BVAL Annual Review 2010/2011

Blyth Valley Arts and Leisure Annual Review

2010 2011

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Index

Chair’s Report Page 2

Chief Executive’s Report Page 4

Concordia Leisure Centre Page 6

Blyth Sports Centre Page 9

Make-a-Move Leisure Inclusion Team Page 12

Catering Page 15

Wansbeck Page 16

Business Development Page 18

Health & Fitness Page 19

Arts Development Page 21

Auditor’s Report Page 23

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Chair’s Report

This year has been characterised by changeand uncertainty for BVAL and yet again thestaff and Board Members have risen to thechallenges presented with a determination tomaintain standards and a willingness to workin flexible and innovative ways.

The economic downturn is being feltparticularly harshly in the North East and it isironic that those people in the greatest needof our services are the ones most likely to behit by funding cuts for sports and artsdevelopment and for schemes such as freeswimming for the over 60s. In an area ofhigh unemployment, low educationalaspirations and poor health it is essentialthat we continue to provide first classfacilities and services, whilst addressingissues such as social exclusion and healthinequalities. The challenge has been, and

will continue to be, achieving this despite thereduction in income from customers, externalfunding and local government funding. Thefuture of the sports development, inclusionand outreach work is causing the Boardparticular concern at the moment, as all thefixed term funding is coming to an end andthere are few new funding opportunitiesavailable and little flexibility within ourincome to continue to support this work.

Catering has also been hit by the recessionand the lack of disposable income in thearea and we are currently reviewing thewhole catering operation.

On a more positive note, sports and artsdevelopment and health programmes havecontinued to be delivered in other areas ofNorthumberland and BVAL has continued toprovide management of the Wansbeckfacilities on behalf of the county council, aswell as the Pegasus Riding Centre,Northburn Community Football Centre andThe Sporting Club of Blyth. These additionalservices are provided to the council at noadditional cost to them, despite increasingthe choice and quality of services offered toresidents across Northumberland.

By mutual agreement the merger plans withNorth Country Leisure have been put onhold, although the two organisationscontinue to work closely in a number ofareas to share good practice and providevalue for money.

Cramlington Town Council is now based inConcordia and this has enabled us todevelop our relationship with them. Inaddition to rental income we have entered anagreement with them to inspect children’splaygrounds. Discussions are ongoing withother town and parish councils regardingplaygrounds and sports development /outreach work.

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Health development work has become moreintegrated across the county and we arehopeful that a review of arts development willlead to an improved service in South EastNorthumberland.

We have invested in improvements to thepool in Concordia and the multi use studio inBlyth Sports Centre and have begun theprocess of introducing a new staffingstructure. BVAL has continued to supportcommunity events from village and town fairsto major sporting events. None of this couldhave been achieved without theprofessionalism, commitment and sheer hardwork of our staff, who really are our greatestasset.

I would like to personally thank themanagement team and staff and mycolleagues on the Board, everyone of whomreally have given their all this year for thebenefit, not just of BVAL, but of the counciland the residents of the county.

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Chief Executive’s Report

Firstly I’d like to thank the Board,Management Team and all the Staff fortheir continuing support and hard work inwhat has been a busy and challengingyear. One of our main challenges has beento continue externally grant funded postsand programmes. This we have managedto achieve in Arts, Health and SportsDevelopment. However with changes tofunding arrangements and current fundingstreams ending next year will be moredifficult. It is however pleasing to see twolong term developments ready to come on-line namely; the athletics facility at KingEdward VI School and the artificial turf pitchat Blyth Community College. These projectshave been several years in developmentand construction has been confirmed tostart in the summer. The projects have acombined value of nearly £2m and this levelof investment is very rare in the currenteconomic climate. I’m sure the facilities willbe well used and are valuable assets forthe County.

The Council is still progressing with itsLeisure Review although no firm findingshave emerged. However the aspiration tohave all sites managed by one operator hasdiminished therefore the discussionsbetween ourselves and North CountryLeisure have stalled and no furtherprogress has been made. This will probablybe the situation until the findings of thereview are known.

As part of the continuing development ofBVAL plans for the expansion of our in-house support services have been put inplace. With the operation of our ownfinancial system on-line this year and theproposals for the recruitment of a full timeFinance Manager and HR manager agreed.Once appointed these new posts willstrengthen the Management Team.

We have been unable to secureconfirmation of a formal agreement andstaff transfer for the former Wansbeckfacilities, although we continue to provideinterim management for the centres andsupport for Ashington Leisure Centre Trust.Hopefully this situation will improve nextyear and a more secure arrangement willbe put in place.

Both Concordia and Blyth Sports Centrehave benefitted from investment this year;with modest investment at Blyth addinganother studio space, whilst a major poolrefurbishment has just been completed atConcordia. The refurbishment has resultedin the complete resurfacing of pool andsurround.

This year has also seen improvementsmade to the delivery of a unified county GPreferral programme led by BVAL’s Healthand Fitness Manager. This is the first timethat the rigorous standards expected by theHealth Service have been applied acrossthe county. BVAL is also taking the lead inimproving the evidence base by sponsoringa PhD study into the referral scheme.

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There are many other things that we aredoing as an organisation both to improvethe effectiveness of our own operation andto improve the quality of life within ourcommunity. The projects and initiativesmentioned above hopefully provide aflavour of the activities BVAL is involved inand what the community can expect in thefuture.

