Armthorpe and Rossington Sports Centres have unveiled their new looks to the local community following a £1 million redevelopment by Doncaster Council.

Work at Armthorpe Sports Centre included the conversion of two under used squash courts into a 60-station fitness suite with mezzanine floor, refurbishment of the changing rooms to cater for the fitness suite, and conversion of the wet changing rooms into a village-style changing area for ease of use by all visitors, making it easier for people with disabilities.

The fitness suite at Rossington Sports Centre has been doubled in size by extending into under-used areas including offices, and now offers members a state-of-the-art 32-station gym.

Alliance Leisure, which funded and project managed the work, has also been awarded a five-year partnership with Rossington and Armthorpe to boost its membership and retention figures through sales training and systems, brand development and marketing, as well as regular on-site support.

The work is part of a three-centre upgrade by Doncaster Council to offer a better service to its local community. The final phase of redevelopment will be Thorne Sports Centre, where work will begin early next year.

Councillor Eva Hughes, Cabinet Member for Public Health, said: "The refurbishment of our sports centres is part of our strategy to encourage exercise across Doncaster by ensuring that facilities are appealing, good value for money and easily accessible to residents of all ages and abilities."

Alliance Leisure is delivering sales and customer service skills training for the Welsh Assembly Government’s (WAG) Free Swimming initiative. 
The Assembly Government has allocated £5m of funding for free swimming for children aged 16 and under during the school holidays and older people aged 60 and over outside school holidays, which is the first national programme of its kind in Europe.

Alliance Leisure is so far delivering training to help 16 leisure centres run by Swansea City Council, Monmouthshire County Council and the Conwy County Borough Council, promote the swimming elements of the leisure centre, raise awareness of the Free Swimming initiative and boost the number of swimmers coming through their doors. 

The swimming development training, consists of five modules including Alliance Leisure’s Register of Exercise Professionals (REPs) accredited ‘The Professional Sales Process’ training day, and covers, sales, aftersales, advanced selling, sales planning and outreach, PR and corporate development and customer care.

Monmouthshire County Council has also invested in Alliance Leisure’s marketing support package to promote the Free Swimming initiative at the four centres in its area.  Ian Saunders, Leisure Manager, health, fitness and business development for the council said:  “Alliance has produced branded posters, banners, flyers and leaflets to help us promote all the health benefits of swimming as well as all the pool based opportunities on offer at our centres, from lessons, swimming clubs, parent and baby sessions, aqua aerobics, life saving lessons, parties and the 50+ sessions.

“But the WAG wants us to use the free swimming initiative as a springboard to increase people’s overall activity levels and Alliance Leisure’s sales training is helping all staff, from front of house to general managers, to be more commercially minded and think of creative ways to entice customers to other areas of the centres, so that once the customers are in the door we can encourage them to give some of the other activities a go too!”

The Free Swimming initiative, designed to complement and contribute to the aims of the Government’s Health Challenge Wales, Climbing Higher and Older People’s Strategy, aims to increase participation in physical activity and improve the health and well-being of the nation by removing barriers and improving access to local authority leisure services.

Alliance Leisure scored an all round winner with Community Leisure Services (CLS) for its development project at Yarborough Leisure Centre.

In a client satisfaction survey independently carried out by Leisure-Net, the facility development company scored a perfect ten out of ten for communication, flexibility and the overall relationship – to name a few!

The £1million development, which was part-funded and delivered by Alliance Leisure, consisted of a brand new state-of-the-art 1,300 sq ft 65-station fitness suite- the centre piece to the site’s affordable membership programme, which was created by building a mezzanine floor over the existing learner pool.

New dry changing rooms were built to support the fitness suite and a family orientated ‘changing village’ created to offer a more user-friendly environment. The wet changing facilities now lead on to an all new sauna and steam suite with relaxation area.

An existing bar was converted into a dance studio, the reception and foyer area remodelled to include a new café/bar and public rest area, and an outdoor all weather pitch installed.

Clare Kennedy, CEO of CLS said:  “Our aim was to revolutionise the services on offer at Yarborough.  Generally we wanted to bring the centre up to standards fit for the 21st century and from a business point of view we saw this as a way to increase throughput and income.

“We approached Alliance to assist with funding the project, because we were attracted to the way the company’s funding works - we could pay for the development over a period of time, and also for their understanding of the development process in the public sector.  Their experience was invaluable during negotiations with the Council.”

Alliance Leisure’s building contractor and the quantity surveyor overseeing the project also scored an overall ten out of ten, taking the final client satisfaction score to an impressive 97%.

