Duncan recently appeared on a new episode of ‘The Conveners Podcast’ where he spoke to Andy King about his ambitions for the future of the public leisure sector and the changes that are needed to drive progress. Topics such as local government reform and integration of health and social care…
We’re thrilled to share that Stevenage Borough Council’s procurement of a new Active Communities Leisure Management Contract has been shortlisted as a finalist for the Best Procurement Delivery Award – Local Government and Health by the UK National GO Awards 2025. SLC is proud to have supported the delivery of…
SLC has taken the decision to no longer post on X (Twitter) because we believe the platform no longer aligns with our values. We will now be using Bluesky, a social media platform that is similar to X but seems a lot healthier. As a B Corp, we take our…
SLC has just developed its updated report on the State of the Public Leisure Sector Procurement Market. Its purpose is simple – to share learning and provide up-to-date information and insight on the leisure and active wellbeing procurement market. Based on SLC’s experience of recent and current projects, the report…
2024 – Our most impactful year to date With a new government, the wider public leisure and active wellbeing sector continues to face challenges as it seeks to redefine and position itself. With limited resources, the need for innovative solutions to protect and enhance the role of public leisure and…
Gloucester City Council (GCC) has awarded Freedom Leisure a 15-year contract to manage and operate their facilities, beginning in January 2025. SLC was commissioned by GCC in August 2023 to support the procurement of a new leisure operating contract for its portfolio of two leisure facilities. Prior to this, SLC had supported…
SLC has reached a significant milestone in June 2024 and is celebrating its 15th anniversary. Since its incorporation, SLC has become the leading strategic advisor to the public leisure sector, played a key role in championing the pivot to active wellbeing and enabled half a £ billion of investment into…
SLC is the UK’s leading strategic adviser for public sector leisure, physical activity, sport and active wellbeing. We have an unrivalled track record of delivery with core cities, major metropolitan councils and local authorities supporting the pivot to active wellbeing. Our sector presence as a thought leader is firmly established…
We are delighted to announce that SLC has been awarded B Corp certification. SLC is one of only 1,500 companies in the UK which can demonstrate the highest levels of commitment to social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability. We’re proud to be the first company in the leisure and…
A year of challenge, opportunity and a new focus for the sector 2023 has been quite a year for the leisure and active wellbeing sector. The continuing challenge of local authorities’ financial hardship has been balanced by renewed optimism from operators and an exciting new focus on active wellbeing. The…
Northumberland County Council’s leisure services are to be managed by Places for People Leisure Management Limited from April next year. The Council was supported by SLC who worked with the Council to undertake a procurement strategy and to provide support aimed at transforming the current provision to a Community Leisure…
Since the Covid-19 pandemic and, more recently, financial pressures created by spiralling energy costs, the spectre of facility closures has loomed large over the industry. Sport England is trying to do its part through the Swimming Pool Support Fund and SLC has supported many authorities with reviews, options appraisals and…
Duncan Wood-Allum urges the public leisure sector to seize the opportunity to improve population health within the coming 5 years through a pivot to active wellbeing. After a grim period since March 2020 for the public leisure sector, we think it’s about time to share some optimism. Three and a…
Most people who work in public sector leisure, sport and physical activity would be able to sketch out the typical facility mix for a leisure centre built or planned in the last 5 years on the back of an envelope. They follow a pretty standard model: decent sized gym, 2-3…
In the lead up to the budget spending review, yet again, the sport, physical activity and wellbeing sectors have sought to influence national government and ask for more resources. There have been some genuine attempts at collaboration and disappointingly, some have sought to steal the march on the others and…
Sport England has published the long-awaited Leisure Services Delivery Guidance which was developed and authored by SLC over the last two years. The guidance has been developed in consultation with a number of sector partners including; local authorities, LGA, CLOA, CLUK, The Activity Alliance, leisure operating partners, leisure consultants, and…
SLC are proud to announce that Barnet Council have approved the outline business case to invest £18.8M into development of a new Community Sports Hub facility at West Hendon Playing Fields.
SLC appointed to support Stevenage Borough Council with major leisure and cultural transformation programme
SLC are pleased to have been awarded a place on ESPO Framework 664 Consultancy Services
As various sector bodies try to lobby government for funding support, we’ve been surprised at the approaches taken given some of the geopolitical issues being faced by the UK – the biggest of all which is climate change. We did find it rather frustrating that Swim England’s recent launch of…
In some local authorities, leisure services have been off the corporate radar due to them operating at a surplus and not presenting any significant problems or budget decisions. COVID-19 has resulted in those authorities having to provide financial support for the first time in years. SLC is working hard with its local authority clients and strategic partners to respond positively to the challenges being faced. We have developed our take on what we are calling the ‘Twelve new realities’ in what is a constantly evolving environment.
Sport England opened the National Leisure Recovery Fund in December 2020, with the aim of supporting the reopening and recovery of public sector leisure facilities. A total of £100M has been distributed to 266 local authorities across England, funded by the Government and administered by Sport England.
SLC is proud to have supported a significant number of our clients in receiving £ millions of funding support.
The Sport, Leisure and Culture Consultancy (SLC) facilitated an online Think Tank – ‘Commissioning Sport and Leisure Services in a COVID / Post-COVID World’ for local authority clients on 4 November 2020. Facilitation was provided by Toby Kingsbury and David Rushton, SLC Directors, supported by Michelle Payne, SLC Consultant.
A review of SLC’s Virtual Think Tanks: over 100 local authorities and 10 leisure operators from across the country attended our Virtual Think Tanks from 2 April onwards. Over the past five months, SLC hosted 12 sessions exploring key questions and Covid related challenges.
The Sport, Leisure and Culture Consultancy (SLC) facilitated an online Think Tank – ‘Managing the Recovery of Local Government Leisure Services’ for local authority clients on 20 August 2020 from 3pm-4.30pm. Facilitation was provided by Toby Kingsbury and David Rushton, SLC Directors, supported by Judith Schrenk, SLC Research Consultant.
The Sport, Leisure and Culture Consultancy (SLC) facilitated an online Think Tank – ‘Managing the Recovery of Local Government Leisure Services’ for local authority clients and Sport England colleagues only on 06 August 2020 from 3pm-4.30pm. Facilitation was provided by Duncan-Wood Allum, SLC Managing Director, supported by Judith Schrenk, SLC Research Consultant.
SLC, in close collaboration with leisure insight experts and developers of the DataHub 4global, have developed a Local Authority Benchmarking Tool to support local authority clients and their leisure operating partners through the phases of recovery. This enables local authorities to track actual live financial and throughput performance of sites linked to all the core income areas of a leisure operation and to maintain ‘real-time’ visibility on how the wider market is responding – something which will be hugely valuable during such a period of uncertainty.
The Sport, Leisure and Culture Consultancy (SLC) facilitated an online Think Tank – ‘Managing the Recovery of Local Government Leisure Services’ for Local Authority Clients on 23 July 2020. Facilitation was provided by Duncan-Wood Allum, Managing Director at SLC, supported by Judith Schrenk, SLC Research Consultant.
The Sport, Leisure and Culture Consultancy (SLC) facilitated an online Think Tank – Recovery Planning: Remobilising Leisure Services – the next challenge’ for Local Authority Clients, Sector Stakeholders and Public Sector Leisure Operating Partners on 25 June 2020. Facilitation was provided by Toby Kingsbury, Director at SLC, supported by Judith Schrenk, SLC Research Consultant.
The Sport, Leisure and Culture Consultancy (SLC) facilitated an online Think Tank – Recovery Planning – Key Considerations for Public Leisure Services’ exploring affordability – key challenges and opportunities for Local Authority Clients, Sector Stakeholders and Public Sector Leisure Operating Partners. Facilitation was provided by Duncan Wood-Allum, Founder and Managing Director at SLC, supported by Judith Schrenk, SLC Research Consultant.
The Sport, Leisure and Culture Consultancy (SLC) facilitated an online Think Tank – Recovery Planning for Aquatics – Key Considerations for Public Leisure Services for Local Authority Clients, Sector Stakeholders and Public Sector Leisure Operators on 28 May 2020. Facilitation was provided by Duncan Wood-Allum, Founder and Managing Director at SLC, supported by Judith Schrenk, SLC Research Consultant.
The Sport, Leisure and Culture Consultancy (SLC) facilitated an online Think Tank – Recovery Planning – Key Considerations for Public Leisure Services for local authority client officers and leisure operators on 14 May 2020.
The Sport, Leisure and Culture Consultancy (SLC) hosted two Virtual Think Tanks on Leisure Partnerships: Managing the Crisis – Contractual Considerations for Local Authority Client Officers on 30 April 2020. These sessions were facilitated by legal leisure expert Iain Greenshields, Womble Bond Dickinson LLP and colleagues.
