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Seb Rowe joins Alliance Leisure as Delivery Manager for the North of England

With the business seeing substantial growth, Seb will be responsible for developing and delivering a range of progressive leisure development opportunities within the public leisure sector.

Alongside working in Programme Management for the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, Seb’s previous career highlights include heading up Business Development at Life Leisure, an Award-winning leisure operator, alongside his role of Special Projects for the company.

An accomplished Project Manager and Prince 2 practitioner, Seb is an ex professional football player, and a ukactive Future Leader alumni.

I am truly excited about Seb joining the team with his wealth of knowledge and practical experience providing a unique blend within the sector. His growth mindset, and ability to inspire marks for exciting times ahead for Seb within the business. On behalf of all at Team Alliance, we are delighted to welcome Seb and his young family to join us on our journey

James Foley

Commercial Director

MEET THE REST OF THE ALLIANCE TEAM

Welcome to LeisureBot.io (sort of!)

April Fools!

Don’t worry, we’re not letting robots take over the world (yet).

How many April Fools easter eggs did you spot?

Alliance Leisure Hands Over £7 Million 365-Day Activity Hub In Brentwood

Brentwood Borough Council has officially opened a new, all year round activity hub which has transformed an under-utilised recreation ground into an active, accessible, environment that will encourage everyone in the community to move more.

The £7 million scheme to transform King George’s Playing Fields in Brentwood, began in January 2021 and has been delivered by Alliance Leisure, Lead Development Contractor on the UK leisure Framework, owned by Denbighshire Leisure.

The project forms part of the council’s 10-year Leisure Strategy. Running until 2028, the strategy outlines the council’s vision for a high quality, accessible, affordable and financially sustainable sport and leisure provision which delivers a mix of facilities and services that will service the diverse needs of residents both now and in the future.

The transformation of King George’s Playing Fields is an important part of Brentwood Borough Council’s ambitions to future-proof its leisure and recreation facilities. This project is a prime example of how to re-think public leisure provision, creating accessible and financially sustainable facilities that will ensure a successful future for this much loved park, while improving the health and wellbeing of local people.

Ruth Ripsher

Business Development Manager, Alliance Leisure

Creating a diverse, sustainable leisure provision

Prior to this investment, the recreation ground already offered a variety of sports and recreation facilities including a children’s play area, skate park, football and rugby pitches, bowls greens, a 1970’s pavilion used by Hartswood Golf Club and a privately-run crazy golf course.

The purpose of the development has been focused on supporting the borough’s anticipated housing growth and the fulfilment of an ambition to increase participation in physical activity, especially amongst young people.

Following consultation with key stakeholders and the wider public, Alliance Leisure, working through the UK Leisure Framework with a dedicated supply chain of leisure specialists, has delivered a mix of facilities, both inside and outside of a new-build pavilion, that balances financial viability for the council with addressing the leisure needs of residents.

Planning for the redevelopment was secured at the end of 2019, but the pandemic meant that construction was delayed. Works finally got underway in January 2021 with most of the development opening to the public on 11th March 2022.

Accessible sport and physical activity for everyone

The project centrepiece is an impressive new pavilion which replaces a building previously occupied mainly by Hartswood Golf Club. Built in the 1970s, the structure required significant work to upgrade the site and transform the provision into a multi-purpose venue that would inspire and engage a much wider segment of the community.

Designed by Saunders Boston Architects and built by ISG, the new building, named the Hartswood Pavilion – is located adjacent to the current pavilion which is due to be demolished now that the new building is complete. It is a two-story structure which has been sunken into the ground reducing its impact on the openness of the green belt and carefully considered composite cladding applied to the building exterior, which ensures it blends into its surroundings, complementing rather than defining the natural environment. The footprint of the new Pavillion is also larger than the original enabling it to serve both the golf club membership and the wider public with an extended range of facilities, including the park’s first indoor play provision.

The high quality, flexible space includes new changing rooms, toilet and showers for local rugby and football teams, a golf clubhouse and Golf Pro Shop, as well as a bar with a terrace providing far reaching views of the golf course, bowls club and surrounds. Other facilities include a flexible, multi-purpose room, a Changing Places facility, a café, a two-storey soft play facility designed and delivered by Play Revolution and a sensory room providing a safe therapeutic space to help individuals regulate, develop and engage their senses as their interact with and explore the environment around them.

