Agenda item

Report of the Director of Recreation.

This report describes the contribution that the Council’s Leisure Service, particularly its leisure centres, is making towards creating a physical activity environment to improve the health and wellbeing being of our residents. 

Consideration was given to the report of the Director of Recreation.

Committee members made the following comments:

·       With the potential closure of the YMCA building, it would be good if the Council could signpost YMCA users to other available facilities in the borough.

·       It would be good if Holborn and Covent Ward Councillors could be informed of this so they could help facilitate this for YMCA members and other users of those facilities.

·       The Council should learn from the Knowledge Quarter the culture of thinking of these sports facilities as community assets and signposting people to make the most of them.

In response to questions, Justin Hill (Strategy and Partnerships Manager, Alex Wood, Performance Officer, Alex Harrison GLL Partnership Manager, Paul Lister (GLL Head of Service, Katy Knight, Head of Leisure (remote attendance) and Oliver Jones, Director of Recreation made the following points:

• With regards to providing up to date stats of current users of leisure facilities in the borough, there were different data sets in the report.
• There was the Camden specific data in paragraph 3.4 of the report which related to the health and behaviour question. This data was collected every two years, the information used in the report was the last cycle of data and it was hoped that updated data would be available for the next cycle.
• The other data in paragraph 3.6 of the report was from Sports England Active Lives data which had just recently been announced.
• In terms of information being Camden specific, the sample sizes were quite small so could only be used as a rough guide but it would not provide the raw data where there was far more control over data collection such as specific links to leisure centres as opposed to the broader work of the Sport and Physical Activity Service.
• The data was difficult to capture when out in the field coaching in parks or after school. However, within the Leisure Centre field, GLL operating membership system and subject to what information people disclosed, intelligence could be gathered around who was using the Leisure Centre and who was not which was a key focus area for the Council.
• Leisure Centres also conducted an annual survey to know who was using the service.
• Officers had done some work on who was and who was not using leisure centres. One of the underrepresented groups was the South Asian Community of which the Council along with GLL were encouraging members from this community to make more use of the centres. 
• The Council had made this a formal performance indicator to improve access to sports facilities to disproportionately under-represented groups in the community.
• In terms of data collection, the Council was operating a number of targeted interventions the first was the Get Active Service where the Council worked with selected GPs from deprived areas to address long term medical conditions and the other was around the Active Life Campaign which was targeted at older adults to ensure residents understood the offer. The Council was able to extrapolate rich information from these two data collection methods and respond to the needs in the borough.
• In terms of facilities in the borough, there was scheduled to be a new fitness centre at Kings Cross next year with four sports courts. However, there were some things which were outside the Council’s control such as swimming pools and more bespoke offers which were challenging for the Council to monitor.
• The Council relied on proactive Camden in such instances to coordinate between the Council and other providers in the borough. The Council was continually trying to learn and improve on this.
• With regards to the dramatic drop off in activity of girls transitioning from primary to secondary school, the Council was working with the Health and Wellbeing Department to deliver a pilot in Hawley Primary School specifically looking into this issue. Officers agreed to provide an update to the Committee on the findings from this pilot.

Action By: Strategy and Partnership Manager

•  One of the key initiatives from proactive Camden was the production of the Children and Young People Physical Activity Plan which was currently in development and built on intelligence presented at the previous meeting where the various gaps in girls physical activity transitioning from primary to secondary school was highlighted. All this information was fed into the developing Children and Young People Physical Activity Plan
• With regards to climbing facilities, the facility at Swiss Cottage had been closed for some time and the Council was in discussion with GLL to determine whether it could be reinstated or something slightly different put in its place.
• New bouldering wall establishments had been set up in the borough so there were other places to climb.
• In terms of the affordability of the leisure facilities, GLL prices were extremely competitive in relation to the location of the facilities, products provided and sustainability of the business.
• There were no plans to reopen an Ice Rink in the borough as there was an Ice Rink facility in Lee Valley Park.
• The Council had just opened a new Soft Ball facility in Swiss Cottage which was managed by GLL and improved the borough’s offer to young children.
• There were also plans to provide extra space for gymnastics in the borough next year

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Officers were thanked for the report and attending the meeting.

RESOLVED –

THAT the report be noted.