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Concordia Leisure Centre

Concordia has faced a challenging year.With limited expenditure and savings to bemade, it has been difficult to maintain andincrease usage figures throughout thecentre. Despite the demanding economicclimate, however, efforts have been made toensure that the level of service offered to ourcustomers exceeds their expectations.

Several promotions have been tried this yearin an effort to increase/maintain usage.Traditional ways of communicating with ourcustomers such as newspaperadvertisements, leaflets, banners etc. haveall been used, but in March, Concordialaunched its own Facebook page. Facebookallows customers that ‘like’ the page to keepup to date with news, events, promotionsetc. It also gives customers the opportunityto communicate directly with the centre,leaving comments, suggestions and askingquestions. Customers can ‘share’Concordia’s posts with their own friends,allowing our ‘message’ to filter out to aneven wider audience. In the 3 weeks to theend of April, around 50 of our customersvisited and ‘liked’ the page. This total issteadily rising as more and more of ourcustomers enjoy the interaction that theFacebook page offers.

SwimmingThis year, Concordia saw the highestswimming usage by the over 60’s acrossNorthumberland. This was due largely to theGovernment’s ‘Free Swimming’ initiative.Unfortunately, the new Governmentwithdrew the scheme as part of nationalcuts, and the campaign ended in July. As aresult, our over 60’s customers returned totheir pre campaign swimming habits,highlighting the fact that the initiative wasnever sustainable.

Other swimming numbers have struggled toeven meet the targets that had been set 2-3years ago. It is clear from these figures, that

investment is desperately needed in the poolarea.

The Centre continued to participate in theBritish Gas swim promotion, which offeredBritish Gas customers a free family swim attheir local pool.

PoolWork was finally agreed and tendered for therefurbishment of the pool. Work began onthe 28 February and was completed on timefor a 09 April grand reopening day. Theworks have included lining the pool includingfantastic hand-painted images on thebottom, the covering of the poolside and theinstallation of interactive water features. It isyet to be seen what impact this will have onnumbers but early signs and feedback hasbeen extremely positive.

Cramlington Town CouncilCTC took over the space formerly occupiedby the nursery which closed last year.Alterations were made to transform the areainto a workable office and meeting space forthe council. The tenancy of CTC has helpedturn an underperforming area into aprofitable one, and it has also allowed BVALto have a close working relationship with thenewly formed council. It is hoped that thecouncil’s influence and responsibilities willgrow over the next few years. Therelationship with the CTC has already beenbeneficial as it has been agreed that BVALshould take over the playground inspectionsin Cramlington from April 2011. This willwiden BVAL’s portfolio and also increaseincome.

StaffingAnother apprentice leisure attendant wasoffered a place at Concordia following theoffer of full time employment for the previousapprentice. He has now passed hisapprenticeship and is employed as a casualleisure attendant at the centre.

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Agreement regarding the Supervisoryrestructure was gained from the board andconsultation took place with those involved.It was agreed during the consultation that thecurrent Supervisors would be given the firstopportunity to apply, before the positionswere advertised externally. Work is ongoingtowards filling the positions and restructuringthe shifts etc.

Energy SavingsThe combined heat and power system(CHP) continues to make savings on ourenergy costs as well as the environment.The building energy rating also improvedagain this year and although still in categoryD it is gradually moving closer to C.

The Carbon Trust, TAC and EnerG allperformed audits this year including lookingat lighting, water and overall energy usage.All found that the Centre met best practicestandards in most areas. Smart meteringwas also implemented for all utility services,allowing monitoring of usage via a webbrowser.

Towards the end of the year further energysaving measures were discussed includingcavity wall and loft insulation. The possibilityof installing solar panels, which the centreroof is ideal for, was also discussed, and wehope to move forward on these discussionsin the New Year.

EventsThe second Christmas comedy night tookplace on the bowls green. Even though theweather was atrocious the event still wentahead and there was a good turnout.Following its success, there are plans to holda similar event next year.

Other big events included an open day, a jobfair with over 800 visitors and regularMonday night comedy events which continueto be well attended.

Next year Concordia Leisure Centre looksforward to further challenges including thesettling in of the new structure with AssistantManagers and Senior Attendants andpreparing for the upcoming QuestAssessment. We will strive to provide thebest service possible in order to keep thecentre as one of the main attractions in thearea.Investment will be conducted wisely so thatour customers continue to enjoy and supportthe centre.

Sporting Club CramlingtonThe Sporting Club continues to improve itsmembership numbers and its Direct Debitincome month on month largely due to the‘single site’ membership. Gym and fitnessclass attendance was at an all time highsince opening. Other areas of usage havebeen struggling slightly thanks to anothersevere winter that affected the use of theoutdoor facilities e.g. astro turf.

The updated management agreement wassigned off by all parties concerned, but mayhave to be reviewed again if the proposedmove from the school to go to academystatus comes to fruition. The relationshipbetween SCC and CLV remains strong, andtogether we have managed to carry outnecessary maintenance work including,resealing the sports hall floor, deep clean ofthe astro turf surface (which has extended itslife), and all lights replaced in both halls.

A recording scheme was set up in the mainhall this year in partnership with memotion,the idea being that customers could havetheir activity recorded. They could thenpurchase the film to watch for enjoyment ortraining analysis. Unfortunately the systemhad to be taken away towards the end of theyear as the company could not find fundingto continue. Neither the school nor BVAL feltit was viable to invest.