Mike Hill, Managing Director of Leisure Net said:  “CLS was without doubt the most satisfied Alliance Leisure client I have spoken to.  In fact, it would have been difficult to find examples how the experience could have been bettered!”
Clare Kennedy continued:  “Alliance Leisure take all the hassle away from the operator.  We have been involved in project managing in the past and it has detracted from our ability to run the day-to-day business.

“Rapport is critical, as is the understanding of our needs and Alliance offered a bespoke service and worked hard to keep the relationship personal and friendly, but in a professional way.  We are now looking at two further developments with Alliance Leisure, as we know we won’t have to worry about the important things taking place.”

A North Yorkshire Council’s leisure centres have seen a 17.6% growth in Direct Debit members through bespoke sales training.

Staff at Hambleton District Council’s four leisure centres, from the receptionists to the managers, took part in the REPs accredited Professional Sales Process training course with Alliance Leisure, to formalise the site’s sale process and learn the basic principles of sales with the objective of increasing direct debit memberships.

This day-long course formed part of a 12-month bespoke sales training package for Hambleton, Stokesley, Thirsk and Bedale Leisure Centres, which included an initial audit of the centre’s sales process, advanced selling, closing, objections and customer call backs training, as well as dealing with referrals and promotions.

A year on, Hambleton District Council’s four sites have achieved nearly 3,000 active members and a 17.6% growth in Direct Debit members, and are now embarking on a two year sales, operations and marketing partnership with Alliance Leisure to develop a further two operational areas.   The first to be introduced is a retention system called GOAL (gym operations at Alliance Leisure) to decrease attrition, and the second a number of structured marketing promotions to help increase sales during quiet periods.

Adam Moseley, Marketing and Business Development Manager for the leisure centres said:  “All our staff were trained on site to help us move towards more of a sales culture and give staff the confidence and skills to sell memberships without the need to outsource to external impact sales teams.

“The training also concentrated on a few individuals - our ‘key influencers’ - to further develop their confidence, train them to train new members of staff and run the sales process in the centres.

“We are delighted with the results so far and look forward to welcoming even more new members as we launch our two year partnership with Alliance Leisure.”

Members at Hatfield Swim Centre are being treated to a 5 star facility at local leisure centre prices, thanks to Alliance Leisure.

The centre, managed by Finesse Leisure Partnership, boasts a brand new changing area complete with two Jacuzzis, a steam room, sauna, foot spa and relaxation area, as well as a new 35-station gym.

The £1/2 million development was project managed and delivered by Alliance Leisure, and includes a fully accessible toilet, disabled changing area and Inclusive Fitness Initiative accredited lockers.

Mike Barlow, MD of Finesse Leisure Partnership said:  “We chose Alliance Leisure to project management the work because of its expertise in this field, and we weren’t disappointed.

“A disused and non-revenue generating meeting room, kitchen and servery area on the 1st floor was stripped out to make way for our brand new gym.  The existing gym and limited changing area was then transformed into an amazing new changing and spa area.

“We are delighted with the development, which far exceeds the expectations of a public sector site.  We had a 5 star brief, but certainly not a 5 star budget.  Alliance has created a top quality facility.”

Health professionals have settled into consulting rooms at a local leisure centre in a bid to improve the lifestyles of residents in Crewkerne, Somerset.

The health practitioners based at Crewkerne’s new Active Lifestyle Centre will work alongside the exercising public to provide support, healthcare and lifestyle advice to the local community.

The centre, run by Crewkerne Leisure Management (CLM) opened in 1997 as a stand alone swimming pool, but the local demand for a fitness centre combined with national pressure to improve people’s lifestyles led the Trust to take an overall ‘wellness’ approach.

Claire Saxby, Chair of the Trust said:  “We can now offer an innovative active lifestyles centre that will encourage and promote physical activity and lifestyle changes to a broad sector of the local community.  We will be working with GPs and practice nurses through our local PCT to ensure that as many local people as possible are given the opportunity to improve their lifestyles.”

Alliance Leisure was awarded the contract to project manage the £1.2million development, and worked in partnership with South Somerset Primary Care Trust, South Somerset District Council, Crewkerne Town Council and Sport England.  Sport England, which has used Crewkerne Aqua Centre as a model of good practice, provided more than £1/2 million of funding towards the project, and South Somerset District Council provided a £600,000 loan.

New facilities at Crewkerne Active Lifestyle Centre include an 87sq  m 32-station Technogym fitness suite and the Technogym Wellness system to record individual programmes and progress, an 87sq m activity room for children and adult’s classes, seminars and courses, and a suite of consulting rooms for local health professionals.

