from non-members, it was explained that it was important to ensure that the price-point was correct in terms of value for money.  More people coming through the doors would increase income.  Currently, the council operated and provided substantial concession rate for eligible groups as part of its core pricing structure.
• In terms of working with various groups, this had been discussed with regard to gyms and leisure centres.  There is strong internal working between public health to active wellbeing and promote physical activity. The joint working and future plans at getting people active could come to the Commission.  It was additionally noted with respect to this that there was crossover with public health on programmes in chair exercises and to increase people’s core strength.

AGREED:

1)    That the report be noted.

2)    That comments made by members of this commission to be taken into account.