FMG Consulting Blog

Plans to build a new swimming pool with a spa and café have been given the go ahead by Taunton Deane Borough Council.

The new facility represents a £5.4m investment for the council and will include a 25m six-lane pool, a learners pool, a café and spa.

The spa will focus on health and wellbeing and will include hydrotherapy pool, steamrooms, ice fountain and treatment rooms.

The new pool will replace the St James Street pool and will be built next to the Blackbrook Pavilion Sports Centre in Taunton.

Councillor Catherine Herbert said: “Having a pool at Blackbrook is what the public has wanted for a long time.

“The health and well-being spa is a great addition, giving many people the opportunity to access this type of facility for the first time.”

FMG provided the Council with the outline business case and financial modelling for the project, including capital costs, operating income and expenditure, risk analysis, modelling IRR and the evaluation of the options.

Due to our expanding workload, FMG Consulting are looking for an experienced leisure professional, preferably with experience of delivering leisure procurement processes, for an initial 12 month contract starting from 1st April 2013, and which may lead to a permanent position for the right candidate. The preferred candidate will live in the north of England and will have a strong track record of winning and delivering work. Salary negotiable. If you are interested or know of any suitable candidates please can you ask them to send their CV to us at info@fmgconsulting.co.uk.

Great news that Forest Hill Pools in Lewisham was officially re-opened on Saturday. After closing in 2006, the iconic Forest Hill Pools re-opened providing state-of-the-art new leisure facilities for the area. Our staff were involved at various stages of the feasibility process and managed the procurement process for the management contract which was won by the Leisure Trust, Fusion Lifestyle. Exciting times for residents in Lewisham with the refurbishment of Wavelengths and the opening of the new Glass Mill Leisure Centre to follow in 2013.

FMG have been appointed by the University of Aberdeen and Aberdeen City Council to carry out a review of the future business plan for the Aberdeen Sports Village. A major new aquatics centre including a 50m swimming pool and diving pool is currently under construction and is due to open in 2014. This exciting facility will complement the existing dryside facilities at the sports village including a 9 court sports hall, 130 station health and fitness suite, exercise studios, indoor and outdoor synthetic turf pitches, indoor and outdoor athletics facilities and a performance and well-being centre. The end result will be a regionally significant wet and dry sports facility operated by the Leisure Trust, Aberdeen Sports Village Limited, that provides for the full spectrum of usage from the local community to elite athletes. FMG’s role is to provide an independent third party review of the future business plan in light of the changes that the facility is undergoing to ensure that the stakeholders can plan for the future with a reliable and accurate understanding of the likely future revenue support required.

Following a feasibility study for both of these facilities, East Northamptonshire Council has approved £2m investment into these facilities.

FMG working with Createability Ltd reviewed the current operational performance and market demand, developed outline designs and produced business plans to establish the viability of the schemes.

Lewisham Borough Council completed the agreement of a 15 year leisure management contract with the leisure trust, Fusion Lifestyle, on Friday. The outcome-focussed agreement will see exciting developments for leisure in the Borough including capital investment into a new health and fitness offering at Wavelengths Leisure Centre and a range of innovative programming initiatives. Fusion will also take on the management of two brand new leisure facilities in the Borough when the construction is completed in 2012/13 – Forest Hill Pools and Loampit Vale Leisure Centre. Our team provided leisure, finance and procurement advice for the Council over a 3 year period, from options appraisal to contract close and continues to work with the Council on the implementation / start-up of the new contract.

A £4m cutting edge scheme to deliver a new sporting and community hub for south east Sheffield has been submitted to city planners. The Sheffield and Hallamshire County Football Association (SHCFA) has exciting and far reaching plans for the development of a community football centre on the site of the former Westfield School.

The Westfield Community Football Centre will see the development of a sporting hub for the community, the engagement and regeneration through sport to build a better and healthier future for residents and the relocation of the Sheffield and Hallamshire County FA to the 28-acre site.

James Hope-Gill, SHCFA chief executive, said: “The creation of this community sporting hub will put sport at the heart of the community in South East Sheffield and use sport as a tool for community regeneration.

“Football has significant potential to be used as a catalyst to encourage physical activity and healthy living for all the community across a wide range of programmes, some of which won’t be directly related to football.”

Currently the site, which used to house the old school sports centre, offers eight poorly drained pitches with vandalised changing facilities used by just over 20 weekend football and rugby union teams.