Parking remains an issue and talks areongoing regarding the installation of a barrier

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system to stop unauthorised vehicles drivingdown to the disabled bays. Hopefully thiswill be installed in the New Year.

The Sporting Club hopes to continue toimprove its usage and members over thenext twelve months. We look forward to thenext Quest assessment which will hopefullyhighlight that the centre is continuallyimproving.

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Blyth Sports Centre

This year has been a considerable challengefor Blyth Sports Centre as it aimed tocontinually improve following last year’sQuest assessment. Political and economicuncertainty have increased over the lasttwelve month period, but despite thechanges and challenges, it is believed thatthe centre has demonstrated continuousimprovement in its operation and a high levelof customer satisfaction.

Economic pressures for the local populationcontinue to be of great concern, however, asit is believed that this is beginning to affectusage at the centre.

SwimmingDespite numerous marketing andpromotional campaigns, public swimmingfigures continue to show a year on yeardecline. Marketing campaigns this year havefeatured an open day (numbers down onprevious open days), reduced price entryvouchers in the local media and a vouchercampaign offering a free adult swim withevery full paying child.

As part of national cost cutting exercises,funding for the free swimming campaign forthe over 60’s was immediately withdrawn bythe new government. No longer able to swimfor free at the centre, this had a significantimpact on the numbers of swimmers in thisage group.

School swimming also saw reduced lessonsdelivered by the centre’s swim team. As thecost of bus transport rose dramatically due toincreased oil prices, schools decided thatthey could no longer afford to travel toswimming lessons. Furthermore, fromSeptember 2011, swimming will be removedas a compulsory element from the schoolcurriculum which is expected to have adramatic effect upon the number of schoolscontinuing with swimming lessons. Futurechallenges now include the need for the

centre to ensure that every child can swim aminimum of 25m without the help of schoollessons.

The Centre continued to participate in theBritish Gas swim promotion, which offeredBritish Gas customers a free family swim attheir local pool.

StaffThis year saw a big step in the realisation ofa new staff structure at the centre. InOctober, all three Supervisors took earlyretirement / redundancy package with acombined service of over 100 years at thecentre! An interim structure is currently inplace until new appointments are made inthe roles of Assistant Facility Managers. Thisinterim structure has given the opportunityfor Supervisors from our satellite sites and aLeisure Attendant to gain invaluableexperience of working in a large wet and dryfacility.

The appointment of assistant facilitymanagers and senior leisure attendants willhopefully drive the process of continuousimprovement forward, offering support to theFacility Manager and making financialsavings throughout the organisation.

Having been faced with the possibility ofclosure, proposals that were drafted last yearwere actually implemented this year, with therestructure of the Nursery over the summerperiod. The Nursery Manager was offered aposition as a receptionist; one of theassistants accepted a redundancy packageand the remaining two assistant’s negotiatednew terms and conditions enabling thecontinuation of the Playgroup as a service.By increasing the pricing to attend theplaygroup, the Nursery has managed toreduce the operating deficit that it wasrunning at previously.

National Lifesaving ChampionshipsStaff from the centre once again attendedthe National Lifesaving Championships and

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won a variety of individual and team medals.This was an excellent achievement by allconcerned, and demonstrates that there isan exceptionally gifted team of lifeguardskeeping the pool safe at Blyth.

Energy and PlantThe CHP continues to make savings on ourenergy costs as well as the environment.

The Carbon Trust, TAC and EnerG allperformed energy and water audits this year,all finding the centre meeting best practicestandards in most areas. Smart meteringwas also implemented for all utility services,allowing monitoring of usage via a webbrowser.

Proposals were put forward at the end of theyear for Salix funding to allow new schemesto be implemented to provide energy savingsand development of renewable energytechnology. Orders have already beenplaced for cavity wall insulation and loftinstallation to be installed, with 4 yearsestimated as the payback time. Solarpanelling installation was also discussed thisyear and would be the most cost effectiverenewable energy scheme for the centre.

The cold winter, in particularly the periodfrom mid November to Christmas, saw threeheating batteries split in the plant room,resulting in cold air and pool temperaturesduring this period. Fortunately, good controlof the heating system allowed disruption tocustomers to be kept to a minimum.

Building Development / RefurbishmentThis year saw two areas of the Centreundertake minor refurbishment and facelifts.Firstly, BVAL paid for the creation of studio 3in the old bar lounge area. This low costscheme involved stripping out the old bar,seating and flooring and replacing with studwalling, sports flooring, new decoration,frosted windows and mood lighting.Customers have commented upon howattractive this area is and are delighted with

the transformation. The area will hopefully becomplete with the addition of air conditioningin the year to come. Carpet from the old barwas used to replace even older carpetalongside the management offices.Secondly, Northumberland Countyundertook a scheme to replace the windowsand heating in the soft play area and minorDDA works to the passenger lift. Plans arecurrently being drawn to update the soft playequipment itself in the hope of increasing theusage in this room.

Faults continued to plague the spa andsteam room this year, with the main buildingcontractor for the scheme (Mansell’s) beingasked to pass comment on the faults withthese facilities. After a site visit, thecontractor failed to accept responsibility forthe leaking spa and lifting floor tiles, leavingBVAL to install a new steam generator, relaylifting tiles in the steam room to a new slopeto the drain, re-grout tiles in the steam roomwith epoxy grout and seal shower floor tileswith appropriate grout.