As the sector looks into the void of the COVID-19 lockdown and its aftermath, SLC’s Managing Director Duncan Wood-Allum presents a Blueprint for a positive future for local authority leisure, sport and physical activity. This has been developed to provide an adaptable vision and roadmap for shaping future services – one that does not leave the most deprived and excluded in our society behind.
The Sport, Leisure and Culture Consultancy (SLC) facilitated an online Think Tank Leisure Trust Partnerships – Managing the Crisis and Planning for a Sustainable Future for Local Authority Client Officers and their Trust Partners on 23 April 2020. Facilitation was provided by Mark Tweedie, SLC Associate.
The Sport, Leisure and Culture Consultancy (SLC) facilitated an online Think Tank – Leisure Partnerships – Managing the Crisis and Planning for the Future for Local Authority Officers with Leisure Operating Contracts on 16 April 2020. Facilitation was provided by Duncan Wood-Allum, Managing Director at SLC.
The Sport, Leisure and Culture Consultancy (SLC) facilitated an online Think Tank – ‘Leisure Operator Partnerships – Managing the Crisis and Planning for the Future’ for Local Authority Client Officers with a leisure contract. Facilitation was provided by Toby Kingsbury, Director at SLC.
The Sport, Leisure and Culture Consultancy (SLC) facilitated an online Think Tank – ‘Leisure Partnerships – Managing the Crisis and Planning for the Future’ for Local Authority Client Officers and their NDPO Trust Partners on 9 April 2020 from 10.30am-12 noon. Facilitation was provided by Mark Tweedie, SLC Associate.
The Sport, Leisure and Culture Consultancy (SLC) facilitated an online Think Tank – Leisure Provision – Post Covid-19 on 2 April 2020. Facilitation was provided by Duncan Wood-Allum, Managing Director of SLC.
SLC will be hosting and facilitating a series of Virtual Think Tanks on public sector leisure provision, building on our heritage of hosting peer to peer knowledge sharing and transfer seminars for the leisure sector for over 10 years. Each week we will host a 90 minute session to explore…
At SLC we’ve taken all the necessary steps to ensure our staff and clients are safe and that we take care of our associates, suppliers and partners. We are delighted they are reciprocating. We are focussed on continuing to deliver projects for our clients and where we can, offer wider…
Judith Schrenk, Research Consultant provides a short synopsis of the latest Marmot Report – The Marmot Review Ten Years On
In 2010, the British Government commissioned Professor Sir Michael Marmont to review health inequalities in the United Kingdom. The 2010 review concluded that the path to a sustainable improvement of equality was not policy focusing on healthcare systems, but rather an improvement in the social determinants of health.
On 9 October 2019, representatives from eight Local Authorities from across England participated in an engaging day of learning and knowledge sharing on ‘Optimising your Leisure Procurement’.
This Think Tank seminar, facilitated by SLC Directors David Rushton and Toby Kingsbury, provided a platform to share best practice approaches to procuring successful leisure partnerships…
On 19 September 2019, 11 Local Authorities and Organisations from across England participated in a day of learning and knowledge sharing with SLC’s Directors on ‘Optimising your Leisure Management Partnership’.
Guest speakers from SLC Strategic Partners Tillr and 4Global provided insight from the latest sector thinking.
Duncan Wood-Allum explains why there is no better time for local authorities to start taking a more strategic approach to planning their future sport, physical activity and leisure services.
Over the last five years in the midst of the most challenging financial cuts, there has been a great deal of learning across the sector and some local authorities have been having a big impact in the most difficult circumstances…
SLC’s David Rushton considers the impact of the 2017 European Court of Justice’s Ealing Case, Carillion’s collapse and an increasing political lobby to bring services back in house. Will this reverse the trend in leisure management outsourcing and result in more local authorities bringing services back in-house?
In her inaugural article, Is the Tide Turning?, Anna Lunn, Research Consultant at The Sport, Leisure and Culture Consultancy, discusses the recent Sport England Active Lives Survey, highlighting where progress has been made, shifts in our activity behaviour and the persistent inequalities which remain.
On 13 February 2019, 10 Local and City Authorities from across England enjoyed a day of learning and engagement with SLC’s Directors on ‘Planning and Delivering Sustainable and Effective Leisure Services’.
The intention of the seminar was…
SLC has been appointed by the Ebbsfleet Development Corporation (EDC) to develop a new strategy for sports participation and physical activity in Ebbsfleet Garden City. Ebbsfleet Garden City has been designated one of 10 pilot Healthy New Towns (HNT) by NHS England. The new sport and physical activity strategy will…
SLC is delighted to announce that we have been appointed by The Swimathon Foundation to provide strategic support in supporting the growth of its events portfolio, partnerships and fundraising. The Swimathon Foundation is the owner and custodian of the annual national Swimathon, Open Water Swimathon and School Swimathon events. The…
On 3 October 2018, 15 Local Authorities and organisations from across England enjoyed a day of learning, knowledge transfer and engagement with SLC’s Directors on: ‘Optimising your Leisure and Cultural Procurement.’ The session was designed to provide a platform for best practice, sharing of lessons learned and promote the development of…
The council and Everyone Active are committed to proactively addressing health inequalities in the borough with the aim of getting residents more active. The service has therefore been re-designed to help extend its reach and impact across the borough by specifying a new programme of outreach activities to help tackle…
As SLC reflects on the last 12 months, we are delighted with the success of in the last twelve months and are looking forward to continuing to support our existing client base and forging some new partnerships in 2018 and beyond. SLC has successfully delivered over 50 projects for clients in…
SLC’s Chairman, Richard Leman, has been awarded Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the Queen’s 2018 Birthday Honours List. Richard received the honour for “Services to Hockey” due to the incredible service he has given to hockey in Great Britain at a local, national and international level. Richard is…
Sport England has recently appointed The Sport, Leisure and Culture Consultancy (SLC) to lead the review and update of the Procurement Toolkit suite. This toolkit is for use by the sector and by organisations with close relationships with Sport England including Local Authorities, commercial operators, Leisure trusts, Legal professionals, leisure…
SLC and Southern Green Ltd. are delighted to announce their strategic partnership, working together to explore the potential for leisure and recreational sites. Southern Green is an award winning firm of landscape architects, urban designers and masterplanners who are passionate about delivering enduring, innovative and inspirational places. Since its establishment…
SLC continue to deliver sector-leading advice to local authorities through our unique and highly acclaimed Think Tank seminars. We are delighted to announce further details about our London Think Tank on Wednesday 3 October 2018 – Optimising your Leisure and Cultural Procurement. This facilitated peer learning event provides expert advice…
West Lindsey District Council has selected a preferred partner to manage its Leisure Services following a competitive procurement process. The Council awarded the 15-year contract to Sport and Leisure Management Ltd who trade as Everyone Active. The Council is undertaking a £7.8 million investment programme including substantial refurbishment at West…
Barrow Borough Council has selected their preferred partner to manage the Park Leisure Centre. Following a competitive procurement process, Life Leisure have been appointed as preferred partner for the 15-year contract. Life Leisure, the trading name of Stockport Sports Trust, was established in 2002. They are a not for profit…
The start of 2018 has brought a number of new commissions for the SLC team, from both new and some long established clients. SLC is continuing its strong tradition of supporting the education sector in establishing sustainable community use. We recently supported an independent school in the south west, exploring…
Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead’s councillors gave the green light to a futuristic leisure centre, featuring an indoor street and winter garden running through the spine of the building on 14 February (subject to final approval by the National Planning Casework Unit.) SLC played a pivotal role back…
SLC’s MD Duncan Wood-Allum delivered a challenging speech to delegates at the Annual SAPCA conference on “A Changing Marketplace”. In his 30 minute presentation he highlighted the state of the market for sports and play constructors and identified where there may be threats and opportunities for delegates to respond to…
On 8 February 2018, 11 Local Authorities and organisations from across England enjoyed a day of learning, knowledge transfer and engagement with SLC’s Directors on Optimising your Leisure and Cultural Procurement. Amardeep Gill from Trowers & Hamlins LLP was also on hand to offer his legal expertise. The session was designed to…
SLC Associate and Director of the VAT Consultancy, Steve McIntyre, has written an informative thoughtpiece on the latest position on VAT exemption for in-house managed leisure and cultural services. Over the Christmas period, and following the outcome of the earlier European Court of Justice decision for the London Borough of…
SLC continue to deliver sector-leading advice to local authorities through our unique and highly acclaimed Think Tank seminars and we are delighted to announce further details about our Sheffield Think Tank on 21 March 2018 – Transforming Leisure and Cultural Provision. This facilitated peer learning event provides expert advice on…
Watford Borough Council has agreed a new 15-year partnership with leisure operator Everyone Active to manage and help develop its sport and leisure facilities. The new contract will include the operation of the council-owned Watford Central Leisure Centre and Watford Woodside Leisure Centre and Athletics Stadium. The service has been re-designed…
The Sport, Leisure and Culture Consultancy Ltd has over the last 7 years assisted over 50 clients to transform their leisure and cultural services, and in doing so deliver significant financial savings (c. £60 million) and better services for communities. These projects have been as varied as improving service delivery…
As SLC reflects on 2017, we are delighted with the success of the year.
