The Necessity of Public Consultation
The Necessity of Public Consultation
How public consultation can drive innovative leisure centre design
Henry Ford is quoted as saying, “If I had asked the people what they wanted, they would have said a faster horse.”
No one asks for something they don’t know exists. In fact, most of the time, people don’t know what they want until you show them. And this is particularly true when it comes to the design of leisure centres.
Why do we need to regenerate our leisure centres?
There’s no doubt that public leisure facilities need upgrading. According to Sport England, nearly two thirds of leisure centres are outdated. Figures show that up to 63% of sports halls and swimming pools are more than 10 years old, and almost a quarter of all sports halls and swimming pools have not been refurbished in over 20 years.
When it comes to regenerating or replacing sports halls, swimming pools, health and fitness and all the other facilities that leisure centres offer, it’s tempting to replace like for like simply because that’s what was done in the past. But this is a unique opportunity to create a bespoke solution that meets the needs of your location and your community, while attracting new audiences, creating new revenue streams and achieving public health outcomes. Having spent the over 20 years helping local authorities to successfully transform their leisure centres, we know that very often that means doing something different.
“Working recently to support county-wide transformation planning in the North East of England and implementing consultation models on a number of Towns Fund projects, we believe in ensuring that the needs of stakeholders and communities alike are effectively underpinned by sustainable facility modelling in the design process,” says James Foley, Commercial Director for Alliance.
Creating better design with public consultation
We can’t overstate the importance of consulting with your members, target users and the wider community when planning your leisure centre project. Engaging in meaningful public engagement will give you a better understanding of what your community wants from their local leisure centre and allows you to demonstrate how you can innovatively meet their needs.
We know families like to exercise together and we embrace the traditional participation routes such as family swimming or a game of badminton. Few families, however, would think to ask for an interactive climbing wall or a TAGactive adventure zone for their refurbished leisure centre. Or what about adventure in the great outdoors? By investing in innovative activities like these, clients like Denbighshire Leisure and Kirklees Active Leisure have been able to increase dwell time and secondary spend while encouraging more families to be active. Our forte is in truly recognising the benefit of an integrated facilities approach when working with our clients on their regeneration projects.
Likewise, how many Spinning fans would have an immersive group cycling studio on their wish list for their centre upgrade? Featuring a cinema-sized screen, top of the range audio and lighting systems and an immersive cycling workout, these spaces have revolutionised the group cycling experience and have the potential to attract a new and diverse audience to your leisure centre.
Sustainable leisure centre design
Having supported a number of clients through the Covid-19 pandemic, John Leaver, Head of Marketing for TA6 powered by Alliance Leisure, recognises that:
“Public leisure centres are vital assets for our communities, but many are outdated, and the facilities they offer are simply not attractive to modern users. Conducting a meaningful public consultation opens the eyes of your community to the variety of exciting leisure facilities that are available.
This, along with other tools like feasibility studies and demographic mapping, allows us and our trusted partners to develop the right leisure facility for your location and users to help ensure its long-term success.”
We can bring innovation to your project.
Get In TouchTA6 Launch Masterclass Series
The team at TA6 have announced an upcoming Masterclass Webinar series running online on Zoom from the 8th to 11th December from 1.30-2.30pm.
Designed to prepare those working in the leisure sector for 2021, the series covers the following areas:
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Sales
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Customer Service
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Communication
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Marketing
Book your place on an invidual course for £25 per person per webinar, or purchase access to entire series for just £50 per person.
Learn More About the Series and Register Your Place
ta6 masterclass seriesCoronavirus Update: November 2020
As we reflect upon the implications of the announcement of England’s upcoming national lockdown, we at Alliance Leisure and TA6 are disheartened and concerned about the effects of the ‘second wave’ of the COVID-19 virus on our staff, clients, supply chain, and the health and wellbeing of the wider community.
We are working to continue delivering services and support to members of the leisure sector across the UK, as we were fortunate to be able to do throughout and ever since the first national lockdown.
We are dedicated to supporting the sector, and we continue to encourage our staff to actively help their local communities whenever possible.
Operator Resources
Follow the link below to access the free operator resource library built by TA6, which is updated regularly to contain the most relevant and helpful information and assets for you.
Alternatively, you can contact TA6 if you would like to discuss other ways in which we can help, including planning your comeback campaign.
A New Look for Alliance Leisure
A new look for Alliance Leisure! But the same great service, people and results!
2019 saw Alliance Leisure celebrate 20 years of providing developments and client support to the UK leisure market. And now in 2020 we’re refreshing our brand.
With the launch of TA6 last year and the continued success of the UK Leisure Framework the new logo strengthens the relationship between these core parts of the company and gives a new and unique identity to the business.
Our Cube icon represents the 5 elements of the business:
- Design
- Build
- Fund
- Deliver
- Support
To find out more about our services CLICK HERE or contact a member of OUR TEAM today.
Coronavirus Update
All of us at Alliance Leisure are hugely concerned by the wide sweeping effect of the COVID-19 virus on our staff, our clients, our supply chain and the health and well-being of the wider community.
We are working hard with all of our stakeholders to continue delivering services in these challenging and unprecedented times.
We will do our very best to support the sector and at an individual level, we encourage our staff to actively help their local communities.
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