Rossendale has decided to place its trust in the hands of experts Knight Kavanagh & Page to deliver its 2009 Leisure Review and Options Appraisal.
The commission includes review of management of Council leisure facilities, joint use centres, arts and sports development. It will result in a thorough, objective appraisal of the options for their future management and development. This review is a key element of the Council's wider remit to create a sustainable approach to its leisure management. Work is also being done to progress the project plan for a new swimming pool in Haslingden along with future management and development options for Marl Pits, Ski Rossendale and Bacup Leisure Hall.
A thorough options appraisal
The Council currently has partnerships with two separate trusts to manage its sports facilities and services. We shall assess current arrangements in terms of their impact, effectiveness and benchmark Council investment in leisure with that made by similar authorities. Following the appraisal, we shall detail the range of alternative management options available; assessing the strengths, weaknesses and financial implications of each. This will incorporate consideration of the range of facilities that should be included in the Council's leisure and culture portfolio and identification of the most effective future delivery model(s).
Community engagement
Community and stakeholder engagement underpins this assignment. KKP, commissioned in part because of its excellent reputation in this field, is skilled at delivering representative, sensitive community consultation, stimulating ideas while carefully managing expectations. Addressing future relationships is crucial. Both trusts need to be prepared to accept and implement study findings for the wider benefit of local residents. This makes our ability to facilitate positive partnerships and relationships and to gain the respect and trust of all concerned essential from the outset.
Evaluating performance
This project requires genuinely independent, robust evaluation of the performance both of the Council and of the two trusts involved. KKP has undertaken such reviews on a number of occasions; for trust-local authority and contractor-local authority partnerships, for Sport England and key partners and to inform Government funding of key agencies and NGBs.
David McHendry, Principal Consultant will lead on this project. He said,
"We are all too aware of the challenges this type of assignment presents and the need to be objective. Experience also guides us to be totally 'straight'. Clients come to us when they want the right answer not a cautious response. We are highly regarded for telling them what they need to know and not simply what they think they want to hear."