North Kesteven District Council has selected preferred partners to manage its leisure services following a competitive procurement process. The preferred partners, all of which are not-for-profit or trust organisations for three Lots are: Lot 1: Sport and Physical Activity – Greenwich Leisure Ltd Lot 2: Whisby Natural World Centre – Lincs Inspire…
SLC Managing Consultant, Toby Kingsbury presented to delegates at SALTEX, held at the NEC on 1st November. Toby explored the topic of inequalities in sport and physical activity and explained how new leisure contracts are helping to tackle this issue. The correlation between socio-economic groups and levels of inactivity is…
As we approach the end of 2017, SLC is in the process of delivering a number of interesting and important projects for clients across the country. The team has been entrusted to support a number of local authority clients in their leisure and / or cultural procurement. Ongoing procurements currently…
East Grinstead Sports Club is one of the highest profile sports clubs in Sussex featuring National Hockey Men’s and Ladies Teams and a number of other sports. Its management contract was coming up for renewal and the club was seeking advice on how to either extend or retender the management…
The Sport, Leisure and Culture Consultancy (SLC) is delighted to announce that de Stafford School in Caterham has agreed a new 15-year partnership with Freedom Leisure to manage and develop the School’s dual-use sports centre. SLC was appointed by de Stafford School to support the School throughout the procurement process…
On 28 September 2017, Local Authorities from across England and the LTA enjoyed a day of learning, knowledge transfer and engagement with SLC’s Leisure Procurement and Feasibility experts on Sustainable Leisure and Cultural Services. Amardeep Gill, Legal Partner from Trowers and Hamlins, was also on hand to offer his legal…
SLC continue to deliver sector-leading advice to local authorities through our unique and highly acclaimed Think Tank seminars and SLC is delighted to announce further details about our London Think Tank on 8 February 2018 – Optimising your Leisure Procurement. This facilitated peer learning event provides expert advice on the…
The SLC team has been kept busy over the summer months by a combination of new and ongoing client projects across the UK and Ireland. Our expanded team has returned from summer holidays refreshed and ready to continue to serve the needs of existing clients, get new projects underway and…
The Sport, Leisure and Culture Consultancy (SLC) is inviting local authorities to take part in the latest of our successful Think Tank facilitated seminars on Sustainable Leisure and Cultural Services. The seminar takes place on Thursday 28 September: 9.30am – 3.45pm at Trowers and Hamlins, 10 Colmore Row, Birmingham B3…
As SLC reflects on the last year, we are delighted with the success of 2016/2017 and are looking forward to continuing to support our existing client base and forging some new partnerships in the upcoming year. SLC has successfully delivered over 50 projects for clients in local government, education, the…
SLC have forged a partnership with BSSEC, one of the UK’s leading Energy Consultancies. BSSEC have worked with over 600 clients over the past 10 years and can assist you in identifying how much more efficient your assets can become linked to invest to save opportunities. Together with BSECC, we are supporting clients…
Recent months have seen SLC add a number of new projects and clients to our current portfolio, and the team is looking forward to supporting a variety of strategy, feasibility and procurement projects over the summer and into 2018. Procurements have been secured across the whole length of the country…
Slough Borough Council has agreed a new 10-year partnership with leisure operator Everyone Active to manage and help develop its sport and leisure facilities. The new contract will include the operation of a new leisure centre for Slough to replace Montem Leisure Centre along with other major public leisure facilities…
On 6 June, 10 Local Authorities and organisations from across England enjoyed a day of learning, knowledge transfer and engagement with SLC’s Leisure Procurement experts on optimising their leisure procurement. The session was designed to provide a platform for best practice, sharing of lessons learned and promote the development of more…
Barrow Borough Council’s Leisure Services which include Park Leisure Centre and The Forum, currently run in-house are to be tendered for the first time. The procurement is scheduled to start in the summer of 2017. Leading leisure consultants SLC have been commissioned by Barrow Borough Council to assist with the…
Crawley Borough Council has commissioned The Sport, Leisure and Culture Consultancy (SLC) to provide support for the procurement of a long-term partner to operate K2 Crawley and associated leisure facilities. This procurement exercise will run in parallel to the Council’s planned capital improvements to their leisure facilities. The project aims to…
Oxford City Council have now published their Oxford Community Centre Strategy for 2016 – 2020. SLC was commissioned in March 2015 to develop the evidence which has informed the City’s Community Centre Strategy as published in February 2017. The needs assessment undertaken by SLC contributed to the development of the…
SLC and Set Square Surveyors are thrilled to announce the formalisation of their new partnership, working together to optimise the value and minimise lifecycle costs of SLC’s clients’ leisure assets. Set Square provides a comprehensive range of Building Surveying services to the leisure industry with expertise in Dilapidations Management and…
SLC is delighted to announce that following our ISO 9001:2008 Surveillance Audit in February, our certification has been renewed for another year. The assessment raised no major or minor non-conformities, emphasising the dedication of the team to maintain our quality systems and accreditation. ISO 9001 is a certified quality management…
SLC is delighted to announce that Richard Leman has been appointed as Chairman of SLC to lead the SLC Board in its plans for growth. Richard was a member of the Gold Medal winning Great Britain Hockey squad in the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul. Richard has been the President of Great Britain Hockey…
SLC had a fantastic and productive day at the Think Tank Seminar – Optimising your Leisure Procurement on the 2 March at Ponds Forge International Sports Centre, Sheffield. The session was designed to provide a platform for best practice, sharing of lessons learned and promote the development of more effective…
As Managing Consultant Toby Kingsbury reaches one year at SLC, he has written an article detailing his learning points for the Sport and Leisure Industry from the consultant’s perspective.
As you can see, SLC has not sent you a paper Christmas card this year. Instead we are making a donation to Parkinson’s UK. Close to SLC’s heart, this charity drives better care, treatments and quality of life for those suffering from Parkinson’s. They are the largest European charitable funder of Parkinson’s research,…
The Sport, Leisure and Culture Consultancy (SLC) would like to invite you to take part in the latest of our successful Think Tank facilitated seminars, Optimising your Leisure Procurement. This facilitated peer learning event provides expert advice on the approach to externalising your leisure procurement to help you achieve the very best sustainable…
A UK specialist in leisure management has been chosen to run the three leisure centres in East Northamptonshire along with a new outreach programme. East Northamptonshire Council has awarded Freedom Leisure the contract to manage and develop the healthy and active lifestyles offer in the district through the Nene Centre…
Westway Trust, the charity that is custodian of a vibrant 23 acres of land underneath the Westway flyover in Kensington, has agreed a 10 year partnership with leisure operator Everyone Active to manage the sports and fitness enterprise on the estate. The partnership will see Everyone Active and Westway Trust…
Take responsibility for your own future. At SLC our vision is to be the leading strategic adviser to the Sport and Leisure Sector and to respond to increasing levels of demand for our services, we need to bring some more exceptional people on board. About Us SLC (The Sport, Leisure…
West Lindsey District Council has commissioned The Sport, Leisure and Culture Consultancy (SLC) to provide support for the procurement of a long-term partner to operate its leisure facilities. The existing leisure management contract comes to an end in April 2018 and the Council has identified the procurement of a new contract…
On 14 June 17 Local authorities from across England enjoyed a day of learning, knowledge transfer and engagement with SLC’s subject matter experts. They attended SLC’s second Think Tank of 2016 – ‘Developing Sustainable Leisure Facilities’. Through a series of facilitated workshops, delegates explored their own projects with input from…
The Sport, Leisure and Culture Consultancy (SLC) has been commissioned by Watford Borough Council to assist with the procurement of a long-term partner to operate the Council’s leisure centres. This is part of the Council’s strategy to promote sport and physical activity across the borough through the provision of high…
Leisure provision within Slough is undergoing an exciting transformation with a staggering £34m being invested in leisure facilities for the town. These developments are being delivered through the council’s ambitious leisure strategy, with the ultimate aim to get more people, more active, more often. The council is in the process…
SLC client, Malvern Hills District Council, has been awarded a Certificate of Excellence for improving services to the public sector and its citizens by the Improvement and Efficiency Social Enterprise (iESE) for its management of the re-procurement of their leisure services. SLC acted as a strategic advisor to the Council…
SLC is delighted to announce that following our ISO 9001:2008 Annual Assessment in February, our certification has been renewed for another year. Our assessment raised no major or minor non-conformities, emphasising the dedication of the team to maintain our quality systems and accreditation. ISO 9001 is a certified quality management…
SLC facilitated a half day Transforming Leisure and Cultural Services Procurement Think Tank on 23 February 2016 in Loughborough. Strategic input and facilitation was provided through SLC’s Duncan Wood-Allum, David Rushton and Toby Kingsbury. The session was designed to provide a platform for best practice, sharing of lessons learned and…
We are delighted to announce that North Kesteven District Council has been selected to take part in the prestigious ‘Whole Systems’ Approach to Obesity Pilot Programme. The other three successful councils are Durham County Council, Gloucestershire County Council, and London Borough of Lewisham. 60 local authorities bid to take part in the…