The new pavilion also features TAGactive, an indoor immersive game-based obstacle course, also from Play Revolution, which can be enjoyed as an individual or with friends and family. The TAGactive arena features a number of challenges, including net climbs, cargo tunnels and ball pools, all of which have a number of Tags within them which participants must tap with a sensor on their wrist. The more difficult the Tag to reach, the more points achieved.

Driving revenue for a sustainable future

Working through the UK Leisure Framework, the priority, in terms of design and delivery, was to create a destination everyone in the community could utilise both now and in the future. To achieve this, extensive feasibility studies were conducted prior to build, matching facility provision to latent demand. It was also important not to exclude any segments of the community due to accessibility or cost, hence the diverse mix of paid and free facilities supported by services that promote inclusion and access for those living with mobility issues and other disabilities.

Supplementing the indoor provision are external facilities including an adventure play area. Designed by Kompan for children aged eight and above, the facility has a range of challenging structures – the highest of which measures circa 10m – and includes slides, towers and nets. Opening to the public in April 2022, all sessions are 55 minutes long.

Also opening in April 2022 is a new, accessible splash pad. Developed on the footprint of the park’s former paddling pools, which were removed in 2017 for health and safety reasons, the splash pad from Ustigate is supported by a Changing Places facility, new toilets and a kiosk. The new space features nature themed aquatic play structures and a variety of ground water jets such as sidewinders, directional jets and a cylinder spray to provide a wide range of play opportunities.

Both the splash pad and climbing facility are chargeable, while the park’s recently improved junior and toddler play areas are free of charge. The whole area is also served by a network of walking and cycling trails to encourage active travel.

Brentwood Borough Council has invested more than £7m in the development of these facilities so that King George's Playing Fields has activities all year round. The playing fields play a pivotal part in helping our community to improve their health and wellbeing.
We were also committed to providing accessible facilities, such as the new splash pad, introducing two new changing places facilities, a new sensory room as well as brand new soft play and the TAGactive facilities.
In addition to the facilities in the new pavilion building, the Council has also invested in the free outdoor play areas which not only makes for an exciting day out, but also has a huge range of challenging structures and high and lower level areas to be explored by adventurous children.
As the weather starts to warm up, it is going to be great to see families enjoying all these new activities.

Councillor Cliff Poppy

Brentwood Borough Council’s Chair of Community and Health Committee

Moving forwards, the site will be operated by Everyone Active on behalf of the Brentwood Borough Council. Everyone Active is Part of Sports and Leisure Management Ltd and is the longest-established leisure contractor in the UK. Duncan Jefford, Regional Director at Everyone Active, comments: “We’re delighted to be welcomed into the district’s community to continue our partnership with the council by managing the new King George’s Playing Fields alongside The Brentwood Centre.

VIEW MORE OF OUR COMPLETED PROJECTS

A Framework Fit for Leisure

When it comes to the best procurement framework to choose, it isn’t the case that one size fits all. With the unique and specific demands of the leisure sector, a complete ‘delivery solution’, that is tailored for public leisure, better delivers the required outcomes of a project and ongoing operational success. The UK Leisure Framework provides exactly that solution. Owned by Denbighshire Leisure and delivered by Alliance Leisure, public leisure facilities are being transformed across the country.

So, how does this ‘leisure expertise’ provide benefits and support development success? The answer can be seen during all three phases of a project; before, during and after.

Before a project gets started when it is an aspiration waiting to take flight, analysis of the local demographic, competition, mystery shops and customer demand, provided by those that understand the market, are all essential to give key insight. Early engagement of leisure specialist consultant / architect / contractor / suppliers, all under a single appointment by the development partner, ensures joined up working from the different disciplines aimed towards a common goal. At this stage, the key outcomes are identified which reach further than purely commercial success, aiming for improved community health and wellbeing linked to strategic objectives of sector Governing Bodies. This understanding of the market and demographic intelligence informs the progression of the concept so the seed is sown to put the project on the right path.

A framework development partner, who has the capability to provide a public consultation platform and even facilitate the procurement of an operator, saves client time and resource whilst helping move the project forwards to achieve approval.