The future vision through an organised development and community programme accessed seven days a week sees numerous 11-a-side, 9-a-side and 5-a-side weekly football matches, rugby union teams training and matches, jogging, cycling and archery clubs, as well as coach and education courses for 1,500 attendees.

Facilities proposed for the site include a full size third generation artificial floodlit pitch with stand, 5-a-side pitches, up to eight grass pitches for football and rugby, a Fitness Unlimited gym built and managed by Sheffield International Venues (SIV), jogging and cycle track, physiotherapy clinic, community multi-purpose meeting rooms and classrooms, social facility and changing rooms.

A new access route will be created via Moss Way as part of the plans.

The SHCFA has been working closely with the Westfield community including Mosborough Miners Welfare, who have managed the site for the past five years, through consultation and has highlighted key issues including rising obesity in young people, tackling anti-social behaviour and the fear of crime, improving educational standards, and the development of more cohesive communities as key drivers of the project.

James said: “The County FA has developed strong links with the local community in determining what their needs are and the exact activities and facilities required on site ensuring the community will regard the site as being for them, as well as ensuring the current teams playing on the site still have access.

“We believe our plans would contribute significantly to the delivery of local priorities outlined in the South East Area plans and the recently completed Playing Pitch Strategy.

“The facilities and programmes that will be developed by the County FA and other agencies will address local training, grassroots club development, active play for children, local recruitment, community activities and potentially GP referrals and other health initiatives in addition to expanding existing specific football initiatives.”

It is hoped the relocation of the County FA’s office to the site will allow its activities including seminars, coaching, courses, tournaments, festivals, conferences and events to be centralised helping to cut down on current expenditure on hiring facilities, as well has being the hub for providing the infrastructure for 120,000 grassroots participants in the region.

James added: “Sport is important to local people and brings fun, challenge and competition, as well as opportunities for social interaction as part of leisure activities.

“It is essential the site becomes the hub of the community not only for footballing activities but also by groups who are not involved in football, both young and old.

“Access to sports facilities or services that meet local needs positively influence the community’s perceptions of their local area, particularly for children and young people.”

Arnie Hattersley, from Mosborough Miners Welfare, said: “The vision for the centre is to provide a sport facility for the whole community and at the same time use sport to deliver wider social outcomes of inclusion, crime reduction, health improvement, educational attainment and civic pride for residents, utilising the power of sport to build a better future.

“We have been involved from the start as an important partner with the County FA’s plans and have provided valuable input into what local people need and want, as well as managing the site and ensuring teams can keep on playing while the project has been developed.”

Funding for the community project is expected to come from grants via The Football Association, The Football Foundation, Sport England and the Rugby Football Union plus some capital from the County FA. Naming rights and sponsorship opportunities will also be considered.

Steve Brailey, SIV chief executive, added: “SIV is delighted to work in partnership with the County FA in this important community project.”

Building would start in 2012 once funding and planning timescales are finalised, with a view to the site opening in 2013. FMG Consulting has been working with the County FA since the original feasibility study and continue to provide support and advice in working towards a successful outcome.

FMG with support from FEI Consulting, have won a contract wtih Cotswold District Council to undertake a management options appraisal covering their leisure centres and museums. The work will involve consultation, financial analysis, VAT and a service review. The work will be completed by mid August.

Fusion Lifestyle have won a 15 year contract with the London Borough of Lewisham. FMG supported the Council throughout the process, providing specialist procurement, leisure and financial support and advice from the original options appraisal in October 2008 through to the award of contract. We are continuing to work with the Council during the implementation phase of the project up to the contract commencement in October.

This week’s Leisure Opportunities highlighted another of FMG’s recent successful projects, where we provided commercial, leisure and procurement advice to Wycombe DC on the Holywell Mead outdoor leisure complex project. An extract from the article is noted below:

Fusion Lifestyle has revealed that the open air swimming pool at Holywell Mead leisure complex in High Wycombe is to reopen on 27 May.

The operator – selected by Wycombe District Council to operate the facility as part of a 50-year lease – has carried out work to bring the Grade II-listed pool back into use.

Fusion will invest more than £1m in revamping the complex, with the first phase to see the pool reopen for the summer. The second stage will see the pool building and adjacent Rye Centre revamped to house a new 40-station gym. Work is due to begin on stage two of Fusion’s investment plans this autumn, with facilities to be completed by spring 2012.