Eastleigh In-house sports and physical activity development Eastleigh Borough Council’s sport and active lifestyles team works with its two outsourced leisure providers, and other partners, to help people lead healthier lives. Local priorities include getting women and girls more active and addressing a dropoff in participation as young people approach their teenage years.
Eastleigh Borough Council outsources the management of two leisure facilities: The Hub, a sports hall and pavilion used for sports groups, clubs and community facilities; and Places Leisure Eastleigh, a brand new, £28 million leisure centre, which opened in 2017 to replace an outdated facility.
The in-house sport and active lifestyles team delivers an extensive range of opportunities for people to take up active and sporting habits. Eastleigh’s Corporate Plan 2015-25 has a key aim of promoting thriving and healthy communities. The council is working to achieve this by improving the places in which people live and work, meeting the challenge of the ageing population and promoting cultural and physical activity.
Eastleigh’s sport and active lifestyle strategy identifies four strategic aims:
- to increase and sustain regular participation in sport and physical activity
- to support and develop a quality delivery structure of clubs, coaches, volunteers and officials
- to promote a healthy lifestyle by making the case for sport and physical activity, building an evidence base and advocating the benefits
- to protect and provide quality active environments and facilities which are accessible to local communities.
Impact and outcomes
The council works with its outsourced providers and a broad range of other partners – including health and the voluntary and community sector – to address key local challenges. For example, the borough suffers from high levels of inactivity and obesity and there is a large gap between male and female participation rates. There is a drop-off in participation at around 11 years of age, so the leisure centre offers activities for young people such as ‘teen gym’, gymnastics, street dance and trampolining. The Hub has been encouraged to have a particular focus on working with children and adults with a disability.
Eastleigh’s sport and active lifestyles team has a long-standing community school network in place and works with secondary schools to provide facilities that local communities can use. It also works with local sports clubs to understand their needs and develop new facilities. For example, work is underway with the Football Association, Football Foundation and Premier League to develop ‘Parklife’ football hubs in the borough, which could attract up to £6 million in external funding if successful.
Looking to the future
Eastleigh’s former leisure centre was an outdated 40-year-old facility. Options to update it were fully explored, with extensive community consultation. It was funded through a combination of prudential borrowing (funded by additional revenue savings generated by the new facility), the New Homes Bonus, a £90,000 grant from Netball England (reflecting strong partnership working) and a £2 million Sport England grant. The outsourced provider has a 20-year contract which guarantees significant revenue savings for the council through a large surplus annual management fee, to repay the capital borrowing and enable ongoing council budget savings.
The council raised additional income by selling the naming rights of the new leisure centre, following two years of discussions with interested commercial organisations. The additional income from this 10-year agreement will be used to deliver the council’s HealthWorks exercise referral scheme.
Councillor Alan Broadhurst, Eastleigh’s Cabinet Member for Wellbeing, said: “The work that is done by our sport and active lifestyles team is fantastic. We have a great story to tell about how many women and inactive adults we have interacted with over the last few years through a range of projects, and more importantly how we have kept them active over time.
“Officers will inform and consult with me and other councillors about any new proposed activities on the horizon. Members can input where these activities could best take place and help to promote them in their communities. The opening of the fantastic new leisure centre will help the people of Eastleigh become more active, healthier and happier through excellent facilities, new technology and a better understanding of user trends and their needs.”
Key learning points
Having strong councillor advocates for health and wellbeing is important to ensure that political backing is achieved and maintained.
Councils should be open to challenge and willing to challenge back when working with partners to deliver outcomes. If all parties listen to and learn from each other, initiatives are more likely to maximise their potential.
Contact
Ross McClean
Strategic Lead (Health and Wellbeing)
Eastleigh Borough Council
[email protected]