Oxford Spires Academy and Fusion Lifestyle supported by a large investment from Oxford City Council have opened the doors of a new health and fitness facility this week to extend the Academy’s community use provision in East Oxford. SLC has had a long association of working in Oxford and we…
SLC has been appointed by Westway Trust to provide advice and manage the procurement of a not-for-profit operator for its Sport and Fitness facilities. The Trust currently operates in a number of areas within the community as part of its charitable remit to provide facilities, services and opportunities for its…
Following successful completion of the Leisure Strategy for East Northamptonshire Council, SLC has been appointed to support the Council through the procurement of a leisure operator. SLC will manage the procurement process, exploring options for the future management of three facilities in Thrapston and Rushden post 2016. Duncan Wood-Allum said…
Toby Kingsbury has joined SLC as a Principal Consultant. Toby has over 15 years’ experience in the delivery of sport, leisure and cultural services and has worked in a number of roles in local authority leisure provision and has a Master’s Degree in Sports Management from the University of Leicester.…
We are delighted to announce the appointment of Laura Froshaug as a Research Consultant from October 2015. Having recently graduated from the University of Exeter with a degree in French and Latin, Laura is now eager to develop her experience in the sport, leisure and culture sector. Laura has been…
SLC client, South Ayrshire Council and South Carrick Community Leisure have recently announced that all capital costs are now in place for a new Leisure Centre in Girvan. In 2013-14, SLC played a vital role in challenging the existing business plan and feasibility study and making recommendations in relation to…
Oxford Spires Academy set to open doors on new community leisure facilities in January 2016. The Sport Leisure and Culture Consultancy has been supporting Oxford Spires Academy, part of the CfBT Schools Trust in developing new community sports facilities in East Oxford, due to open to the public in January 2016.…
North Kesteven District Council has appointed the Sport, Leisure and Culture Consultancy (SLC) to develop its Sport and Physical Activity Strategy. SLC will review the existing evidence base including the Council’s health, well-being and strategic priorities to develop clear objectives for sports and physical activity services. The strategy will inform…
The Sport, Leisure and Culture Consultancy has achieved ISO 9001:2008 certification, following a successful audit. What is ISO 9001? ISO 9001 is the international standard that sets out the requirements for a quality management system and is the most widely recognised standard in the world. Over a million organizations are…
In the context of unprecedented challenges to public funding and the requirement on local authorities to seek new and innovative ways of delivering services to ensure sustainability, Live Active Leisure were seeking to develop innovative, informative, effective, efficient and Service Propositions that reflected current and future challenges. Phil Collins, under the directorship of…
SLC has recently been appointed by an independent co-educational day and boarding school in Surrey to advise on the scope, size and design of a new indoor Sports Centre development for the school. High quality sports facilities are increasingly becoming a signficant feature of top independent schools nationwide, with many…
SLC are delighted to announce the launch of our new free SLC Helpline service from January 2015 – a first in the leisure consulting sector. Through this new phone and email based service, SLC will provide bespoke initial advice in response to queries from individuals and organisations seeking assistance, guidance…
Suffolk County Council have now published their Suffolk Disability Sport & Physical Activity Strategy for 2014-2019. The Sport, Leisure and Culture Consultancy were commissioned in February 2014 to develop a Disability Sport and Physical Activity Strategy for Suffolk County Council, and will now be jointly developing and delivering a Think…
We are delighted to announce the appointment of David Rushton as Associate Director from January 2015. David will be responsible for leading the development of our services in the Midlands and North. David has over 25 years experience in the sport, leisure and culture sector and has worked in a…
A strategy for supporting Letchworth residents to be more active and healthy is being launched with local sports, community and health groups on 17th November at the Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation offices on Icknield Way. Organisations involved in grassroots sport, physical activity, health and wellbeing activities are being invited to…
In the context of unprecedented challenges to public funding and the requirement on local authorities to seek new and innovative ways of delivering services to ensure sustainability, Live Active Leisure (LAL) were seeking to develop innovative, informative, effective, efficient and Service Propositions that reflected current and future challenges. Phil Collins,…
I’ve just been to the gym. A solitary run in an uninspiring environment, with no human interaction whatsoever. I had no programme, have set no goals and apart from ‘feeling good’ after my workout, have nothing else to show. I’m pretty highly motivated as regards looking after myself having played…
The Sport, Leisure and Culture Consultancy (SLC) in partnership with Trowers & Hamlins LLP and FMG Consulting, hosted a half day Leisure Procurement Think Tank on 21 May 2014 in Birmingham. The sessions were designed to provide a platform for best practice, sharing of lessons learned and promoting the development of…
The Sport, Leisure and Culture Consultancy were commissioned in February 2014 to develop a Disability Sport and Physical Activity Strategy for Suffolk County Council. This is part of the Council’s ambitions to build on the legacy of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and address the key outcomes identified…
The Sport, Leisure and Culture Consultancy (SLC) is working with a number of Unitaries, London Boroughs and second tier authorities on addressing the challenge of major budget reductions looming in 2015/16. In the last 12 months we’ve identified well over £5 million of cashable savings for three clients. Budget reductions…
The Sport, Leisure and Culture Consultancy is delighted to announce that Anna Dalton has recently been promoted to Consultant. Anna joined SLC on an Internship in October 2012 and has progressed from a Research Consultant role to her new role. Her role will now incorporate leading SLC Insight’s development of…
Malvern Hills District Council (MHDC) has now approved their first Sport and Leisure Strategy 2014-2018, Active Communities Malvern Hills District: A Vision for the Future. Developed in partnership with SLC, the strategy seeks to define how the council will support sport and leisure provision in the future. It is set…
The Sport, Leisure and Culture Consultancy (SLC), supported by Hall Aitken, conducted a half day workshop on performance management on Thursday 16th January, at the Triangle, Burgess Hill, West Sussex hosted by Freedom Leisure and attended by the South East Leisure Contractors Organisation (SELCO). Following a debate about Key Performance…
We are thrilled to announce that our grant application to sported. on behalf of Ockley Amateur Boxing Club in Bognor Regis, considered by the sported. grant panel on 11th December 2013, was successful. Duncan is Ockley ABC’s sported. mentor, and SLC have been working with the club to develop a…
SLC was a proud sponsor of the recent Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA) seminar on Planning for Culture, the Arts and Sporting Facilities in Sustainable New Communities in London on 6 November 2013. The seminar also included a presentation by Duncan Wood-Allum on Leveraging strategic investment in culture and…
The Sport Leisure and Culture Consultancy in partnership with Trowers and Hamlins and FMG Consulting have been delighted at the response from the sector to their two Leisure Procurement Think Tanks recently held in Manchester on 5 November and in London on 12 November. Sport England were represented following the…
Boost for sport and leisure activities Malvern Hills District Council has appointed the Sport, Leisure and Culture Consultancy (SLC) to develop a Sport and Leisure Strategy by March 2014 to provide a clear approach to its role in supporting sustainable sport and leisure opportunities within the district. The strategy will…
The Sport, Leisure and Culture Consultancy (SLC) is now entering its fifth year of trading off the back of its most successful year ever. The Consultancy, which is now firmly established as a trusted brand within the sector has supported over 30 clients from the third, private and public sectors…
East Hampshire District Council (EHDC) has appointed The Sport Leisure and Culture Consultancy Ltd (SLC) to provide a detailed understanding of the options to the Council for the refurbishment or replacement of Alton Sports Centre. This is the first project to be taken forward from the Council’s Leisure Built Facilities…
When there’s a mad panic on in the Town Hall to find savings and local authorities are short on time, important decisions can often be made with limited information and understanding. With reductions in specialist Leisure senior managers, there are a number of myths we encounter relating to leisure which…
Pro Active Camden (PAC) is one of the leading CSPANs in England, with a proud track record of cross cutting work in one of London’s most dynamic and diverse boroughs. Back in 2009, The Sport, Leisure and Culture Consultancy supported PAC in the development of its Sport and Physical Activity…
Warrington got the royal treatment on Thursday 17th May when HRH Queen Elizabeth II officially opened the Park and Orford Jubilee Neighbourhood Hub. The 50 acre site has been transformed with a £30 million investment from a number of sources to provide the Northwest of England with a real physical…
sported. is the UK’s leading sport for development charity helping to transform the lives of disadvantaged young people. They do this by supporting community and voluntary sports groups, which deliver sport for development. Their aim is to help them grow and run to the best of their ability. This helps to…
It’s been really satisfying to have followed a number of major capital projects we’ve worked on over the years. They’ve now started to come out of the ground and open to the community. Over £100 Million worth of schemes will open this year (not including the Olympic Park!). The…