Customer / Staff SurveysThis year’s customer satisfaction survey wasconducted on site by centre staff, with thequestionnaires being sent away for analysis.The results showed that the centre hasmade significant improvements insatisfaction levels, having improved its scorein all areas from the previous survey. Indeed,11 out of the 14 areas surveyed gave asatisfaction score of 4 or more (out of 5) withhelpfulness, knowledge and friendliness ofthe staff all scoring highly.

As a part of the continuous improvementaction plan set by the Quest improvementteam, the temporary Supervisors weretasked with undertaking daily customerquestionnaires into facility standards andpresentation. Although new in its conception,it is hoped to feed back the scores tocustomers on a daily basis and use thescores to highlight problems with specificareas which can then be addressed.

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The latter end of this year also saw all staffgiven the opportunity to complete an onlinestaff satisfaction survey, using SurveyMonkey as the collection and analytical tool.This is the first staff survey that has beenundertaken in the last five years and the finalreport will compare against the previousreport and highlight areas of satisfaction andimprovement.

Sporting Club BlythThe Sporting Club of Blyth saw its first fullyear of operation and continued to provide avaluable satellite facility to the localpopulation. Funding was finally pulledtogether from all partnerships to fund the 3Gartificial pitch, with the help of a grant fromthe Football Foundation. Work is due tocommence in July, with a completionexpected at the end of October.

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Make-a-Move Leisure InclusionTeam (Sports Development)

2010 has been another fantastic year for theservice. The Make-a-Move team effectivelydelivered a variety of exciting projects acrossa range of diverse communities. A record118,356 people have been engaged by theservice in 2010/11. The projects andactivities highlighted below provide a flavourof what proved to be a challenging butexciting year for the service.

As part of Quest (UK Quality Scheme forSport and Leisure) the service undertook acomprehensive one day maintenanceassessment scrutinising all elements ofprovision, including Delivery, Strategy andPeople. After the assessment JackGoodfellow, Quest Assessor stated “TheTeam offer an excellent service to theresidents of South East Northumberland andis to be congratulated on its achievementsover the past 12 months.” One of the keyachievements highlighted by Quest was thetransformation of the services marketingtechniques ‘cutting edge’. Make-a-Move isnow on Facebook, Twitter and Flickr, whichenables the team to interact and promote theservice to a range of audiences. The servicewas also recognised by NorthumberlandHigh Sheriff for its valuable services to thecommunity, the award was accepted by twoyoung volunteers on behalf of the service.2010 was the final year of the Big Lotteryfunded play programme. Over the 3-yearfunding period 8811 young people haveattended a range of diverse play activities.The success of the project has exceeded allexpectations.

Ability to PlayThis scheme went from strength to strengthhelped by a significant grant from AimingHigh which enabled the project to expandinto West and North Northumberland. Theproject delivers a range of needs ledinterventions targeting disabled youngpeople and their families. One of the many

highlights of the programme was theChristmas Family Fun Day at Linden Hall.

With the support of the Make-A-Move teamthe event was organised by a group of Abilityto Play regulars. Over 350 people enjoyedactivities such as an outdoor ice rink, laserbattlefield, pony rides, pantomimes andmuch much more. The young people raisedover £500 on the day and decided to donatethe money to the Make-a-Move team as agesture of thanks for the impact the teamhave had on their lives. Chris Maddox oneof the projects regulars said

“Ability to Play has not only changed my lifebut the lives of my friends and many otherswho have disadvantaged circumstances.”

Ability to Play had a major role inNorthumberland’s Aiming High portfoliowhich was nominated for a National award.

The Pegasus CentreThe Centre is now realising its potential as acentre of excellence for disabled riding. TheCentre caters for all ages and abilities. TurnAbout Pegasus, a project aimed atintegrating excluded young people back intoschool, has been a huge success with 40young people graduating from the project.

Northburn Sports and Community CentreThe programme of activities at continues toexpand. A wide range of sports andcommunity organisations make use of thecentre’s excellent facilities. The centreprovides a base for the services ‘Move It –Community Dance School’. Northburn is thehome for a number of successful CharterStandard football clubs, providing the fullspectrum of football provision. The Centrehas successfully hosted a number of highprofile events.

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New FacilitiesThis is now the third facility in the servicesportfolio. The team has already delivered anumber of exciting events using the parksexcellent outdoor facilities.

The service is delighted to announce thatafter years of hard work the funding is nowconfirmed to develop a 3G synthetic pitchand to improve the grass pitch drainage atThe Blyth School and to create a 6 lanesynthetic athletics track at King Edwards VIHigh School. Combined, the projects willsee investment of over £1.8m into sportsfacilities in Northumberland. This is inaddition to the £353,475 of revenue fundingthe service successfully secured over theyear.

Holiday ProgrammesYoung people from across South EastNorthumberland had a fantastic time in theschool holidays thanks to superb actionpacked holiday programmes. Nearly 70% ofparticipants said the sessions were eithergood or excellent and 80% believed therange of activities were good or excellent.

A highlight of the summer programme was10 young people from Seaton Valleysuccessfully completing the gruelling 140-mile coast-to-coast bike ride. The 10 weektraining programme paid off with the grouparriving at Tynemouth Priory in record time,with smiles as wide as the Tyne!