As design progresses, the experience of decades in delivering leisure schemes coupled with a constant research and development of leisure product innovation, provides unique expertise that ‘sprinkles the stardust’ on design to create exciting and engaging facilities that drive repeat user visits, time after time (for example, White Oak Leisure Centre). The assembled project team, bringing together industry specialists under the framework umbrella, keep ‘buildability’ at the heart within the defined budget envelope by early contractor engagement

Portfolio

Take a look at our portfolio of developments that cover everything from refurbishments to new builds

The interface between the main construction and the customer end-point is key, and this link can be overlooked without a team who have a background in leisure enabling a unique understanding of the requirements from the operator and users. As an example, when developing a Soft Play facility within a new leisure centre, it is one thing to construct the space and then install the play structure, but key consideration needs to be given to; access control for the space, customer journey, avoiding ‘pinch points’ in customer flow, parental viewing, food and beverage link, features to encourage repeat visits, secondary spend opportunities and so on. This type of analysis applies to all areas.

Constructing a building is not a unique skill but creating a place that reaches out and engages with the wider community, is.

During project delivery, an understanding of the need to keep a leisure operation ‘live’ is often crucial, and a delivery team with a leisure operational background can work through solutions to ensure continuity of service for members of the public (as was the case with our development at Haverhill Leisure Centre). An appreciation of the key service elements that must remain open feeds into construction phasing plans, programming and temporary spaces where necessary. An effective development partner works in the space between the principle contractor and client, adding value throughout the process with an understanding of the nuances of sector. Delivered by a dependable team that are genuinely there every step of the way, from concept to completion, gives continuity to the client throughout the journey with a solution-focussed group working in collaboration.

After the new facility has been delivered, the operational outcomes take priority (commercial, environmental, social) and a true development partner will be able to offer a bespoke support package, based on experience in working with leisure operators across the country, to help achieve and exceed targets.

Providing firm costs and mitigating risk, whilst delivering value for money and social benefits, should all be a given from a robust framework delivery partner. Industry specific expertise though, is the difference in delivering a project fit for the future.

Our Top 4 Takeaways:

Early engagement with all partners and suppliers ensures a joined up working from the different disciplines aimed towards a common goal
A leisure specialist development partner adds value throughout the process with a unique understanding of the nuances of the sector.
An understanding of the need to keep a leisure operation ‘live’ is crucial
A true development partner will be able to offer a bespoke support package to help achieve and exceed targets

About the author:

Tom Fairey is Development Director at Alliance Leisure and has been with the company since 2011.

Meet the rest of the team on the link below or head over to LinkedIn to connect with Tom.

MEET THE ALLIANCE TEAM

MORE ABOUT THE UK LEISURE FRAMEWORK

Alliance Leisure Celebrates a Promotion and a New Joiner

Alliance Leisure has promoted Tom Fairey into the new position of Development Director. The move coincides with the extension of the development team and the welcoming of Chris Ames as Alliance Delivery Manager.

Tom joined Alliance Leisure in 2011 as Business Development Manager and has spent the last decade transforming communities through the delivery of inspirational activity focused development projects, mainly in the South East.

In his new role, Tom will continue to oversee a portfolio of development projects whilst also making a valuable contribution to the future planning and strategic direction of the company via a seat on the Development Board.

Tom says: “Over the last 10 years I have learnt so much and I am keen to apply my expertise to help shape the future direction of the company. Despite the financial challenges facing local authorities, Alliance Leisure has a health pipeline of committed large-scale development projects.

“Working in partnership with local authorities and via our continued role as Lead Development Partner on the UK Leisure Framework, owned by Denbighshire Leisure, we remain committed to our ambition to create active environments that support healthy, happy and prosperous communities.”

In addition, Alliance has welcomed Chris Ames as Alliance Delivery Manager. Chris joins the company from a background in facility management and will sit in Tom’s team, looking on delivering development projects in the South East.

Chris brings with him a wealth of experience across the public and private sectors. Building on 10 years first-hand experience of leisure and hospitality management, Chris moved on to leisure contract management, procurement and facility development. Most recently, Chris worked as Director of Business Development for SLT Group, focused on business growth, service development and private facility and business acquisitions.

