Published by Councillor Bruce Boughton, 12 Hampton Close, Tamworth, Staffordshire B79 8TX

I am delighted that the Castle Grounds Activity Centre was opened on Thursday 7th August.  The evolution from Treasure Island to the new centre has not been without opposition but the finished centre demonstrates how right the Council was to seek changes.  Many more children and families will use the centre than ever did previously.

 

Background

The Treasure Island facility previously consisted of an outdoor wet play area, an indoor play area, two storage rooms, tennis courts and crazy golf.  At the time of the October 2007 Cabinet Report the costs associated with the site were high while usage and income were falling.  The Leisure Futures Project had previously sought to outsource the site through a public tender but no suitable responses had been forthcoming.  The site was also operating on a reduced budget and likely to overspend on budget.

In October 2007, Cabinet agreed to an option which sought to maximise the value gained from the facility whilst minimising the costs. The proposal also linked the site more closely to the Council’s Corporate Objectives.  One major impact of the proposal was the planned reduction in staffing levels and the closure of the outdoor play facility. The relatively new Castle Grounds play area neighbouring the Treasure Island facility was offering better outdoor play provision at no cost to residents.

Despite a positive approach to communicating the benefits of such a change, there was understandably concern amongst staff and service users.  In both cases management attempted to resolve these concerns and followed TBC policy and procedures. In relation to public concerns managers communicated through the press and via letters, flyers and notices. Managers also met directly with customers concerned by the changes. The key concern from customers was over the closure of the indoor play area. This concern was unfounded as this element of the service was to be retained albeit at a reduced level in terms of floor space and on reduced opening times that better reflected customer demand.

 

Human Resources

The new model of service delivery for the Castle Grounds Activity Centre meant that existing staff within the Community Leisure Service such as the Sports Development Manager would be more closely involved with the site and having brokered an agreement with the Pavilion café to provide access to the Tennis Courts and Crazy Golf the level of staffing resource required at the site was much reduced. Consequently in total two members of staff were made redundant, one full time (37hrs) and one part time (5.75hrs).  A further two members of staff were re-deployed within the organisation.

 

 

Capital Investment

A sum of £46,750 has been invested into re-developing the site into one which can offer a greater range of activities.  The majority of the Capital Works were focussed on removing the old outdoor play area and in refurbishing the indoor play area and associated rooms.  The Capital works have resulted in a complete refurbishment of the Indoor Play area including all new equipment and activities.

South Staffordshire Primary Care Trust has further enhanced the project by providing £50,000 worth of funding to establish and equip a referral gym with brand new exercise equipment to support the GP referral scheme.

 

Castle Grounds Activity Centre

The bulk of the Capital works at the site have been completed for some time and parts of the centre have been operational throughout the project. However a formal launch of the project is scheduled for the 7th of August 2008.

The revamped site has been named the Castle Grounds Activity Centre and offers the following services:

· Tennis and Crazy Golf, these facilities are accessed via the Pavilion Café

· A base for Outdoor events which has already been used on St Georges day and is included in the forthcoming Arts Festival and Summer Festivals

· A referral gym with dry changing, open Tues/Weds/Thurs, taking referrals for Smoking Cessation, Cardiac Rehab and GP Referrals.

· An indoor playroom with access to outdoor play. Open mornings on Tues/Weds/Thurs, offering educational play with health/dietary advice.

· An Activity Room, this is currently offering music taster sessions to young people. Other activities will also be delivered in this space.

· Mobile Leisure activities such as street hockey will commence in August on the open space

· A Community Safety Partnership office, PCSOs and the Police will be based here over the summer

· A storage room for equipment and materials

 

The site has attracted a lot of positive feedback from partner agencies who have engaged with the facility and are working with the Community Leisure team to further enhance the range of services offered, and to target them at those most in need.

The partnership with the Pavilion Café is working well with income from tennis and the crazy golf being collected under a service Level Agreement and the Pavilion Café actively promoting and managing the facilities.  Customers have adjusted to this new way of accessing the tennis and crazy golf with no apparent issues.

A customer survey with users of the Indoor Playroom has shown that the previous concerns over the withdrawal of the service have been overturned and customer are happy with the opening times, accessibility of the service and quality of the improvements made.

 

Value for Money

The changes implemented to date have reduced the expenditure at the site and also drastically reduced the chances of over spending against the budget which has been a consistent problem in previous years. The facility is now supported by a range of partners who see the site as an asset and are willing to contribute to activities through their own resources. The site is also closely supported by the Community Leisure Team who can make use of the site for Outdoor Events and as part of their targeted work in engaging more participants in sports and healthy activities. It is therefore possible to conclude that the changes have resulted in the delivery of a wider range of services and at a reduced cost to the authority. The exact level of the savings will not be apparent until the end of the financial year. However the £16,820 saving taken in 2007/8 as part of the Leisure Futures report is now reflected in the budgets with an additional saving of £22k made resulting in an overall saving of 38.5k.

 

Next Steps

The Community Leisure Team will work to ensure that the site is appropriately managed and supported to maximise its income but perhaps more importantly its contribution to the Councils Corporate Objectives.

The Community Leisure Team is current progressing a number of possible additions to the services provided; these include a project with the South Staffordshire Careers Association to provide access to the gym for Careers. A project with the Youth Offending Service offering positive activities and learning for those under supervision is being also being explored. A proposal to offer bike hire is being discussed with the Pavilion Café.