As part of a review of leisure services in the borough, we are consulting on potential ways funding for leisure services can be targeted to deliver the greatest impacts on the health and wellbeing of Cheshire East’s residents – while also ensuring that essential savings can be made.
The consultation opened on 23 November 2023 and will close on Sunday 7 January 2023.
A proposal to carry out a strategic review of leisure services is included in our adopted medium-term financial strategy (MTFS), which sets out proposals for how the council can balance its budget for the next four years.
We recently published an updated financial forecast which shows a potential shortfall of £18.7m against anticipated expenditure in 2023/ 24.
It is expected that the financial challenges driven principally by high levels of inflation and unprecedented levels of service demand, will continue to increase over the coming years.
The first stage of the leisure services review – based around the need to generate £1.29m of essential savings in 2023/ 24 – has already been delivered and the savings have been made.
The second stage of the review focuses on how the council’s available budget to support leisure services can be targeted to achieve the greatest health and wellbeing impacts for the communities and people that need it the most.
This is in the context of the council needing to secure minimum essential savings in leisure services of £479,000.
The borough’s leisure centres are operated on behalf of the council by Everybody Health and Leisure, a charitable trust, and provide a variety of services across 15 sites.
Acting as a corporate landlord, the council is responsible for paying the building maintenance and utilities costs (including gas, electricity, and water) of the leisure centres and also subsidises leisure services through the payment of an annual management fee.
Because of the types of services they offer, Leisure Centres are some of the most expensive facilities to run and maintain and costs continue to rise drastically.
We recently published an updated financial forecast which shows a potential shortfall of £18.7m against anticipated expenditure in 2023/ 24. By law, local authorities must set a balanced budget and we are absolutely committed to protecting services for the people most at risk in our community – so savings must be made.
It is expected that the financial challenges driven principally by high levels of inflation and unprecedented levels of service demand, will continue to increase over the coming years.
Last year, funding to maintain leisure centres and cover the related utility fees cost the council more than £1m extra, compared to the previous year.
In the current financial year, these costs are forecast to grow to a total of £4.23 million, representing a further £510,000 increase in costs over a 12-month period.
These significant financial challenges are not just isolated to Cheshire East – local authorities across the country are considering how they continue to provide public leisure facilities in the short-term and as costs continue to rise well beyond the budgets available.
Working with Everybody Health and Leisure, we simply must look at how we further prioritise how we continue to financially support the delivery of leisure services for the residents of Cheshire East.
The first stage of the strategic review of leisure services is based around the need to generate £1.29m of essential savings in 2023/ 24.
This stage has now been delivered and has been boosted by a one-off grant of £500,000 from Sport England’s Swimming Pool Support Fund. This was the maximum award value available.
This grant is revenue funding, and the total amount has been allocated by Sport England to sites in Alsager, Macclesfield, Nantwich, Poynton, and Wilmslow.
The council has also applied for capital funding through phase two of the Swimming Pool Fund and is awaiting the outcome of this bid.
The revenue funding award is of course welcomed and has gone towards maintaining the current leisure provision for the financial year 2023/ 24.
However, the reality is that the grant and the savings made are still not enough – costs are rising drastically.
Last year, funding to maintain leisure centres and cover the related utility fees cost the council more than £1m extra, compared to the previous year.
Proposals set out in the consultation include reducing the opening hours of all leisure centres, introducing a different pricing policy for members who do not live in Cheshire East, and making changes to the Options membership discount scheme in-line with other local authorities.
The council is also seeking views on proposals for if it is unable to meet the required essential savings target for leisure services. As a last resort, the council is proposing to focus its continued investment into leisure services in the locations where the health of residents is poorest, on the leisure centre sites where usage is highest, and where the net cost of operating the facility is lowest when compared to its use.
The full list of proposals can be found by clicking through to the consultation.
In developing the proposals, we have considered existing site usage data and data relating to the varied levels of health and wellbeing need across Cheshire East – and where these needs are highest.
No decisions have yet been made about leisure services, or specific leisure centres, and we encourage people to share their views through this consultation about the proposals put forward.
The comments we receive through the consultation – plus more detailed data relating to the use of leisure centres by community groups, sports clubs and, where appropriate, schools – will help us to shape the final proposals for stage two of the leisure review.
These proposals will then be brought back to the environment and communities committee for their consideration in early 2024.
As part of the consultation, we also welcome expressions of interest from third parties who may be looking to operate or fund sites in the borough.