Other highlights were National Play Day andthe Hula Hula Beach Party.

These two events attracted over 800 localpeople and delivered a variety of funactivities including bungee trampoline, facepainting, virtual dance mats.The October SPOOKTACULAR holidayprogramme included the now legendaryfright night evening at Concordia LeisureCentre, which was sold out within days! Thespooky event consisted of a disco, fancy

dress competition, cinema and Dr. DeathsLaboratory with Franksteins body game..

EventsThe Make-a-Move team presented thespectacular Christmas ‘Winter WonderlandDance Show’ in January! The pre-Christmasevent was postponed due to CramlingtonLearning Village’s closure due to theextreme snow. The event was still fantastic,with a sell out audience of over 200 parentsand relatives enjoying the performances ofover 100 young people.

Seven young people graduated from thedance leaders’ programme, and they arenow capable of delivering their own dancesessions.

The Dance Mat programme deliveredthroughout schools and community venueshas been extremely popular with over 700enjoying the unique opportunity to bop totheir favourite tunes. The mats haveencouraged a lot of girls aged 13-16 to takepart in physical activity.

In April the team organised the annualNorthumberland Futsal Competition atConcordia Leisure Centre. The eventbrought together teams from all over theNorth East. This year was the biggest andbest yet with over 150 players aged 14 to 16years. The home crowd went wild whenlocal side Bingo Wings took the trophy,beating Stanley Elite 2-1 in the final.

Six primary schools in Blyth had their yearlyfix of tag rugby in March. Taking place forthe 6th year running, the Make-a-Move TagRugby Festival, involved over 100 childrenfrom years 3 and 4 taking part in a six weektraining programme to prepare them for theshowcase finale.

The Make-a-Move team continued to supportTri Northumberland with the organisationand delivery of Triathlon and swim events

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throughout the year. The team worked inpartnership to organise a successful London2012 Open Weekend in July which includeda family fun run, open water swim challengeand a middle distance Triathlon event.There are already plans in place for thecoming year following confirmation that TriNorthumberland will be hosting the ITUWorld Championship qualifier and ETUEuropean Championship qualifier in 2011.

The service supported Ashington Judo Clubto secure £2750 for a Judo event and topurchase Judo suits for its members. Themajority were first time competitors with 86juniors and 20 seniors taking part atAshington Leisure Centre. The Make-a-MoveMulti Sport project has continued to expandwith weekly sessions taking place inAshington, Newbiggin and Northburn.Young people from all three areas cametogether in December to compete atNewbiggin Sports & Community Centre.Over 200 young people have taken part inthe project throughout the year. TheNorthumberland Athletic Network waslaunched in the Autumn. The Network, whichis hosted by the service, will play a key rolein developing athletics acrossNorthumberland.

Outdoor Activity Programme

Over 8000 people have benefited fromexpert tuition in climbing, archery, mountainbiking, paddle sports, team building and bootcamps to name but a few.Morpeth Paddle Sport Club has continued todevelop on the back of their nomination forlast year’s prestigious club of the yearaward. This year the club hosted their 3rdnational ranked Slalom Event whichattracted over 150 participants, the JuniorInterclub competition and their first everOutdoor Kayak Polo weekend which hadover 10 junior and senior sides competing.The team delivered the training for the GoldDuke of Edinburgh water expedition awardwhich involved paddling independently for 4

days, camping on the riverside, safety andsurvival skills

Leadership and LifestyleThe Recruit into Coaching programme cameto a successful conclusion with 29participants completing their 1st Level 1coaching qualification. The recruits havegone on to volunteer in local clubs andcommunity organisations, some of whomhave now gained employment with BVAL.

The sports leaders’ community programmehas led to 33 young people becomingqualified as leaders who are now active intheir local community. The service hassecured £4000 towards a Volunteer PackageScheme which will allow its volunteers toaccess sports coaching qualifications, firstaid training and safeguarding training. Thiswill provide local people with the credentialsto deliver sporting opportunities to youngpeople and enhance their chances of gainingemployment.

The service uses sport and physical activityas a vehicle to educate young people abouta range of issues that affect their lifestyle.‘All About Me’ and ‘MEND – mind exercisenutrition do-it’ were successfully delivered,which involved addressing self esteemissues in young girls and obesity and weightissues in 7-13 year olds respectively.

2011/12 will be another challenging anduncertain year for the service as fundingcontracts end. It is hoped that alternativesources of funding will be secured to enablethe team to continue to offer a multi-facetedand much needed service to South EastNorthumberland.

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Catering

With sales significantly down for the secondconsecutive year, the catering company hasonce again been unable to make a financialcontribution to BVAL. The consequencebeing that effectively BVAL has had tosubsidise the catering company. As thissituation obviously cannot be allowed tocontinue, a detailed review will be conductedand decisions taken at the end of June 2011,to determine the future of the organisation.

Concordia Leisure CentreConcordia’s cafe has continued to witness adrop in income and whilst every effort hasbeen made to address the problem, it’s beendifficult to pinpoint the cause. The generaleconomic downturn and competition fromneighbouring facilities may have contributed,but it appears increasingly likely thatcustomers are simply tending to move awayfrom the more traditional lunch menu andmore towards a ‘coffee culture’ with lightsnacks.

