Overview
Max Associates was commissioned to undertake a strategic outcomes review of sport and physical activity for South Derbyshire District Council. Part of the review was a contract review and future management options appraisal aligned to the leisure centre investment strategy.
The public leisure centres in the Council area are Green Bank Leisure Centre in Swadlingcote and Etwall Leisure Centre, a joint use centre based at John Port Spencer Academy.
Outcome
The contract successfully launched April 2024, and Max Associates has been further commissioned to produce an indoor built facilities strategy and evidence of local need to determine the ideal facility mix for the replacement centre at Swadlingcote.
Testimonial
“The Max Associates team are extremely professional and knowledgeable and the work they have delivered for South Derbyshire has been outstanding.
In South Derbyshire we had an outsourced procurement function with NHS Chesterfield – so the support Max Associates offed the Council in this process was invaluable. They ensured we created the right service specifications to get the outcomes we were looking for and to get the best responses from the market.
Prior to the actual leisure contract procurement work Max Associates conducted soft market testing to help initiate this process. Also, with their expertise and support we were able to go out to market, appoint and mobilise new contractors with in a 12-month period.
The outcomes from this means that significant savings will be realised to the council over the term of the contract, also investments into the leisure facilities have also been delivered in the first year of the contract, which has led to increased participation and customer satisfaction.
Max Associates have also supported us on facility mix recommendations for a future leisure centre design and are working with us to devise a future Active Wellbeing Strategy.
I would highly recommend Max Associates services to other local authorities to support any leisure contract procurement or leisure/physical activity strategy work.”
Sean McBurney, Head of Cultural & Community Services
Summary of Project
The procurement strategy recommended the procurement of a short to medium leisure contract (5 years with an option to extend by 2 years), to commence at the end of the existing leisure contract would cover the period of development of a replacement Green Bank Leisure Centre, so that once the new centre had been delivered, a new procurement would be undertaken for a longer-term operator contract.
Max Associates provided full project management support for the tender, working with SDDC officers and members and the Council’s procurement team (NHS Foundation Trust)
Lisa Forsyth led the project and developed the services specification based on evidence from the recently completed strategic outcomes model; focusing outcomes and KPIs against the following themes; active and health lives, active travel, active places and active economy.
The evaluation framework focused on maintaining and make short term impacts within the community recognising there would be uncertainty and less investment into the existing Green Bank Leisure Centre, as it would soon be replaced. Further the Council was looking for a leisure operator who could bring experience and expertise a new leisure centre’s facility mix and design detail to support the design team appointed to develop the new centre.
Following a competitive procedure with negotiation, the Council successfully appointed Sports and Leisure Management (SLM), trading a Everyone Active, to manage the contract.
SLM’s tender included investment into the main fitness areas at the centres to maximise income in the short term and so reduce the management fee to the Council over the contract period.
