Knight Kavanagh & Page (KKP) has recently been appointed by longstanding client, Somerset County Council to conduct three interlinked assignments.

In 2006, KKP conducted a management options appraisal which, in a complex local environment, assessed the most appropriate delivery method for the Council's 17 dual use facilities, recommending the establishment of a leisure trust to manage the Council's portfolio of facilities.

Building on this, the Council is keen to establish a solid foundation as it embarks upon a new era for leisure across Somerset, developing an integrated strategic framework to optimise its BSF investment.

Firstly, KKP is developing a strategic vision for Somerset's Wave 4 submission to Building Schools for the Future (BSF) - which is targeting schools in Bridgwater. This will:

• Enunciate the vision for the development of sport, physical activity and wider recreational activity in the town
• Help to specify the sports facilities to be developed on the schools' site underpinned by demographic analysis, existing usage information and the plans of schools, clubs, the County and Sedgemoor District Council. 
• Underpin the wider recreational and active lifestyles offer encouraging, for example, walking and cycling to school.
• Underpin the use of sport in the context of vocational education, employment opportunity and engaging young (and all) people from all parts of the community.
• Contribute to the development of a performance framework.

Somerset County Council has been successful in the first stage of its bid to develop four secondary and two co-located special schools in Bridgwater and enhance community and leisure provision. The schools have agreed to work closely and innovatively together on delivery of a range of pupil and community provision and this new Strategy will identify the planned outputs and outcomes of this process and how the collaborative system will ensure sustainability and optimise investment.

Alongside this, KKP will produce an integrated Sports Strategy for the County. This will identify and pull together all aspects of sport in Somerset, highlight key activities and programmes, links to corporate themes and LAA targets. It will also involve the creation of an associated performance framework for use as part of the basis for the new Trust's contract specification.

Work is well underway with both strategies with consultation workshops planned during October to present and discuss the key issues and draft strategic documents - ensuring that all relevant parties have an opportunity to contribute and influence.

Finally, following the other two processes, KKP is supporting the master planning process for the proposed development of sports facilities at Somerset College of Arts & Technology (SCAT) and Castle School. These are located next to each other in Taunton, both have sports facilities available for community use but under separate management options.

KKP will formulate a "Blueprint" to develop & manage sports facilities on the Campus producing schematics and concepts to suggest how the facilities can be rationalised and improved to avoid unnecessary duplication. They will also recommend key actions required to advance the operational management of the facilities to improve consistency and cost efficiency through offering complementary programming.

Tim Nightingale, senior manager of the council's leisure services group has commissioned these projects. He said,

"Having worked with KKP for a number of years I know that Jonathan and his team will deliver challenging strategies that push the boundaries to ensure we maximise the success from our actions. Moreover, they will provide us with the resources to influence our partners for those aspects we recognise are beyond our immediate control."

For more information, contact Jonathan Woods, Principal Consultant - jonathan.woods@kkp.co.uk