“The new facilities will provide an important and innovative link between health professionals and leisure providers,” said Claire Saxby.  “I am confident this new partnership will help to improve the situation in Crewkerne and surrounding communities.  We want to motivate and inspire people to get active and adopt a healthier lifestyle, and the programme we have set will work towards the council’s Healthy Lifestyle targets.”

A health practitioner, physiotherapist and podiatrist are already based at the site and a phase four cardiac rehabilitation group is underway for patients released from the care of Yeovil Hospital.  A diabetic course, low-level mental health programme and post natal group have also proved successful.  The centre’s GP referral scheme currently works with a handful of local doctors, but will be extending the programme to the 40 or so doctors within its catchments area.

The centre has set a number of core priorities and will focus on health issues such as reducing sleeping disorders, eating disorders, stress, obesity, depression and smoking disorders such as lung and heart disease.  The prevention of injury, promotion of healthy eating and rehabilitation of heart patients also feature on the priority list.

Increasing participation in exercise, particularly with women, young people and adults over 50 has been identified as a sport and fitness priority, along with providing support activities for local sports clubs, but the centre has also set social priorities that it hopes will impact positively on the local community. These include reducing school exclusions through poor behaviour and improving employment opportunities for local people.

Brockwell Lido pool in South London has reopened following a major refurbishment in time to celebrate 70 years of open-air swimming.

The refurbished lido, complete with new reception area and changing facilities, is part of a £3million redevelopment undertaken by Alliance Leisure, which will also see the opening of health and fitness facilities this autumn, to make the site more commercially sustainable.

The Lido, situated in Brockwell Park, has survived virtually unaltered since its opening in 1937 and the building still retains many of its distinguishing features, including a square clock, art deco lettering on the café and the original streamlined pavilion buildings. 

The Grade II listed building, Alliance Leisure’s first heritage site, was part funded by Alliance Leisure and English Heritage and was covered by 106 planning conditions to ensure the integrity of the old building was kept.  This included the rerouting of major water mains, specially made bricks, finding an exact match for the windows and shaping the banks and keeping the same foliage around the site.

Jeremy Lake, Fusion’s manager at the Lido commented: ”It’s tremendous to be open again for the 70th celebration and feedback from visitors in our first week of opening has been brilliant.”

Local historian and regular swimmer, Peter Bradley cut the birthday cake at the grand opening in July and signed his book Out of the Blue – a Celebration of Brockwell Park Lido 1937-2007, which was published as part of the Lido’s 70th Anniversary Festival. The book covers the history of swimming in the Park, beginning with the Victorian swimming lake with a special chapter on the architecture of the Lido covering both its building in 1937 and its renovation in 2007.

Yvonne Levy, another Lido regular, undertook research into user attitudes revealing a remarkable depth of feeling about the pool. One respondent wrote: "The lido is more than just a place to swim. It brings all kinds of people together without any aggression: a natural community centre in all that it means. A place where one can be. I know of no other place that gives this service." Another confessed: "At nightmare times the lido has helped me get things together. It's not just a functional place to swim. It sorts your brain out and I'm hugely thankful for that."

Alliance Leisure is set to start redevelopment work at three of Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council’s Leisure Centres.

The £1.2million contract follows a highly successful development undertaken by Alliance Leisure to the fitness facilities at the council’s Halesowen site in 2005.  The leisure centre also partnered with Alliance Leisure to help reach its 500 membership target and just 12 months on members hit the 700 mark and outgrew the fitness suite.

Steve Gay, Area Sport and Recreation Manager for Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council said:  “We knew there was potential to grow the membership and originally undertook a £220,000 project funded by Alliance Leisure to replace our ageing fitness facility and win over both member and council officer confidence.  The redevelopment was a huge success.  We’re now running at full capacity and are about to enter a second phase to develop the scheme further.”

The original project at Halesowen included refurbishing an underused room to create a 40-station Technogym Wellness fitness suite and increase revenue - the new gym will house more than 60 stations.   During the first phase of redevelopment the original gym was kept open and, as a reward for existing members and an incentive to new members, membership prices were slashed to half price during the building works.  This meant that the site opened in July 2005 with 112 members.

Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council has now received a £1.2m cash boost to further improve facilities in the region and increase visitor numbers.  This funding will be rolled out across Halesowen Leisure Centre, Crystal Leisure Centre and Dudley Leisure Centre, with work set to start on Dudley Leisure Centre this month.  The five-year partnership with Alliance Leisure will also be extended across the other centres to maximise membership opportunities.

