Chesterfield - Destination Chesterfield

Chesterfield Council agrees to invest in leisure centres

Cllr Nick Stringer, Executive Member for Leisure, Culture and Tourism at Chesterfield Borough Council said: “One of our top priorities is to encourage more and more people to actively engage in sport and recreation, and what better time than the present with the London Olympics now within sight. Our 3-stage plan is to fundamentally change how we presently manage and operate the two leisure centres, to refurbish and modernise QPSC, and to shift some of our provision to the borough’s parks and open spaces through investment in a new community sports outreach programme.

“We’ve considered the previous Council administration’s option of outsourcing the management of the leisure centres but believe that we hold the expertise and experience within the Council to drive forward the necessary reforms without reliance on private companies. We feel this is the best route to go down so that we can guarantee all members of the community access to quality and affordable leisure facilities and services, and continue to tackle the evident inequalities in health that exist across our Borough.”

The Council plans to invest a minimum of £2.5 million in a refurbishment and modernisation programme for Queen’s Park Sports Centre and is presently in discussion with other potential funding partners that could bring further investment. There are also plans for an investment of £50k in the community sports outreach programme, with a particular emphasis on involving residents from the more deprived areas of the Borough.

Source:Chesterfield Borough Council

[back]