Blyth Sports CentreMarylyn and her team continued to makeefforts to boost income, with a range ofinnovative ideas and promotions. However,trade remained relatively slow and likeConcordia; it has been a difficult year.

WansbeckSpecial events at Newbiggin Sports andCommunity Centre helped to generateadditional income, with boxing in particular,proving to be extremely popular. Whilstwedding trade remained strong, we alsoattracted one or two new events to thecentre, including a ‘Health & HealingFestival’ in October. This was one of themore unusual events to challenge ourorganisational skills, but a repeat booking for2011 demonstrated our ability to deliver.Unfortunately, the Institute Bar at AshingtonLeisure Centre again failed to realise a profitand despite the introduction of Sky TV and a

trial period offering Sunday Lunches, itremains an expensive facility to operate.

Northumberland County Council will nodoubt be considering the future of theInstitute with the Ashington Leisure CentreTrust.

VendingAs expected, vending continued to do welland remains the significant contributor to theoverall business. The future challenge iswhether we continue to deliver a bar andcatering service, or whether we seek toconcentrate our efforts solely on vending.

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Wansbeck

2010-11 was the first full year in partnershipwith Blyth Valley Arts & Leisure Ltd., andwhilst the arrangement remains ‘interim’, it’shoped to secure a more formal agreementsoon. Wansbeck colleagues remainemployees of Northumberland CountyCouncil, as no agreement has yet beenreached on the issue of pensions to permit aTUPE transfer to BVAL. Discussions havealso taken place about a review of thecurrent staff structure and it is hoped thatNCC will soon conclude their single statusnegotiations and job evaluation exercise.

Ashington Leisure CentreThis has been a challenging year for theAshington Leisure Centre Trust, not leastbecause Northumberland County Councilwas unable to confirm its continued financialsupport of the facility until February. Theuncertainty caused problems with both staffmorale and our ability to retain customers;the Judo and Karate clubs for example (bothlong-standing supporters of the centre),taking the decision to re-locate. However,statements made by NCC havesubsequently offered some reassurance :

“Crucially, despite the financial challengefaced by the Authority, key frontlineservices, including libraries, schools andleisure centres have been protectedfrom cuts”.

Perhaps the most notable event of the yearwas the receipt of a substantial legacy. Thelate Mr John Talbot left over £600,000 to theTrust, describing Ashington Leisure Centreas his ‘spiritual home’. As this is the firsttime that such a significant sum has beenbequeathed, decisions have not yet beentaken as to how best to utilise the money.

Unfortunately, the challenges presented bysuch an old facility were cruelly exposedduring what turned out to be one of the

coldest winters on record. With split pipeson heater batteries, bursts to mains hotwater supply pipes and failures with frostprotection equipment, there was littlealternative but to instigate a complete ‘shutdown’ of the centre just before Christmas.The heavy snow and extreme cold duringNovember and December also had asignificant impact on attendances, with manyregular customers simply not being able totravel in the difficult conditions. Add theproblems experienced with our domesticwater supply and the deterioration of the softplay area, and it’s clear to see the difficultiesin presenting a building in any decentcondition for our customers. Whilst wecompensated those paying by monthlysubscription and offered an extension onannual memberships, the overall negativeeffect of the public’s perception of the facilityhas been significant.

However, it’s pleasing to report that we stillattracted one or two regional events (e.g.,sprint triathlon, trampolining and badminton),as well as the first wedding hosted in theInstitute for some considerable time. Thelong-standing problem with the leaking bowlshall roof was resolved and we were fortunateto be able to obtain Wentworth’s bowls‘blue’, to replace our old bowling carpet at afraction of the normal cost. NCC was alsoable to identify funds to replace the Institutewindows and old boilers. A grant obtainedthrough the “Aiming Higher” scheme,secured the purchase of a new pool hoist, toassist disabled customers access the poolmore easily.

For possibly the first time in the Trust’shistory, the very existence of the facility hasbeen drawn into question. As the yearcomes to an end, discussions are takingplace to review the provision of leisure inAshington and as it will be NorthumberlandCounty Council who makes the finaldecision, the Trust will need to persuade

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NCC of the benefits of retaining the currentpartnership and the advantages in re-developing the existing site. Whether theAshington Leisure Centre Trust remains akey partner in the delivery of this service isthe major challenge ahead, but there is littledoubt that 2011-12 will almost certainly marka definitive change in leisure provision in thetown.

Newbiggin Sports & Community CentreThe centre survived the extreme winterconditions and continues to enjoy relativelygood support from the local community.There’s a reasonable function trade and theWansbeck Suite is particularly attractive forweddings. Events have included a series ofboxing shows, Christmas tribute bands and avery well-attended Holistic Harmony day.

Although it appears difficult to attract moreyoung people to use the centre, we haveintroduced a wider range of successfulhealth and fitness classes, which are provingparticularly popular.

Bedlington Community CentreAs a decision was taken to transfer themanagement of Bedlington CommunityCentre to the West Bedlington Town Council,BVAL’s arrangement was terminated inSeptember. However, discussions withWBTC have since stalled and the centreremains closed.

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Business Development

2010-2011 has been a year of consolidationand review for the Business Developmentteam. As Local government re-organisationenters its second year as many challengesand issues have been raised as in the firstyear with constant re-organisation, reviewsand budget savings.