The Sport, Leisure and Culture Consultancy (SLC) has recently completed a sport and physical activity strategy for Warrington Borough Council. The draft strategy, which is now out for consultation, has been prepared by a partnership representing schools, clubs, the NHS, community organisations and the Council. SLC has driven the development…
So it’s arrived. 2012. Olympic Year. Sporting anticipation, culture, pride and pure joy awaits – possibly a few gold medals to boot. Regardless of the politics – let’s enjoy it! The Legacy debate will continue and many sports development colleagues will be just getting on with creating the very best…
Duncan Wood-Allum has been invited back to speak at the Sport and Play Construction Association’s (SAPCA’s) annual conference on Monday 30 January, 2012 at Forest of Arden Hotel, Meriden, Warwickshire. After delivering a challenging insight into what the future would hold for suppliers to the Sports sector back in January…
SLC ran a Trust Seminar on 6 October for 10 Derbyshire Councils in Matlock, with three leading Trust Chief Executives ‘telling it like it is’ and sharing their experiences of setting up, establishing and developing their Trusts. The learning proved to be very powerful for the Officers who attended. The…
Derby City Council is currently undergoing a major transformation of its Museums service. SLC have been appointed to provide the Council with specialist support linked to project managing the programme, providing business planning and bid management support for a Major Grants Application to Arts Council England (ACE). SLC is working…
Suffolk County Council has long recognised the important contribution Community Use on school sites makes to the health and wellbeing of its communities. With a direct interest in around 20 school facilities, it wanted to explore new approaches to: Broadening community access to sports facilities on school sites Improving the…
The Royal Borough of Kingston Upon Thames has appointed the Sport, Leisure and Culture Consultancy (SLC) to prepare a sport and leisure needs assessment for the borough. With the Olympic cycling road race coming through the Borough next year, interest in sport will be at an all-time high. But with…
Warrington Borough Council has appointed The Sport, Leisure and Culture Consultancy (SLC) to prepare a five year sport and physical activity strategy that looks beyond traditional ideas of exercise to deliver improved outcomes for health and wellbeing. The strategy aims to make Warrington the most active borough in the North…
Like most local authority leisure departments, Canterbury City Council is exploring the best possible way to deliver leisure services for less and ensure that service quality meets expectation into the future. With an opportunity to review the current management contract with their operating partner, back in late 2010, SLC were…
Ten local authorities in Derbyshire, led by Derbyshire Sport, the County Sports Partnership, recently challenged SLC to help them to explore efficiency savings. The Derbyshire local authorities identified the current state of their respective cultural services – sport, arts, museums, heritage and libraries – via a simple questionnaire. A number…
Having just spent two days at the LGA Culture Tourism and Sport Conference, on the long journey home I’ve been wondering how Carlsberg would do it? As the premier event in the Culture and Sport calendar, this is the ‘must attend gig’ for all those involved at a senior level…
SLC has finalised the Heritage Change Programme Support Pack featuring guidance, toolkits and advice from the Heritage Change Programme on behalf of the London Cultural Improvement Programme (LCIP). The Heritage Change Programme (HCP) is part of the overall London Cultural Improvement Programme which is funded by Capital Ambition (London’s Regional…
New participation figures from Sport England’s Active People Survey 4 paint a mixed picture of progress in grassroots sport, with strong growth in running and cycling but a drop in numbers for other major sports. Overall, the poor increase in participation numbers seen over the past five years continues, with…
It’s only been 8 months since we started trading and we’re very proud of what has been achieved in 2010. Here’s a quick summary: SLC secured all three publicly tendered major projects it bid for in 2010 – and has successfully delivered 11 projects over the last 8 months, with…
SLC’s ten golden rules for options appraisals have been developed from our learning over the years in taking Councils through their future options for Culture and Sport services. Duncan Wood-Allum authored guidance still being used by the Improvement and Development Agency on Options Appraisals and Business Cases for Culture and…
The massed forces of the sector gathered at the 6th Annual Future of Culture, Tourism and Sport Conference held on Tuesday 14th September in London. The top brass lined up to prepare the troops sitting knee (for some, neck) deep in their local government trenches for their pre October budget…
Canterbury City Council has commissioned the Sport, Leisure and Culture Consultancy to undertake an Indoor Leisure Review to explore future options for the management of its five Leisure indoor facilities located in Canterbury, Whitstable and Herne Bay. The Council’s aim for the review is to identify the most effective and…
Confidential support for service heads If you’re heading up a local government Culture and Sport Department, we don’t have to tell you these are tough times. You’ll probably be exploring how to find savings of up to 30-40% over the next couple of years. Some of you will be needing…
The Big Apple’s Approach to Parks and Recreation Autumn Seminars in London, 30 September and Birmingham 12 October. Duncan Wood-Allum invites you to SLC’s exclusive half day seminars highlighting a number of successful approaches that could be the inspiration for adapting ways of working in the sport, parks and leisure…
Following my successful Study Tour to the City of New York Department of Parks and Recreation, I’m now concentrating on developing SLC as the consultancy of choice for the Culture and Sport sector. I’ll soon be releasing details of my series of articles describing my experiences and learning in New…
Two days into my study tour of New York City hosted by the Parks and Recreation Department and I’m already convinced that we in the UK can learn a lot from the Big Apple. The key difference I have noticed so far from meeting numerous members of staff, customers, volunteers…
Following several months planning, research and business development activity, The Sport, Leisure and Culture Consultancy will be trading from 1 May 2010. Duncan Wood-Allum, founder of SLC said, “I’m thrilled at the response and support I’ve had from the sector, colleagues and previous clients. We have developed an excellent network…
February 2010: Santiago’s Park Life Surprise. I had the privilege to spend few days in Santiago recently as part of my South American trip, travelling through most of Chile and over to Easter Island. What I was not expecting was a parks and cultural masterclass. By simply walking outside my…
I love NY January 2010: New York’s Commissioner for Parks, Adrian Benepe has invited Duncan Wood-Allum to visit the Big Apple’s world class Parks and Recreation facilities as part of a planned study tour and information exchange project. Kevin Jeffery, Deputy Commissioner for Parks said, ”As a major provider of…
January 2010: The Sport, Leisure and Culture Consultancy is proud to announce it will be supporting The Leisure Review (TLR) as a Premium Partner. Over the next twelve months, SLC’s branding will appear on the front page of this monthly magazine and alongside a number of leading articles. The Leisure…
On 29th January 2010, the ground was broken to signify the beginning of the construction phase of the £30 Million Orford Park Community Sports Hub Project in Warrington. I’m absolutely delighted for Warrington Borough Council, and in particular the indefatigable Orford Park Project Manager Duncan Richardson, who has driven this…
NZRA 9 November 2009: What do you think of when it comes to conferences in the UK? Overly packed seminar programmes of mixed quality? Not enough breaks to network? Cheesed off sponsors who’ve been hidden in the broom cupboard? Empty seats on the last day? I could go on, but…
November 3, 2009: Having spent three days with the New Zealand Recreation Association in Hastings, Hawkes Bay this week, I have some observations to share. Polticians Chris Tremain NZMP and Lawrence Yule – Mayor of Hastings hugely impressive opening speeches – they actually get sport and recreation! A conference floor buzzing…
I was invited to write an article for the Locum Review over three years ago.. I dug it out today… I wonder how far my predictions were from the reality of where we are today? I’ll let you decide.. Going for Gold Can the official targets for 2012 be hit?…
Is this the end of public leisure services as we know it? Yes – but active wellbeing is our collective future Duncan Wood-Allum, Managing Director of SLC, recently produced an article for Health Club Management outlining the reasons why he believes the investment in place-based working hasn’t realised its full…
LGR article 2 The landscape of local government is shifting. As local authorities move through Local Government Reorganisation (LGR), the choices made today will set the tone for public services for the next generation. At the heart of these changes lies a crucial question for our sector: how can leisure,…
LGR article 1 Together with our public sector clients, we are exploring the implications of local government reorganisation (LGR) for leisure and active wellbeing services. Dom Hudson and SLC colleagues have been examining the potential threats, hurdles and opportunities that may lie ahead through our work with local authorities and…
It’s hard to believe that this month marks my first year at SLC! Over the course of the past year, I’ve grown from being an industry newbie to playing a key role in several major public leisure and active wellbeing projects. This includes the development of an active wellbeing operating and…
My time at SLC began with a month-long internship in September. I had just come back from the Olympics where I was the reserve goalkeeper for the Great Britain Men’s Hockey squad. I was also finishing my Masters in Sport Management, Politics and International Development at Loughborough University. My Masters…
The sport, leisure and active wellbeing sector loves a strategy. Typically, local authorities use them to set out their policy position, direction, priority outcomes and plans. Active Partnerships use them to highlight and articulate their purpose and work as a systems leader across their locality. Huge amounts of time and…
In May we asked Martyn Allison to facilitate a meeting of the Local Government Physical Activity Partnership to review the progress made implementing the Future of Public Sector Leisure report (published by Sport England in 2022).
