Agenda item

To provide an update to the Culture and Visitor Economy Overview and Scrutiny Committee on the performance of LeisureSK Ltd against the leisure management contract objectives.

LeisureSK Ltd had continued to face operational challenges over recent months especially relating to the increase in costs of materials from suppliers and the significant rise in energy costs.  This all aligned with the national picture and challenges facing other leisure providers nationally.  The recruitment of suitably qualified staff also continued to be challenging. However, the Board of Directors appointed a new Contract Manager who joined the company in April 2022. 

Since joining the company, the Contract Manager, with the support of the Board, had reviewed the company staffing structure to try and mitigate the cost increases without impacting upon the levels of service delivery and customer experience.  A comprehensive job evaluation of all roles within the company was finalised in April 2022 with job roles being scored and aligned to a pay grading scale which provided consistency across the company and ensured that pay was competitive with other leisure providers.

The Board of Directors have been keen to ensure the employees of LeisureSK Ltd are being invested in and developed.  As part of this, Managers have been enrolled onto a Management Development Course which has been developed and delivered by The HR Branch over a period of six months.  In addition to this, LeisureSK Ltd were working with a national apprenticeship provider, Lifetime Training.

LeisureSK Ltd had upskilled two senior Managers onto the Royal Lifesaving Society’s (RLSS) National Pool Supervisor Qualification (NPSQ) tutor programme.  This training was planned to be delivered to Duty Manager’s and Senior Leisure Assistant’s during 2023.  LeisureSK Ltd continued to develop their programme of community and outreach activities promoting and increasing their health and wellbeing offering.

Other initiatives introduced within the centres by LeisureSK Ltd included ‘Exercise on Prescription’ in partnership with One You Lincolnshire across all facilities.  This was a 12-week structured physical activity programme following referral by a health care professional aimed at those doing less than 150 mins of physical activity a week.

Partnerships continued to be developed between the Council, LeisureSK Ltd and organisations within the county such as One You Lincolnshire, Active Lincolnshire and Inspire+, local GP surgeries and social prescribers and Shine Lincolnshire.

Following approval at Cabinet in September 2022, Bourne Leisure Centre underwent a £137,000 gym refurbishment programme in November 2022. This included brand new equipment, creation of a dedicated studio space, a separate free weights area, and new gym flooring throughout. This resulted in a small uplift in the monthly membership cost and has contributed to an increase in membership sales within the centre.

In November 2022, the decision was made at Full Council to permanently close the Deepings Leisure Centre and not to proceed with the previously agreed refurbishment plans, to hand the asset back to Lincolnshire County Council (LCC) and to also transfer the management of the Linchfield Road Playing Fields back to LCC.

The Table Tennis Centre (TTC) at Grantham Meres Leisure Centre continued to be used by the National Health Service (NHS) as a COVID-19 mass vaccination centre until they announced its closure in December 2022.  During the operation of the vaccination centre, sports hall bookings were successfully relocated into other parts of the centre.

LeisureSK Ltd successfully launched Meres Lives events, securing the acts directly, and with the Council’s Arts Team providing ticketing services. Additional gym equipment was installed at Stamford following on from the refurbishment project at Bourne Leisure Centre, utilising some of the outgoing equipment as a result of member feedback.

Following on from customer feedback a programme review was undertaken in October 2022 which resulted in an increase in opening hours at the start of each weekday.  This allowed for additional public swimming, club swimming sessions and Aquafit classes. Further programming reviews were underway to explore the possibility of extending the hours in the evening to allow for additional group exercise classes and lane swimming.

Overall, there had been a marked improvement in cleanliness at Leisure facilities with a reduced number of customer complaints being received by LeisureSK Ltd or made directly to the Council.

The full building condition surveys, carried out across all the Leisure Centres and Sports Stadium between March 2022 and May 2022, were reviewed by the Council’s Leisure and Property Teams and presented to an Internal Property Management Group, with works being prioritised for completion based on the severity and risk identified.  Major works have been completed across all centres.

The availability of contractors to carry out maintenance tasks and repairs continued to be an issue, resulting in a small back log. However, the site teams were continuing to work with reliable contractors to resolve this. Additionally, the team at Grantham Meres Leisure Centre recruited an in-house part-time Maintenance Assistant for three days per week which had resulted in a noticeable improvement to maintenance issues at both the Leisure Centre and Sports Stadium.

Members raised the following points during discussion:

·            Had attendance figures increased at all remaining swimming pools since the closure of Deepings Leisure Centre?

·            It was disappointing that as South Holland had received funding, it was expected that some residents of the Deepings would use their facilities.

·            The Hydro and aqua exercise classes were welcomed as different and original and would draw in new custom.

·            Bourne Leisure Centre gym had recently been upgraded.  Had this had a positive effect on attendance?

·            Number of accidents logged at The Meres, Grantham was still high.  Why was this?

The Assistant Director of Culture and Leisure informed Members that the closure of Deepings Leisure Centre had caused an upturn in attendance at Bourne and Stamford but not at Grantham due to the travelling distance.  The Officer confirmed that attendance at Bourne Leisure Centre Gym had fallen slightly, however, this was expected in December and January which are generally quieter in attendance.  Access was also restricted during the refurbishment of the Gym but had been really well received since opened.

The Meres had a higher amount in footfall compared to the other Leisure Centres so it had been expected that accident numbers would be higher.

ACTION:

Latest attendance figures for the swimming pools across the District were to be circulated to Members of the Committee.

It was proposed, seconded, and AGREED that the Culture and Visitor Economy Overview and Scrutiny Committee:

a)         Noted the contents of this report and suggested any enhancements to the level of information provided for inclusion in the next six-monthly update.