Financial systemIn April 2010 BVAL went live with its newfinancial system. Access Dimensions andindependent banking arrangements.Although the implementation of a number ofmodules is still outstanding, the system isproving to be a worthwhile investment andvaluable asset to the company. Throughoutthe forthcoming year the challenge will be toembed fully the full functionality of thesoftware and use to its full potential acrossthe organisation.

Information ServicesIn the early part of the year, the newGladstone PLUS2 infrastructure for thefacilities in Wansbeck went ‘live.’ This hashopefully achieved a more ‘fit for purpose’set up of back–office, plus a simplifiedstructure at point of sale.Reduced costs have also been achieved dueto combined support costs and staffknowledge being improved / shared acrossthe organisation.

All IT systems/infrastructure were alsotransferred to a new network (Northnet)which over the year has ensured improvedreliability and reduced system downtime. Inaddition, significant improved levels ofservice provided by NCC in terms of ITsupport and response time have beenachieved.

Investment in software upgrade to our onlinebooking and installation of self service kiosksat Concordia and Blyth Sports Centre aretwo developments that will be brought onlineshortly.

MarketingWith the return of the company’s marketingmanager from long term sick leave arenewed focus on marketing has included:

A revamp of the company’s website Effective use of TV screens for internal

promotions and information The launch of BVAL’s Facebook page

and Facebook pages for Concordia andBlyth Sports Centre

Creation of a library of photographs andvideo clips for promotional use

Partnership working with NCL marketingteam

An annual program of newspaperadvertising

Development of consistent standards ofdesign and presentation across alldepartments

Additional SupportThroughout the year the unit has played asupportive role in providing administrativeand financial support to a variety of projectsand developments including:

Northburn sports and community centre Pegasus Sporting Club Blyth Ashington Leisure Centre Newbiggin Sports and Community

Centre Burgham Horse festival Merger talks with North County Leisure

The year aheadThe year ahead looks like it will be anotherchallenging year as the company is requiredto make further budget savings across theorganisation but at the same time improvestandards and continually provide a betterservice to the local community.

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Health and Fitness

During 2010-11, the Health and FitnessService has continued to provide innovativeservices and build on previous successes. Inchallenging times, the service is workinghard to ensure that customers are offeredhigh quality opportunities to take part in awide range of physical activity options. Theservice is responsible for the management ofhealth and fitness at the four BVAL sites,Ashington Leisure Centre and NewbigginSports and Community Centre. It also has ashared management arrangement for thedelivery of health projects with North CountryLeisure in other areas of Northumberland.

Lifestyle GymsThe gyms at all six sites are now beingmarketed under the Lifestyle brand. TheBVAL sites have all been refurbished withinthe last four years and currently offer highquality equipment, with the Fitlinx IT systemavailable in three of the four gyms.Ashington Leisure Centre and NewbigginSports and Community Centre both havegyms that are approximately seven yearsold. The equipment is in reasonablecondition and work has been undertaken atAshington to update the Wellness IT system.Due to uncertainty over the future of thesecentres, there are no current plans forrefurbishment. All of the gyms havemaintained good levels of usage, with over164,000 visits recorded across sites duringthe year.

Lifestyle Fitness Class ProgrammeThe fitness class programme has continuedto perform well in all centres, with numbersincreasing at every site. The introduction ofZumba led to a big increase in usage inOctober 2010 and higher user numbers havebeen maintained, with more than 85,750attendances at fitness classes during theyear. Sessions are continually monitored toensure that the programme reflects customerdemand.

Lifestyle Membership SchemeThe Lifestyle membership scheme offers theopportunity for users to purchase a packageallowing unlimited use of fitness facilities atthe centres. The memberships are multi site,with cheaper single site options for thesmaller sites, which do not have swimmingpools. The single site option has beensuccessful in encouraging membership atthe smaller sites, particularly at the SportingClub of Cramlington and Newbiggin Sportsand Community Centre. Levels ofmembership have remained relatively stablein a year where the national picture has beenchallenging.

GP Exercise on Referral SchemeBVAL now manages the GP exercise onreferral scheme in Ashington, Blyth,Cramlington, Morpeth and Newbiggin,having taken on the delivery at Ashingtonand Newbiggin during this financial year.The scheme is commissioned by North ofTyne NHS and continues to go from strengthto strength, making a real difference to thelives of many of its participants. There were1214 referrals to the scheme in these areasduring the year against a commissionedtarget of 1,020 referrals. Participants inexercise on referral and associated exitroutes attended more than 34,750 physicalactivity sessions during the year.

Partnership working with North CountyLeisure Trust means that exercise on referralhas become much more standardised acrossNorthumberland (with the exception ofBerwick) and the scheme is now beingrigorously evaluated as part of PhD study atNorthumbria University.

Community Based Cardiac RehabilitationBVAL continues to work in partnership withNorthumberland Care Trust to deliver PhaseIII community cardiac rehabilitation. PhaseIII is staffed by both a cardiac rehabilitationnurse and fitness staff, and involves twiceweekly supervised exercise sessions and

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weekly education / advice sessions at eachvenue. Current venues are Blyth SportsCentre, Concordia Leisure Centre, MorpethRiverside Centre and Ashington LeisureCentre. BVAL also offers Phase IV cardiacrehabilitation in Ashington, Blyth,Cramlington, Morpeth and Newbiggin. Thesesessions encourage participants to makephysical activity a lifelong lifestyle choice.There is also a home-based cardiacrehabilitation service at phase III deliveredby BVAL staff.