We were pleased to be invited to participate in a HCM discussion piece about what needs to happen to integrate physical activity with healthcare, and successfully “pivoting to active wellbeing “.
Following on from our contribution to the Sports Think Tank’s 2024 manifesto, Andy Reed OBE recently interviewed Duncan Wood-Allum in a podcast where they discuss the future of public leisure pivoting to active wellbeing and its role in place. Martyn Allison commenting on the podcast said “Change is happening in…
We were pleased to be invited to participate in a discussion piece based on SLC’s white paper and analysis on the sector workforce in HCM’s latest feature. The leader is provocative and arguably controversial but we need to talk about workforce.
We are delighted to have been invited to contribute to the Sports Think Tank’s 2024 manifesto, brilliantly curated by Andy Reed OBE.
In the first of our series of blogs (Pivoting with Purpose) on the pivot to active wellbeing, SLC’s Duncan Wood-Allum urged the public sector to seize the opportunity to improve population health by pivoting its leisure services to active wellbeing. In this blog, we turn our attention to some of…
In December 2023, Sheffield City Council launched their Sport and Leisure Strategy for 2023-2033, developed in partnership with SLC, available here. Following detailed community and stakeholder consultation in early 2022, the City Council has worked with its partners to develop the Strategy. To see the video click here. It sets…
Toby Kingsbury reflects on SLC’s recent experience of supporting Councils through their sport, physical activity and leisure procurements. In this blog he explores how operators are responding positively to new contract opportunities, despite the challenging market conditions. We’re all aware of the unprecedented challenges faced by our sector over the…
That was the year that was… 2022 is a year many in local government and the sport, physical activity and active wellbeing and cultural sectors will want to forget. However, despite sluggish recovery in many areas, labour market shortages, rising supply chain and construction costs, inflation and to top it…
Battered through the Covid pandemic. Sluggish recovery. Increased supply chain costs. Recruitment and retention issues. UK and global economic instability leading to the cost-of-living crisis. Utility costs decimating any gains made through efficiency, programming, and service innovation. The public sector leisure sector is going through an existential crisis, according to…
Duncan Wood-Allum, Managing Director of SLC reflects on SLC’s recent experience of supporting Councils through their sport, physical activity and leisure procurements. In this blog he explores timing and planning procurements, risk transfer, changing realities and perceptions and offers some hope for the future. Timing is everything Unforeseen delays are…
There’s a scene from Saving Private Ryan, where Tom Hanks, having fought his way up a section of Omaha beach in a hail of bullets, comes across a young private sheltering behind an obstacle. The private asks him ‘what the hell do we do now, Sir?’. Another soldier shouts ‘What’s…
In January 2020, Bristol City Council published their Sport and Physical Activity Strategy for 2020-2025, developed in partnership with SLC.
As the sector looks into the void of the COVID-19 lockdown and its aftermath, SLC’s Managing Director Duncan Wood-Allum presents a Blueprint for a positive future for local authority leisure, sport and physical activity. This has been developed to provide an adaptable vision and roadmap for shaping future services – one that does not leave the most deprived and excluded in our society behind.
Duncan Wood-Allum explains why there is no better time for local authorities to start taking a more strategic approach to planning their future sport, physical activity and leisure services.
Over the last five years in the midst of the most challenging financial cuts, there has been a great deal of learning across the sector and some local authorities have been having a big impact in the most difficult circumstances…
SLC’s David Rushton considers the impact of the 2017 European Court of Justice’s Ealing Case, Carillion’s collapse and an increasing political lobby to bring services back in house. Will this reverse the trend in leisure management outsourcing and result in more local authorities bringing services back in-house?
In her inaugural article, Is the Tide Turning?, Anna Lunn, Research Consultant at The Sport, Leisure and Culture Consultancy, discusses the recent Sport England Active Lives Survey, highlighting where progress has been made, shifts in our activity behaviour and the persistent inequalities which remain.
In his article, No Investment? No Future., Toby Kingsbury, Director at the Sport, Leisure and Culture Consultancy (SLC), highlights the huge challenges facing public leisure facilities and explains how those local authorities willing to invest can deliver successful and sustainable facilities that support wider strategic outcomes.
In 2017, Babergh and Mid Suffolk Councils published their Leisure, Sport and Physical Activity Strategy for 2017-2030. SLC supported the development of this strategy.
SLC Associate and Director of the VAT Consultancy, Steve McIntyre, has written an informative thoughtpiece on the latest position on VAT exemption for in-house managed leisure and cultural services. Over the Christmas period, and following the outcome of the earlier European Court of Justice decision for the London Borough of…
As SLC reflects on 2017, we are delighted with the success of the year.
The last two years has seen a significant change in the leisure management procurement market but it is about to change once more. Procurements concluded during the last two years have seen more and more services move from subsidy to delivering surpluses for local authorities on the back of extremely…
Oxford City Council’s Community Centre Strategy for 2016 – 2020 which SLC supported by developing the Strategy’s evidence base.
As Managing Consultant Toby Kingsbury reaches one year at SLC, he has written an article detailing his learning points for the Sport and Leisure Industry from the consultant’s perspective.
A new government in Westminster is forming, elected by an increasingly unhealthy electorate. The Brits just can’t help eating too much and exercising too little.
Challenging thoughtpiece on local authority leisure provision and services.
Read Duncan Wood-Allum’s interview in CIMSPA’s magazine, the S&PA Professional. His interview discusses why Councils need to take a smarter approach to leisure commissioning and discusses his view of priorities for the sector.
The Government Sports Strategy recognises that “local authorities have and will continue to have, an absolutely crucial role to play in delivering sport and physical activity opportunities.”
In 2015, North Kesteven District Council published their Sport and Physical Activity Strategy, developed in partnership with SLC.
As part of their ambitions to build on the legacy of London 2012, Suffolk County Council commissioned The Sport, Leisure and Culture Consultancy (SLC) to develop a Disability Sport and Physical Activity Strategy.
With the LGA predicting the potential loss of leisure services by 2020, Duncan Wood-Allum explores the potential of this popular, but embattled sector to reinvent itself.
With increased pressure on town halls to find savings, Duncan Wood-Allum provides an insight into the thinking of Chief Executives towards sport, leisure and cultural services.
In Part 2, the sector’s response to the challenge from members of SLC’s Online Forum provides fascinating insights from some of our leading thinkers.
In a series of two thought provoking and controversial articles over the summer of 2011, Duncan Wood-Allum suggests the need for a debate on where public money is spent on sport and leisure services in the future.
Is this the end of public leisure services as we know it? Yes – but active wellbeing is our collective future Duncan Wood-Allum, Managing Director of SLC, recently produced an article for Health Club Management outlining the reasons why he believes the investment in place-based working hasn’t realised its full…
Duncan recently appeared on a new episode of ‘The Conveners Podcast’ where he spoke to Andy King about his ambitions for the future of the public leisure sector and the changes that are needed to drive progress. Topics such as local government reform and integration of health and social care…
LGR article 2 The landscape of local government is shifting. As local authorities move through Local Government Reorganisation (LGR), the choices made today will set the tone for public services for the next generation. At the heart of these changes lies a crucial question for our sector: how can leisure,…
We’re thrilled to share that Stevenage Borough Council’s procurement of a new Active Communities Leisure Management Contract has been shortlisted as a finalist for the Best Procurement Delivery Award – Local Government and Health by the UK National GO Awards 2025. SLC is proud to have supported the delivery of…
LGR article 1 Together with our public sector clients, we are exploring the implications of local government reorganisation (LGR) for leisure and active wellbeing services. Dom Hudson and SLC colleagues have been examining the potential threats, hurdles and opportunities that may lie ahead through our work with local authorities and…
SLC has taken the decision to no longer post on X (Twitter) because we believe the platform no longer aligns with our values. We will now be using Bluesky, a social media platform that is similar to X but seems a lot healthier. As a B Corp, we take our…
It’s hard to believe that this month marks my first year at SLC! Over the course of the past year, I’ve grown from being an industry newbie to playing a key role in several major public leisure and active wellbeing projects. This includes the development of an active wellbeing operating and…
SLC has just developed its updated report on the State of the Public Leisure Sector Procurement Market. Its purpose is simple – to share learning and provide up-to-date information and insight on the leisure and active wellbeing procurement market. Based on SLC’s experience of recent and current projects, the report…
My time at SLC began with a month-long internship in September. I had just come back from the Olympics where I was the reserve goalkeeper for the Great Britain Men’s Hockey squad. I was also finishing my Masters in Sport Management, Politics and International Development at Loughborough University. My Masters…
2024 – Our most impactful year to date With a new government, the wider public leisure and active wellbeing sector continues to face challenges as it seeks to redefine and position itself. With limited resources, the need for innovative solutions to protect and enhance the role of public leisure and…
Gloucester City Council (GCC) has awarded Freedom Leisure a 15-year contract to manage and operate their facilities, beginning in January 2025. SLC was commissioned by GCC in August 2023 to support the procurement of a new leisure operating contract for its portfolio of two leisure facilities. Prior to this, SLC had supported…
The sport, leisure and active wellbeing sector loves a strategy. Typically, local authorities use them to set out their policy position, direction, priority outcomes and plans. Active Partnerships use them to highlight and articulate their purpose and work as a systems leader across their locality. Huge amounts of time and…
In May we asked Martyn Allison to facilitate a meeting of the Local Government Physical Activity Partnership to review the progress made implementing the Future of Public Sector Leisure report (published by Sport England in 2022).
