The Committee will be undertaking a review of the provision of leisure facilities in Tower Hamlets.

It was really pleasing to hear about the work which has been delivered to improve the provision of leisure facilities.

The Chair thanked Councillor Sabina Akhtar (Cabinet Member for Culture, Arts and Brexit); Judith St John (Divisional Director Sports Leisure and Culture); Tim Clee (Partnership and Participation Manager) for attending tonight’s Overview and Scrutiny meeting to provide an overview of leisure facilities in the Borough.  The main points of the discussions on the report may be summarised as follows:

The Committee:

·         Had a robust discussion about the shifting landscape of leisure provision in the Borough and raised concerns about the affordability of provision for low income families, the accessibility for women, and customer experience;

·         The Committee also questioned how we are measuring improved health outcomes;

·         Were encouraged by the range of women only programmes delivered and were particularly pleased to hear that there are plans to open a women’s only gym at Poplar Baths;

·         Were also pleased to hear that further outdoor gyms will be opening however wanted to see more support and guidance in place to encourage more people to use them to maximise the public health benefit;

·         Recommended that there should be a requirement in the new contract to ‘staff’ outdoor gyms;

·         Wanted to see evidence in regard how Public Health and Social Value would reach out to those areas in greatest need;

·         Noted that whilst the Astro Turf Pitches that are available to hire across the Borough are run by different providers but they are cheaper than our neighbours or London Wide;

·         Noted that the schools estate in Tower Hamlets has a range of educational, recreational and sporting facilities that can be made available for use by members of the wider community when not otherwise required for education purposes;

·         Welcomed the development of stronger links between schools and the communities they serve;

·         Noted that the leisure centre market has changed with the focuses now on both the higher end and the smaller budget gyms. Therefore, there is a need to look at how LBTH addresses the market; how Council facilities can stand out and encourage people to see them as a place to go;

·         Were informed that as to the customer experience of the LBTH centres whilst many have achieved the customer excellence awards it is important to maintain these standards;

·         Felt that given the age/quality of existing building stock there is an urgent need to look at how to obtain funding for repairs and maintenance; and

·         Asked for bench marking data on users/per centre including a breakdown by post code e.g. (i) the use of the use of Open Air Gyms; (ii) community use of school facilities; and (iii) a breakdown of number of staff who are local residents.

In conclusion, the Chair thanked Councillor Akhtar for the presentation and looked forwarded to receiving the bench marking data.