Cardiac Rehabilitation Instructor TrainingBVAL co-ordinated and delivered a BritishAssociation for Cardiovascular Preventionand Rehabilitation Exercise Instructor courseat Blyth Sports Centre during 2010-2011.Further courses are planned for the comingyear.

Walking for WellnessAfter a successful county wide funding bid,the Walking for Wellness Scheme hasallowed for further development of thealready popular volunteer led walkingscheme. The programme is jointly managedby BVAL and North Country Leisure.Groups meet on a weekly basis to take partin local led walks of varying lengths. During2010-11 the development of groups hasbeen supported in Ashington, Newbiggin,Morpeth and Widdrington. There were over8,750 attendances on led walks organisedby the scheme in South EastNorthumberland during the year. Co-ordinators for Walking for Wellness havebeen working hard to make the walks moreaccessible to those with mental healthissues. An evaluation of the scheme hasbeen undertaken by Leeds MetropolitanUniversity.

Funding for the walking programme remainsuncertain and work in the coming year willfocus on building a business case for futuresupport.

Staff TrainingThe health and fitness service is committedto supporting all contracted members of staffto gain a minimum of a level three fitnessqualification. During 2010-11, a further fivemembers of staff completed the advancedfitness instructor qualification meaning that22 members of staff are now qualified atlevel three. A further four members of staffare enrolled on this course for the nextfinancial year. 16 members of staff now holdthe level three exercise on referralqualification and 12 members of staff holdthe level four cardiac rehabilitationqualification. The service has workedextremely hard over the past three years toraise qualification standards and willcontinue to ensure that staff are offeredappropriate opportunities to improve theirskills.

The Year Ahead2010-11 has been a challenging year for theHealth and Fitness Service. The economicdownturn has meant that a great deal ofeffort has been made in ensuring that levelsof usage are maintained. The economicsituation is likely to continue to be a majorchallenge in the coming year, but despitethis, the service will continue to concentrateon offering a high quality service and tomarket this effectively.

The interim management of AshingtonLeisure Centre and Newbiggin Sports andCommunity Centre continues to provide areal challenge, with uncertainty around thefuture of the sites making it difficult to plandevelopments. The addition of the exerciseon referral scheme into the programme atthese centres has meant that there are nowexciting opportunities to be developedfurther.

Thorough evaluation of services will continueto be a theme in the coming year, withfurther work being done with the exercise onreferral scheme and the walking programme.

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Arts Development

IntroductionArts Development is responsible for projectsand programmes that encourage high levelsof participation and appreciation of the arts inSouth East Northumberland. Thedepartment is managed by one full timemember of staff with responsibility for bothstrategic and delivery functions.Programmes are funded by Arts CouncilEngland, Northumberland County Counciland Blyth Valley Arts & Leisure.

At a glance during year 2010-11… There were 23 medium to long term arts

programmes; An estimated 13,151 people took part or

attended, 2873 of which were youngpeople;

Overall there were 43 community groupsand 11 schools supported;

141 volunteers took part in leading orhelping with projects;

68 regional artists/arts organisationswere employed to lead and deliverprojects;

Total financial leverage achieved tomaximise the arts development budgetwas £139k.

Good news stories 8 schools (370 pupils) attended 3 free

performances of Shakespeare’s TwelfthNight by Mad Alice Theatre Company inRidley Park. Schools also benefitedfrom receiving free education packs.

There was further development of thelive music in outdoor spaces initiative(Smooth Sundays). This includedopportunities for community groups toperform in The Big Busk – a programmein partnership with Making Music where6 community bands and 1 dance schooltook part. Plus live music in new spacesincluding Ashington high street andBedlington market square as well as

development of the regular programmesin Blyth and Newbiggin bandstands.

There were 2 festivals - the Be InspiredBeach Festival which was held on BlythSouth beach, bandstand and promenadeand Blyth Renewables Festival, held onBlyth quayside. Both festivals were wellattended with fun and exciting streetentertainment, live music andparticipatory workshops.

Doorstep Pictures mobile cinemaprogramme continues to grow with 10venues screening film across South EastNorthumberland including 2 new venues.The partnership with Queens Hall hasstrengthened the programme withadditional funding support from NorthernFilm and Media.

A look ahead to Year 2011-12 A study has been commissioned to

consider the effectiveness of ArtsDevelopment in the South EastNorthumberland area. This study wascommissioned by NorthumberlandCounty Council and Arts CouncilEngland as a continuation of the VenueStudy and will be presented inSeptember 2011;

A film development worker will beemployed (funded by Northern Film andMedia) to enable the Doorstep Picturesmobile cinema programme to extend tothe North area;

A high profile contemporary dance andvisual arts commission is planned inpartnership with Seaton Delaval Hall andThe National Trust with funding supportfrom Communities 4 Health (Barefoot@Seaton Delaval Hall will take place inMay 2011);

The second year of Blyth RenewablesFestival, planned in partnership with Portof Blyth and Northumberland CountyCouncil, will take place in June and heldon Blyth quayside;

A full time apprentice will be taken on forone year to increase the capacity of the

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department. This is part of the CreativeApprenticeship scheme with GatesheadCollege and The Sage and links with thestrategy to keep young arts professionalsworking in Northumberland;

A part time worker will be employed towork with NEET groups to engage in theArts Award accredited scheme.