Chris says: “Working in public sector facility management and business development for so many years, I crossed paths with Alliance Leisure on many occasions and the professionalism, dedication and expertise of the team has always stood out to me. Being part of that team now, I look forward to helping other Local Authorities and Trusts shape their own leisure facilities through the experience and specialisation that Alliance brings.”

Commenting on the two new positions, Sarah Watts, CEO, Alliance Leisure, says: “As the company continues to increase its presence as the UK’s leading leisure development specialist, it is fantastic to be able to reward existing and welcome new expertise. Tom has played a vital role in the company’s growth and success over the last ten years so it is only fitting that we recognise this outstanding contribution through extending his influence in our strategic decisions. Introducing Chris to the team brings a new depth to our expertise which I am sure will be instrumental in the onward success of the business.”

MEET THE ALLIANCE TEAM

JONNY CURLEY JOINS ALLIANCE LEISURE

To kick off 2022, Alliance Leisure is pleased to announce the appointment of industry heavy-weight, Jonny Curley, to drive leisure development across Scotland.

Jonny Curley will take on the role of Senior Business Development Manager (Scotland) to enhance the company’s ability to develop and deliver its existing pipeline of leisure projects and future development plans. Located in Glasgow, Jonny will utilise his industry experience and extensive network to further enhance the company’s progress in Scotland while supporting on other projects UK wide.

Commenting on the appointment, Alliance Leisure’s Managing Director, Paul Cluett, says: “Jonny has been involved with many Alliance projects as a supplier over the years and we have always enjoyed working with him and been aware of his similar work ethic and values. Now the timing is right for him to join us and we are delighted to welcome him into the business.

“Alliance Leisure is already playing a significant role in leisure development across Scotland, thanks mainly to our growing network of local authorities and involvement in the Scottish Leisure Network Group. Bringing Jonny onboard means we can continue to build on these foundations and become an even more integral component of future leisure development across the region.”

Jonny brings with him over 25 years of leisure experience. In 2010, he joined Origin Fitness as a Director and co-owner playing a key role in developing the business over a ten-year period. More recently, he joined Hutchinson Technologies as Sales Director. Both roles were with Scottish based companies, positioning Jonny as one of the most experienced and accomplished industry leaders in the region.

With a passion for driving success through the creation and management of a strong and positive company culture, Jonny also sits on the CIMSPA Scotland Professional Development Board and also the Scottish Leisure Network Group.

Jonny says: “A strong leisure provision has the potential to drive health, happiness and prosperity across entire communities and I am looking forward to using my network and expertise to help Alliance Leisure develop leisure spaces and centres throughout Scotland. Over the years, I have worked with Alliance Leisure on a number of projects and have always been impressed by the dedication, professionalism and expertise of the team. When an opportunity was presented for me to become a part of that team, I jumped at it.”

Meet the whole team here…

Meet the Team

Active Families Report

Active Families Report (download available)

Alliance Leisure is proud to announce the launch of Active Families, an exploration of the vital role that family life plays in a child’s exposure to physical activity and the positive contribution purpose built facilities can play on the journey. The report has been compiled in partnership with ukactive and is available to download now.

DOWNLOAD REPORT

“During the pandemic families faced huge challenges but there were some positives to emerge,” says Sarah Watts, CEO, Alliance Leisure. “According to Sport England research, 21 per cent of 7-16 year olds reported they were more active as a family during lockdown.¹ This is encouraging news and highlights the important role that family can play in helping young people reach physical activity targets.

“Active Families shines a light on two important factors. Firstly, it explores the many benefits of family physical activity, whilst also highlighting barriers to participation and how they can be overcome. It also looks at a child’s physical development needs at various stages of their life and how these needs are answered by the current activity provision.

“Secondly, the report showcases Alliance’s work with TAGactive to evidence how innovative physical activity solutions can provide positive and viable activity choices to families and encourage them to exercise regularly together.

“We are very pleased to have contributed to this important piece of work. As childhood obesity continues to rise and many schools struggle to deliver the Chief Medical Officer’s recommended daily physical activity target, the role of the family in helping children to achieve physical literacy is more critical than ever. Developing accessible family focused facilities that inspire movement can encourage the formation of habits and values that are likely to carry into adulthood, safeguarding the health and wellbeing of our future generations.”