Gosling Sports Park is embarking on a £4.7m redevelopment to include a destination day spa and gym.

Alliance Leisure will project manage the development, its biggest contract to date, which will begin in December 2007 when work starts on the Phoenix Project.

The Phoenix Project will be a redevelopment of existing facilities to include a conversion of the bowls hall to a destination day spa with professional spa therapy treatment rooms, 17m spa pool, and sauna and steam rooms, a 100-station health and fitness suite, two studio with modern changing rooms, as well as spa and sport retail a new reception area and refurbishment and extension of the café and bar area.  The redesign will be supported by a new build extension to house the new facilities and Gosling Sports Park will remain open during the building works.

Alliance Leisure has been awarded CHAS (Contractors Health And Safety) assessment scheme accreditation, demonstrating its commitment to health and safety and compliance with basic health and safety legislation.

Local authority health and safety and procurement professionals, with the support of the Health and Safety Executive, developed the scheme in 1997 to act as a tool in the selection process for contractors, suppliers and consultants and to avoid duplication in health and safety prequalification for contractors and clients.

CHAS accreditation provides information to support the health and safety section of a company’s application and confirms the tendering firm meets and complies with the CHAS health and safety standards.

“Assessing contractors for health and safety can be a lengthy process,” said Suzie Walker, CHAS team administration manager.  “What’s more, many companies apply to more than one of these organisations meaning a duplication of effort.  Our scheme works on the principle that a company that has successfully achieved compliance with one organisation is acceptable for all, thus saving this repetitive work for the contractors and their clients.”

Accreditation to CHAS, which is reassessed annually, could open the door to a number of opportunities with local authorities across the country, many of which will only work with CHAS accredited or registered companies.

Julia Goddard, Project Manager at Alliance Leisure said:  “A local authority asked us to tender for a contract, but we needed to be CHAS compliant in order to be considered.

“Alliance Leisure takes the health and safety of its staff and clients extremely seriously and were already carrying out the procedures required to become accredited.  However, we hope that bearing the CHAS logo will help us to demonstrate this commitment to quality to the industry more effectively.

Four more local authority spas could soon be up and running, offering 5* spa facilities at pocket money prices.

The news comes following the successful launch of Pendle Leisure Trust’s Inside Spa in Lancashire last month, which boasts everything you expect to find in a top end spa, but is priced to ensure accessibility for everyone, at only £10 for a full two-hour heat and ice spa experience.

Now Alliance Spa, Alliance Leisure’s spa partnership arm, which project managed and provided £2 million funding towards the unique Inside Spa venture, is working on plans for four other local authority and Trust spas in Merseyside, Hertfordshire, Somerset and London.  Building work is expected to start on the first site as early as September.

Sarah Watts, Managing Director of Alliance Leisure said:  “The reaction to Inside Spa has been exceptional and already other local authorities and Trusts as exploring opportunities for their sites.”

The redevelopment, which has been entirely funded and project managed by Alliance Leisure, will also substantially upgrade the member changing rooms and develop changing for team sports, including upgrades to lockers and showers and Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) approved access.

Alliance Leisure has been awarded CHAS (Contractors Health And Safety) assessment scheme accreditation, for the second year running, demonstrating its continuing commitment to health and safety.

The CHAS scheme acts as a tool in the selection process for contractors, suppliers and consultants and helps avoid duplication in health and safety pre-qualification for contractors and clients. Accreditation provides information to support the health and safety section of a company’s application and confirms the tendering firm meets and complies with the CHAS health and safety standards.

“Assessing contractors for health and safety can be a lengthy process,” said Suzie Walker, CHAS team administration manager. “What’s more, many companies apply to more than one of these organisations meaning a duplication of effort. Our scheme works on the principle that a company that has successfully achieved compliance with one organisation is acceptable for all, thus saving this repetitive work for the contractors and their clients.” Accreditation to CHAS, which is reassessed annually, could open the door to a number of opportunities with local authorities across the country, many of which will only work with CHAS accredited or registered companies. Julia Goddard, Project Manager at Alliance Leisure said: “Alliance Leisure takes the health and safety of its staff and clients extremely seriously and are proud to display the CHAS logo on our documentation, and delighted to have been awarded CHAS Accreditation for the second year running.”

John Leaver, partnership manager at Alliance Leisure said:  “Whilst the sales systems are extremely important to the ongoing growth of memberships, we will also be working closely with the management team on the development of service plans to ensure the retention of the centres' existing members."