Waveney’s Cabinet has approved a report containing recommendations which will help secure the future of high quality, sustainable leisure services for the district.

The Council’s new Leisure Services Strategy, approved by Cabinet in August 2008, highlighted the need to review current leisure provision & projects. This latest document - the Leisure Options Report – goes a step further and contains recommendations which would deliver the Strategy’s objectives fairly and for the benefit of residents and visitors across the whole district, whilst demonstrating improved value for money.

The key strategic objectives for the Council’s leisure services are to:
· Increase participation in leisure activities
· Help address the health inequalities in the region by targeting harder to reach groups and non-users identified by research.
· Improve access to services, providing clear relevant information, effective marketing, appropriate signage and an identity that instils a sense of pride.
· Improve the performance of leisure services by demonstrating value for money to stakeholders.
· Develop services where they are most needed, balancing the needs of Urban and Rural areas fairly and appropriately.

This report considers a variety of scenarios: leisure projects in development that need to be completed, leisure services that might benefit from partnership working and current provision that is not offering sufficient value for money. The report also states that resources will be re-directed and re-configured across the district to better support and reflect local need.

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Cllr Stephen Ardley, Portfolio Holder for Health & Wellbeing said: “We are thinking big and thinking about how best to deliver leisure services right across Waveney. Resources will be reviewed to ensure the Council has the capacity to deliver improved services and facilities across the district, to those that need them. We will be taking account of each locality as part of the wider leisure picture and not just reviewing services in isolation.

“These measures will enable the Leisure Services team to prioritise its efforts across the district, ensuring that distribution of the service is fair and achievable and provides good quality, sustainable leisure services to the whole community. Where appropriate, further options will be explored for some services, with the intention of producing satisfactory and robust long-term business cases for each one.

“Any decision we take will be in the best interests of Waveney and its leisure users.”

The full report can be read here: http://www.waveney.gov.uk/agendas/2008/September/cabinet/item4a.dot