Decision details

To inform the Council of the Indoor Facilities Action Plan and for it to be adopted under the Council’s delegated decision making process. The Indoor Facilities Action Plan is attached as Appendix 1 to this report.

This Action Plan forms the main evidence base for future funding and provision of indoor leisure facilities and once approved will be used to inform and influence council policies particularly the Infrastructure Delivery Plan (IDP), which will support the Core Strategy by setting out what Indoor Leisure facilities infrastructure is needed to deliver new development. 

The objectives of this action plan are to provide a sound platform of research which enables evidence-based recommendations for indoor facilities. The intention is to encourage and enable more people to become physically active by building physical activity into their daily lives.

It is important that through local community consultation all public and private leisure facilities are strategically placed to respond to anticipated demographic changes within their community area.  These facilities should be planned and managed to meet customer expectations in terms of quality, value for money, and the range of the activities available.

Delivery of these objectives will depend on the Council’s ability to work with communities and partners. With current budget pressures, the efficient delivery of services in the future will be best achieved with the involvement of our key partners, local communities, the voluntary and private sectors.

Delivery and implementation of the building and management elements will be taken forward by the Transformation Programme.  This approach is intended to retain community involvement as it is recognised that local input is critical to success.

By delivering this strategy Wiltshire Council and partners will ensure that by working with local communities and customers it will provide high quality, high value leisure provision that meets the needs and requirements of residents in Wiltshire.

Substantial research has been undertaken enabling future decisions to be based on a robust evidence base (validated by Sport England), which has lead to the Council, through the transformation programme to commit resources to support local communities to develop their local services, which in the case of the initial three funded campuses includes indoor leisure provision. Consultation undertaken included:

Customer Satisfaction Survey - A survey was supplied to each leisure facility for customers to complete to rate the service and quality of the facilities. 

Postcode Survey - The survey undertaken established where customers live that visit our centres and how they travel to our centres. 

NGB Consultation - The National Governing Bodies of Sport that are active in Wiltshire were consulted and asked to give their views on a range of requirements to assist them in developing their sports in the County, specifically within indoor leisure.

Consultation Questionnaire - A consultation on the future provision of leisure centres was available to all residents, via libraries, the web, area boards and roadshows.