Case studies

Derbyshire County Council uses ‘creative mentoring’ to support looked after children who are struggling to engage in education.

Calderdale Council works with a range of partners to support cultural activity such as festivals and events, delivering pride in place to local communities and attracting visitors to its market towns.

The creative economy in Thanet, Kent, has grown significantly over recent years thanks to a concerted effort by Thanet District Council and its partners.

In 2015-17, the Healthy London Partnership teamed up with Uscreates to work with three London boroughs (Haringey, Hackney and Tower Hamlets) to research and develop social interventions to address the growing levels of childhood obesity.

Oxford City Council’s awardwinning sport and physical activity team works with a broad range of partners, including an external provider which operates the city’s sport and leisure facilities. Targeted programmes, projects and events are helping to increase participation among key community groups.

Kirklees Active Leisure was established by Kirklees Council in 2002. Both organisations work together to provide, develop and protect good quality leisure services for local people. The leisure trust is committed to social and community development and contributes significantly to the local partnership agenda.

Broxbourne Borough Council runs its own sports provision through the Broxbourne Sport service. Over the last 10 years the service has gone from an operating loss to a trading budget surplus, which is used to improve the facilities and increase participation. This has already saved more than £700,000 from the council’s capital programme budget.

Three Rivers District Council has an in-house leisure development team and contracts out the management of its leisure venues. The team works with a range of partners to meet strategic targets around increasing the health and wellbeing of local people, including those with additional needs, mental health issues and vulnerable young people.

Hackney GLL, a charitable social enterprise, manages sport and leisure facilities and services for the London Borough of Hackney under a contract which runs to 2029. The partners are working together to raise participation rates and improve the health of local people, while reducing the cost to the council over time.

Wirral Council runs its own sport and leisure provision and has an ambition for the service to be selfsufficient by 2020. Ahead of that, investment is underway to improve the facilities, increase participation, improve the health of local people and generate greater income from the sports facilities.