We are the UK’s leading consultancy in public sector leisure and active wellbeing.
Who we are
What we do
Our purpose is to transform public leisure services for inclusive, healthy and active communities.
We do this by providing expert advice and support to local authorities, national bodies and system partners. We bring leadership, learning and connections, creating and sharing best practice in strategic planning, placemaking and procurement.
Why work with us
We focus on delivering the best possible outcomes for our clients in an increasingly complex and challenging political environment.
We are adaptable and flexible so we can react to your organisation’s rapidly changing circumstances. We can lead when asked or provide support alongside you and be your critical friend. Responsive, thorough and imaginative – we deliver.
Who we work with
Our clients include core cities, unitary authorities, London boroughs, district and borough councils, Sport England and a wide range of other national organisations and system partners.
Testimonials
North Yorkshire Council – Strategic Leisure Review
SLC were great to work with, they spent time working with us to understand the brief and delivered quality outcomes in a timely manner. All of the team were easy to work with. We enjoyed the collaborative approach and appropriate challenge and this alongside extensive skills and expertise really added value to the final outcome. I would not hesitate to recommend.
Jo Ireland, Assistant Director: Culture, Leisure, Archives & Libraries, North Yorkshire Council
GM Moving – Pivot to Active Wellbeing Programme
SLC have been an integral part of the GM ‘pivot’ work to date. Their workstreams were important components of a wider programme of work catalysing long term transformative change in public sector leisure. The team went above and beyond, bringing added value and expertise to the project as it evolved. Their passion, knowledge and attention to detail have been valued. As a whole project team, we learnt together; exploring approaches to the complex challenges in the sector, so that it can play its full role in improving population health and address inequalities across Greater Manchester.
Richard Davis-Boreham, Strategic Director – Place and Operations, Greater Manchester Moving
Northumberland County Council – Leisure Procurement
SLC’s experience, guidance and support, throughout the leisure transformation programme, has been invaluable. David, Anna and Chetan were integral to the Council’s team, supporting both senior officers and Members in a friendly, yet professional manner. The sharing of their expert knowledge of the industry ensured we achieved the best outcome for the leisure services for our residents.
Marianne Donnelly, Internal Change Consultant, Northumberland County Council
Sheffield City Council – Leisure Services Review Programme
SLC co-produced and delivered complex elements of a major transformation programme for the City’s leisure services as it considers its approach for the next 30 years. Their ability to manage complexity, work flexibly and adapt to changing programme requirements through the pandemic really stood out. You can trust SLC to add significant value and deliver.
Lisa Firth, Director of Culture, Parks & Leisure, Sheffield City Council
Malvern Hills District Council – Community Hub Feasibility Study
The Council considers SLC as our ‘go to’ consultant. SLC are always at the forefront and driving change and progression across the sector. Their friendly but professional approach, knowledge, expertise, connections and reputation is second to none, and they maintain a blue sky thinking and outside of the box approach to the delivery of bespoke projects and pieces of work that are tailored and place based. We look forward to working with Duncan, Toby and the team again soon.
Mark Hammond, Community Infrastructure and Development Manager, Malvern Hills District Council
Bury Council – Active Wellbeing Strategy Business Case
Working with SLC on the Bury Active Wellbeing Strategy has been an intense and challenging project. Working together we have created a strategy we are collectively proud of. It has been created applying a whole system approach to deliver better health outcomes aligned to local strategies.
Jackie Veal, Head of Active Wellbeing, Bury Council
Stevenage Borough Council – Leisure Procurement
We have worked with SLC for a number of years on a range of different projects which was highly beneficial as it ultimately led to a successful procurement process. SLC bring market intelligence and unrivalled insight into the cutting edge of leisure services delivery and the procurement process, which is far more complex than we expected. SLC helped enormously with supporting Members and senior officers through the process. The outcome for us is magnificent, more than we expected, and has ensured that Stevenage has future-proofed our leisure offer with the ability to flex and change as our customer demand changes and as the town develops in the future. We could not have achieved this without the support of Toby and the wider team at SLC.
Geoff Caine, Culture, Wellbeing and Leisure Services Manager, Stevenage Borough Council
Bristol City Council – Facilities Review
SLC cover a broad range of disciplines and bring with them extensive experience. Always open to a challenge, they bring fresh ideas, deliver on time and have been a pleasure to work with.
Guy Fishbourne, Sport & Physical Activity Development Manager, Bristol City Council
South Kesteven – Management Options Appraisal and LATC Set-up
SLC’s independent advice and insight were vital building blocks in helping us secure the post-COVID future for leisure in the district through Leisure SK at an extremely difficult time for public leisure services.
Karen Whitfield, Head of Leisure, South Kesteven District Council
Westminster City Council – The Future of Leisure in Westminster Review
SLC showed great professionalism, expertise and energy right from the start – engaging with members, senior management and officers and gaining knowledge on the Council’s corporate objectives and strategies as well the service. SLC regularly updated key stakeholders on their work and showed great adaptability and flexibility throughout.
Rikin Tailor, Head of Corporate Finance, Westminster City Council
Gloucester City Council – Leisure Procurement
SLC have skilfully supported us through the last few years, in which securing the long-term future of our leisure services has been a key corporate priority for Gloucester City Council. From the initial options appraisal, to helping us secure an interim provider through emergency procurement rules in such a short timescale, and finally supporting our main leisure services procurement process, they have been brilliant to work with, exceptionally clear, patient and knowledgeable in their field. In particular, the way in which they combined the complex requirements of all three commissioning partners into one set of tender documentation has produced a result for the city we are delighted with: that of a single operator working across the city, with the benefits of efficiency, collaboration and ease of use for residents now all to be realised as we embark on this new partnership with our selected provider.