Budget Proposals 2025/26: Remove Downland Sports Centre from the Leisure Management Contract
Help us balance our budget.
Consultation status Open - Final day
Background
The Downland Sports Centre (the Centre) is one of seven facilities within the Leisure Management Contract between West Berkshire Council and leisure operator, Everyone Active (EA).
The Centre is geographically remote, with a relatively limited range of activities on offer. The facility is shared with The Downs School and therefore public access is restricted during term-time, and access to the Sports Hall is further restricted during exam periods.
The Centre is currently open to the public as follows:
Term time:
- Monday to Thursday - 18:00 to 22:00
- Fridays and Weekends - currently available for private hire
Non-term time:
- Monday to Thursday - 8:00 to 22:00
- Fridays and Weekends - currently available for private hire
For these reasons, public use of the Centre is relatively low. From July 2023 to June 2024, attendance at the Centre amounted to 4,488 visits. This is approximately 0.5% of the total attendance (851,154) across the seven sports and leisure centres in West Berkshire.
The Centre employs five part-time members of staff. There is also one casual member of staff which means they work on an "as-needed" basis.
Demographically, the area of the Ridgeway, in which the Centre is situated, is one of West Berkshire's least deprived areas, although it does face a higher prevalence of poor health conditions including obesity and hypertension.
What we are proposing
To remove Downland Sports Centre from the Leisure Management Contract, which means that Everyone Active would no longer be operating the facility for community use.
If the Centre was removed from the contract, a net revenue saving of approximately £30,000 per annum could be realised. If it remained in the Leisure Management Contract, then it is likely that additional capital investment for community use facilities would be required.
What we think the impact will be
Removing the Centre from the Leisure Management Contract would mean that Everyone Active would no longer operate the Centre. This could reduce opportunities for residents in the local community to access leisure facilities, which could have a negative impact on the health of the local population. However, the Centre can only offer limited activities to the community due to its size, condition, accessibility, availability during term-time, and age. As a result, the impact could be mitigated, to some extent, by developing an outreach programme to deliver active leisure opportunities in other local venues. This could be staff delivering targeted sessions in the community, e.g., seated exercise, circuits or toddler active play, depending on the need.
Whilst removing the Centre from the Leisure Management Contract might result in additional car usage for the local population to access alternative sports and leisure centres, the remote geographical location of the Downland Centre means that transport by car is likely for users outside of Compton.
West Berkshire Council, together with Everyone Active, runs six other sports and leisure centres in the district:
| Name of Centre | Approximate distance from Downland Sports Centre |
|---|---|
| Cotswold Leisure Centre (Tilehurst) | 12 miles or 27 minutes' drive |
| Hungerford Leisure Centre | 20 miles or 27 minutes' drive |
| Kennet Leisure Centre (Thatcham) | 9.5 miles or 22 minutes' drive |
| Lambourn Centre | 20 miles or 30 minutes' drive |
| Northcroft Leisure Centre (Newbury) | 13 miles or 20 minutes' drive |
| Willink Leisure Centre (Burghfield Common) | 14 miles or 30 minutes' drive |
There may be an increased cost implication for users in accessing alternative sites, as other sites with more extensive leisure options may be more expensive.
At this stage, we don't believe that any particular groups will be more disadvantaged than others if the Centre is removed from the Leisure Management Contract.
Please refer to the Equity Impact Assessment to see what has already been identified [264KB] .
What else we have considered before arriving at our proposal
No other options to reduce expenditure in this area have been identified.
Why we want your views
We'd like to know what you think of our proposal, how it might affect you and the wider community, and any suggestions you may have on how we could minimise any potential negative effects, should we proceed. We'll also ask you a little bit about yourself, for example, if you're a service user or how old you are, but you cannot be identified from your answers.
How to take part
If you'd like to comment on our proposal, please complete our survey by midnight on Monday, 23 December 2024. It should take about 10 minutes.
If you have any questions about the consultation, please email our Sports and Leisure Team.
For general enquiries about sports and leisure, please visit our webpage.
What happens next
All feedback will be analysed by the service, and a recommendation made to elected Members as part of the budget papers for 2025/26 at the Executive meeting on Thursday, 13 February 2025. A final decision whether to proceed with the proposal will then be made by elected Members at the meeting of Full Council on Thursday, 27 February 2025.
The recommendations will also be reviewed and discussed by members of the Scrutiny Commission on Tuesday, 11 February 2025.
Shortly after the Full Council meeting, a summary of the responses we received, and the decisions taken will be published on this page.
If the decision is made to proceed with the proposal, the change will be implemented from April 2025.
All meetings will be open to the public, and residents can attend either in person at the Market Street Offices or online. If you'd like to ask a West Berkshire Councillor a question at a public meeting, find out what can and can't be asked, and how to submit your question here.
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