Articles Tagged with: swimming pool

Reducing Carbon Footprint: MyActive Biddulph’s Green Initiative

Reducing Carbon Footprint:

MyActive Biddulph’s Green Initiative

Sustainability works have completed at MyActive Biddulph on behalf of Staffordshire Moorlands District Council to install heat recovery and variable speed fans. The £176k project was delivered by leisure development specialists Alliance Leisure and Leisure Energy via the UK Leisure Framework. Funding was provided by the Swimming Pool Support Fund which has also invested £80 million into 442 swimming pools across the country since last year.

Gareth Liversedge, Business Development Manager, Alliance Leisure, says:

It’s unfortunate that valuable community assets like swimming pools emit a large share of the council’s carbon emissions, however, energy efficiency works such as these at Biddulph will reduce these substantially. We’re proud to have completed the works on-time and on-budget.

Sports Minister Stuart Andrew, said:

“We are sticking to our plan to get millions more people active by 2030, because we know that active people are fitter, happier and healthier. Millions of people swim every year in England, but increased energy costs mean some pools are struggling financially. This further £60 million of support from the Government and Sport England will ensure hundreds of swimming pools can lower their operating costs in the long run, and continue to provide an important service for communities across the country.”

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Alliance Leisure & TA6 Partner with Swim England

Alliance Leisure and TA6 have launched a strategic partnership with Swim England to encourage the development of more inspiring and sustainable pools and wet-side facilities for local communities.

“Swimming pools can be under-utilised and inefficient in terms of the return on investment but this does not need to be the case. When thoughtfully designed, well programmed and equipped, these spaces become valuable community assets that deliver a viable return for local authorities,” says Paul Woodford, Director of Marketing and Partnerships at TA6 powered by Alliance Leisure.

As the official National Governing Body for swimming in England, Swim England has the insight and experience to optimise pool environments, coupled with a strategic plan to encourage more people to swim. Working together under this new strategic partnership, Alliance will be able to draw on this expertise to find the best solution for local authorities and leisure trusts when developing new facilities or upgrading their existing stock.

“Swimming is an inclusive activity that creates opportunities for engagement that few other facilities can match, but only with the right design, workforce programming and management. As the client services arm of Alliance Leisure, TA6 will work with Swim England to ensure the programming and technology implemented in pools and wet-side projects reflect the bespoke needs of the local population, delivering a financially sustainable service that delivers community value.”

Natalie McGuire, Senior Engagement Manager at Swim England who has been fundamental to developing this collaborative approach, said:

“Working with Alliance Leisure and TA6 to actively apply Swim England’s insight, knowledge and expertise provides leisure operators with a tested solution for commercial success.

This partnership is built, not only as a result of complementary products and services but through the alignment of shared values and cultures. We are delighted to be working alongside a sector leader who shares our passion for people first thinking. Together we look to reimagine aquatic provision both in terms of capital development and commercial delivery.”

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.

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