Reference

1 Sport England (2020) Children’s experience of physical activity in lockdown https://www.thinkactive.org/wp-content/ uploads/2020/07/Sport-England-Childrens-experience-of- physical-activity.pdf

To see how Alliance Leisure can help operators develop their facilities for families click on the link below…

Family Developments

Discussion Topics from Tomorrow’s Workout

The Bolton Whites Hotel was host to Tomorrow’s Workout trade fitness event on the 14^th September 2021 and was attended by a range of suppliers, private operators, councils, leisure trusts and personal trainers.

Alliance Leisure and TA6 sent along a few of the team to listen to the speaker programme as well as meet with suppliers who were exhibiting at the conference. Here’s a brief summary of the discussion points throughout the day.

The morning session kicked of with a simple question, what’s the word on the street?

Sarah Watts, founder and CEO of Alliance Leisure spoke about value, decarbonisation and localism, particularly in relation to the public sector.

The challenges of pivoting a franchise model to selling a club within a club was explained by Jamie Cartwright, owner of Hatton Boxing and co-founder of BOX12. Jamie also explained the difficulties in scaling a business that is reliant on its rockstars.

Kate Landers from Creative Fitness Marketing explained about organic reach and suggested attendees check out Facebook Blueprint for training opportunities.

Mike Hind MBE, talked passionately about building a community within his club and how word-of-mouth advertising is more powerful than paid-for campaigns.

In the afternoon discussions focussed on the consumer. Ian Mullane, founder and CEO of the AI-powered sales and retention platform Keepme kicked off by talking about the importance of health and wellness to the consumer and using wearables to personalise an experience.

Andy King, chair of GMactive and CEO of Link4Life, explained how customers had missed the connection and sense of community during lockdown. He also referenced talk of the sector achieving a 20% penetration rate by 2030.

Lynn Wilson from Volaire Leisure explained to the group about projects in St Helens that had focussed on mental health, particularly in younger customers as part of the Holiday Activities and Food Programme (HAF).

Local authorities leading the charge in responding to the world’s ‘code red’ on climate change

Local authorities are leading the way in helping the UK to meet its net zero targets, says development partner Alliance Leisure, following the launch of the UN’s landmark report on climate change.

James Foley, Commercial Director at Alliance Leisure, says public sector providers in particular are playing a key role in cutting greenhouse gas emissions ahead of the government’s 2050 target by committing to strategic projects to decarbonise their activities through targeted investment in equipment and infrastructure.

“The latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Report shows that human activity is “unequivocally” the cause of rapid changes to the climate resulting in extreme heatwaves, droughts and flooding. We are working with public sector leisure providers across the UK to improve energy efficiencies and cut carbon emissions across entire communities,” he says.

“Many of the UK’s sports and leisure centres were built in the 1970s and are extremely energy inefficient generating high carbon emissions. Any improvements we make to these sites will have a significant impact on local sustainability targets.”

For example, Alliance Leisure is working with Hambleton District Council to cut carbon emissions across four leisure centres at Northallerton, Stokesley, Bedale and Thirsk. Alliance helped the council to secure a £4.7m Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme grant to fund the installation of new heat pumps, solar panels and LED light fittings. Projections indicate these collective efficiencies will result in 57 per cent per annum reduction in the carbon output for each centre, with the added bonus of a £38,985 projected cost saving per year.

The government’s Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme is designed to help councils improve efficiencies and cut carbons from public sector buildings. Both rounds of the fund proved a huge success with phase two closing after just one week after receiving applications worth more than £150m for the £75m fund.

“This demonstrates just how proactive local authorities are in delivering the net zero agenda. And we are firmly committed to helping our public sector partners play their part in cutting carbon emissions to help avert a climate catastrophe.”

The climate crisis and the findings from the IPCC report will be a key focus at the international summit, scheduled to take place in Glasgow, UK, this November.

3G Pitches Open in Holyhead

New 3G Pitches Opened

A new 3G pitch was recently completed by Alliance Leisure in Garreglwyd Park in Holyhead, Anglesey.

The works, on behalf of Isle of Anglesey County Council, consisted of converted 3 old tennis courts into a new 3G pitch which has a rugby compliant surface.

The project investment was £161k and was completed inside the proposed budget and 3 weeks ahead of schedule too! Partners Durasport and Surfacing Standards worked with Alliance Leisure to deliver this fantastic community asset.