We were pleased to be invited to participate in a HCM discussion piece about what needs to happen to integrate physical activity with healthcare, and successfully “pivoting to active wellbeing “.
SLC has reached a significant milestone in June 2024 and is celebrating its 15th anniversary. Since its incorporation, SLC has become the leading strategic advisor to the public leisure sector, played a key role in championing the pivot to active wellbeing and enabled half a £ billion of investment into…
Following on from our contribution to the Sports Think Tank’s 2024 manifesto, Andy Reed OBE recently interviewed Duncan Wood-Allum in a podcast where they discuss the future of public leisure pivoting to active wellbeing and its role in place. Martyn Allison commenting on the podcast said “Change is happening in…
We were pleased to be invited to participate in a discussion piece based on SLC’s white paper and analysis on the sector workforce in HCM’s latest feature. The leader is provocative and arguably controversial but we need to talk about workforce.
SLC is the UK’s leading strategic adviser for public sector leisure, physical activity, sport and active wellbeing. We have an unrivalled track record of delivery with core cities, major metropolitan councils and local authorities supporting the pivot to active wellbeing. Our sector presence as a thought leader is firmly established…
We are delighted to have been invited to contribute to the Sports Think Tank’s 2024 manifesto, brilliantly curated by Andy Reed OBE.
In the first of our series of blogs (Pivoting with Purpose) on the pivot to active wellbeing, SLC’s Duncan Wood-Allum urged the public sector to seize the opportunity to improve population health by pivoting its leisure services to active wellbeing. In this blog, we turn our attention to some of…
We are delighted to announce that SLC has been awarded B Corp certification. SLC is one of only 1,500 companies in the UK which can demonstrate the highest levels of commitment to social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability. We’re proud to be the first company in the leisure and…
In December 2023, Sheffield City Council launched their Sport and Leisure Strategy for 2023-2033, developed in partnership with SLC, available here. Following detailed community and stakeholder consultation in early 2022, the City Council has worked with its partners to develop the Strategy. To see the video click here. It sets…
A year of challenge, opportunity and a new focus for the sector 2023 has been quite a year for the leisure and active wellbeing sector. The continuing challenge of local authorities’ financial hardship has been balanced by renewed optimism from operators and an exciting new focus on active wellbeing. The…
Northumberland County Council’s leisure services are to be managed by Places for People Leisure Management Limited from April next year. The Council was supported by SLC who worked with the Council to undertake a procurement strategy and to provide support aimed at transforming the current provision to a Community Leisure…
Since the Covid-19 pandemic and, more recently, financial pressures created by spiralling energy costs, the spectre of facility closures has loomed large over the industry. Sport England is trying to do its part through the Swimming Pool Support Fund and SLC has supported many authorities with reviews, options appraisals and…
Duncan Wood-Allum urges the public leisure sector to seize the opportunity to improve population health within the coming 5 years through a pivot to active wellbeing. After a grim period since March 2020 for the public leisure sector, we think it’s about time to share some optimism. Three and a…
Toby Kingsbury reflects on SLC’s recent experience of supporting Councils through their sport, physical activity and leisure procurements. In this blog he explores how operators are responding positively to new contract opportunities, despite the challenging market conditions. We’re all aware of the unprecedented challenges faced by our sector over the…
That was the year that was… 2022 is a year many in local government and the sport, physical activity and active wellbeing and cultural sectors will want to forget. However, despite sluggish recovery in many areas, labour market shortages, rising supply chain and construction costs, inflation and to top it…
Battered through the Covid pandemic. Sluggish recovery. Increased supply chain costs. Recruitment and retention issues. UK and global economic instability leading to the cost-of-living crisis. Utility costs decimating any gains made through efficiency, programming, and service innovation. The public sector leisure sector is going through an existential crisis, according to…
Duncan Wood-Allum, Managing Director of SLC reflects on SLC’s recent experience of supporting Councils through their sport, physical activity and leisure procurements. In this blog he explores timing and planning procurements, risk transfer, changing realities and perceptions and offers some hope for the future. Timing is everything Unforeseen delays are…
There’s a scene from Saving Private Ryan, where Tom Hanks, having fought his way up a section of Omaha beach in a hail of bullets, comes across a young private sheltering behind an obstacle. The private asks him ‘what the hell do we do now, Sir?’. Another soldier shouts ‘What’s…
Most people who work in public sector leisure, sport and physical activity would be able to sketch out the typical facility mix for a leisure centre built or planned in the last 5 years on the back of an envelope. They follow a pretty standard model: decent sized gym, 2-3…
In the lead up to the budget spending review, yet again, the sport, physical activity and wellbeing sectors have sought to influence national government and ask for more resources. There have been some genuine attempts at collaboration and disappointingly, some have sought to steal the march on the others and…
Sport England has published the long-awaited Leisure Services Delivery Guidance which was developed and authored by SLC over the last two years. The guidance has been developed in consultation with a number of sector partners including; local authorities, LGA, CLOA, CLUK, The Activity Alliance, leisure operating partners, leisure consultants, and…
SLC are proud to announce that Barnet Council have approved the outline business case to invest £18.8M into development of a new Community Sports Hub facility at West Hendon Playing Fields.
SLC appointed to support Stevenage Borough Council with major leisure and cultural transformation programme
SLC are pleased to have been awarded a place on ESPO Framework 664 Consultancy Services
As various sector bodies try to lobby government for funding support, we’ve been surprised at the approaches taken given some of the geopolitical issues being faced by the UK – the biggest of all which is climate change. We did find it rather frustrating that Swim England’s recent launch of…
In some local authorities, leisure services have been off the corporate radar due to them operating at a surplus and not presenting any significant problems or budget decisions. COVID-19 has resulted in those authorities having to provide financial support for the first time in years. SLC is working hard with its local authority clients and strategic partners to respond positively to the challenges being faced. We have developed our take on what we are calling the ‘Twelve new realities’ in what is a constantly evolving environment.
Sport England opened the National Leisure Recovery Fund in December 2020, with the aim of supporting the reopening and recovery of public sector leisure facilities. A total of £100M has been distributed to 266 local authorities across England, funded by the Government and administered by Sport England.
SLC is proud to have supported a significant number of our clients in receiving £ millions of funding support.
The Sport, Leisure and Culture Consultancy (SLC) facilitated an online Think Tank – ‘Commissioning Sport and Leisure Services in a COVID / Post-COVID World’ for local authority clients on 4 November 2020. Facilitation was provided by Toby Kingsbury and David Rushton, SLC Directors, supported by Michelle Payne, SLC Consultant.
In January 2020, Bristol City Council published their Sport and Physical Activity Strategy for 2020-2025, developed in partnership with SLC.
A review of SLC’s Virtual Think Tanks: over 100 local authorities and 10 leisure operators from across the country attended our Virtual Think Tanks from 2 April onwards. Over the past five months, SLC hosted 12 sessions exploring key questions and Covid related challenges.
The Sport, Leisure and Culture Consultancy (SLC) facilitated an online Think Tank – ‘Managing the Recovery of Local Government Leisure Services’ for local authority clients on 20 August 2020 from 3pm-4.30pm. Facilitation was provided by Toby Kingsbury and David Rushton, SLC Directors, supported by Judith Schrenk, SLC Research Consultant.
The Sport, Leisure and Culture Consultancy (SLC) facilitated an online Think Tank – ‘Managing the Recovery of Local Government Leisure Services’ for local authority clients and Sport England colleagues only on 06 August 2020 from 3pm-4.30pm. Facilitation was provided by Duncan-Wood Allum, SLC Managing Director, supported by Judith Schrenk, SLC Research Consultant.
SLC, in close collaboration with leisure insight experts and developers of the DataHub 4global, have developed a Local Authority Benchmarking Tool to support local authority clients and their leisure operating partners through the phases of recovery. This enables local authorities to track actual live financial and throughput performance of sites linked to all the core income areas of a leisure operation and to maintain ‘real-time’ visibility on how the wider market is responding – something which will be hugely valuable during such a period of uncertainty.
The Sport, Leisure and Culture Consultancy (SLC) facilitated an online Think Tank – ‘Managing the Recovery of Local Government Leisure Services’ for Local Authority Clients on 23 July 2020. Facilitation was provided by Duncan-Wood Allum, Managing Director at SLC, supported by Judith Schrenk, SLC Research Consultant.
The Sport, Leisure and Culture Consultancy (SLC) facilitated an online Think Tank – Recovery Planning: Remobilising Leisure Services – the next challenge’ for Local Authority Clients, Sector Stakeholders and Public Sector Leisure Operating Partners on 25 June 2020. Facilitation was provided by Toby Kingsbury, Director at SLC, supported by Judith Schrenk, SLC Research Consultant.
The Sport, Leisure and Culture Consultancy (SLC) facilitated an online Think Tank – Recovery Planning – Key Considerations for Public Leisure Services’ exploring affordability – key challenges and opportunities for Local Authority Clients, Sector Stakeholders and Public Sector Leisure Operating Partners. Facilitation was provided by Duncan Wood-Allum, Founder and Managing Director at SLC, supported by Judith Schrenk, SLC Research Consultant.
The Sport, Leisure and Culture Consultancy (SLC) facilitated an online Think Tank – Recovery Planning for Aquatics – Key Considerations for Public Leisure Services for Local Authority Clients, Sector Stakeholders and Public Sector Leisure Operators on 28 May 2020. Facilitation was provided by Duncan Wood-Allum, Founder and Managing Director at SLC, supported by Judith Schrenk, SLC Research Consultant.
The Sport, Leisure and Culture Consultancy (SLC) facilitated an online Think Tank – Recovery Planning – Key Considerations for Public Leisure Services for local authority client officers and leisure operators on 14 May 2020.
The Sport, Leisure and Culture Consultancy (SLC) hosted two Virtual Think Tanks on Leisure Partnerships: Managing the Crisis – Contractual Considerations for Local Authority Client Officers on 30 April 2020. These sessions were facilitated by legal leisure expert Iain Greenshields, Womble Bond Dickinson LLP and colleagues.
As the sector looks into the void of the COVID-19 lockdown and its aftermath, SLC’s Managing Director Duncan Wood-Allum presents a Blueprint for a positive future for local authority leisure, sport and physical activity. This has been developed to provide an adaptable vision and roadmap for shaping future services – one that does not leave the most deprived and excluded in our society behind.
The Sport, Leisure and Culture Consultancy (SLC) facilitated an online Think Tank Leisure Trust Partnerships – Managing the Crisis and Planning for a Sustainable Future for Local Authority Client Officers and their Trust Partners on 23 April 2020. Facilitation was provided by Mark Tweedie, SLC Associate.
The Sport, Leisure and Culture Consultancy (SLC) facilitated an online Think Tank – Leisure Partnerships – Managing the Crisis and Planning for the Future for Local Authority Officers with Leisure Operating Contracts on 16 April 2020. Facilitation was provided by Duncan Wood-Allum, Managing Director at SLC.
The Sport, Leisure and Culture Consultancy (SLC) facilitated an online Think Tank – ‘Leisure Operator Partnerships – Managing the Crisis and Planning for the Future’ for Local Authority Client Officers with a leisure contract. Facilitation was provided by Toby Kingsbury, Director at SLC.
The Sport, Leisure and Culture Consultancy (SLC) facilitated an online Think Tank – ‘Leisure Partnerships – Managing the Crisis and Planning for the Future’ for Local Authority Client Officers and their NDPO Trust Partners on 9 April 2020 from 10.30am-12 noon. Facilitation was provided by Mark Tweedie, SLC Associate.
The Sport, Leisure and Culture Consultancy (SLC) facilitated an online Think Tank – Leisure Provision – Post Covid-19 on 2 April 2020. Facilitation was provided by Duncan Wood-Allum, Managing Director of SLC.
SLC will be hosting and facilitating a series of Virtual Think Tanks on public sector leisure provision, building on our heritage of hosting peer to peer knowledge sharing and transfer seminars for the leisure sector for over 10 years. Each week we will host a 90 minute session to explore…
At SLC we’ve taken all the necessary steps to ensure our staff and clients are safe and that we take care of our associates, suppliers and partners. We are delighted they are reciprocating. We are focussed on continuing to deliver projects for our clients and where we can, offer wider…
Judith Schrenk, Research Consultant provides a short synopsis of the latest Marmot Report – The Marmot Review Ten Years On
In 2010, the British Government commissioned Professor Sir Michael Marmont to review health inequalities in the United Kingdom. The 2010 review concluded that the path to a sustainable improvement of equality was not policy focusing on healthcare systems, but rather an improvement in the social determinants of health.
On 9 October 2019, representatives from eight Local Authorities from across England participated in an engaging day of learning and knowledge sharing on ‘Optimising your Leisure Procurement’.
This Think Tank seminar, facilitated by SLC Directors David Rushton and Toby Kingsbury, provided a platform to share best practice approaches to procuring successful leisure partnerships…
On 19 September 2019, 11 Local Authorities and Organisations from across England participated in a day of learning and knowledge sharing with SLC’s Directors on ‘Optimising your Leisure Management Partnership’.
Guest speakers from SLC Strategic Partners Tillr and 4Global provided insight from the latest sector thinking.
Duncan Wood-Allum explains why there is no better time for local authorities to start taking a more strategic approach to planning their future sport, physical activity and leisure services.
Over the last five years in the midst of the most challenging financial cuts, there has been a great deal of learning across the sector and some local authorities have been having a big impact in the most difficult circumstances…
SLC’s David Rushton considers the impact of the 2017 European Court of Justice’s Ealing Case, Carillion’s collapse and an increasing political lobby to bring services back in house. Will this reverse the trend in leisure management outsourcing and result in more local authorities bringing services back in-house?
In her inaugural article, Is the Tide Turning?, Anna Lunn, Research Consultant at The Sport, Leisure and Culture Consultancy, discusses the recent Sport England Active Lives Survey, highlighting where progress has been made, shifts in our activity behaviour and the persistent inequalities which remain.
In his article, No Investment? No Future., Toby Kingsbury, Director at the Sport, Leisure and Culture Consultancy (SLC), highlights the huge challenges facing public leisure facilities and explains how those local authorities willing to invest can deliver successful and sustainable facilities that support wider strategic outcomes.
On 13 February 2019, 10 Local and City Authorities from across England enjoyed a day of learning and engagement with SLC’s Directors on ‘Planning and Delivering Sustainable and Effective Leisure Services’.
The intention of the seminar was…
SLC has been appointed by the Ebbsfleet Development Corporation (EDC) to develop a new strategy for sports participation and physical activity in Ebbsfleet Garden City. Ebbsfleet Garden City has been designated one of 10 pilot Healthy New Towns (HNT) by NHS England. The new sport and physical activity strategy will…
SLC is delighted to announce that we have been appointed by The Swimathon Foundation to provide strategic support in supporting the growth of its events portfolio, partnerships and fundraising. The Swimathon Foundation is the owner and custodian of the annual national Swimathon, Open Water Swimathon and School Swimathon events. The…
On 3 October 2018, 15 Local Authorities and organisations from across England enjoyed a day of learning, knowledge transfer and engagement with SLC’s Directors on: ‘Optimising your Leisure and Cultural Procurement.’ The session was designed to provide a platform for best practice, sharing of lessons learned and promote the development of…
The council and Everyone Active are committed to proactively addressing health inequalities in the borough with the aim of getting residents more active. The service has therefore been re-designed to help extend its reach and impact across the borough by specifying a new programme of outreach activities to help tackle…
As SLC reflects on the last 12 months, we are delighted with the success of in the last twelve months and are looking forward to continuing to support our existing client base and forging some new partnerships in 2018 and beyond. SLC has successfully delivered over 50 projects for clients in…
SLC’s Chairman, Richard Leman, has been awarded Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the Queen’s 2018 Birthday Honours List. Richard received the honour for “Services to Hockey” due to the incredible service he has given to hockey in Great Britain at a local, national and international level. Richard is…
Sport England has recently appointed The Sport, Leisure and Culture Consultancy (SLC) to lead the review and update of the Procurement Toolkit suite. This toolkit is for use by the sector and by organisations with close relationships with Sport England including Local Authorities, commercial operators, Leisure trusts, Legal professionals, leisure…
SLC and Southern Green Ltd. are delighted to announce their strategic partnership, working together to explore the potential for leisure and recreational sites. Southern Green is an award winning firm of landscape architects, urban designers and masterplanners who are passionate about delivering enduring, innovative and inspirational places. Since its establishment…
SLC continue to deliver sector-leading advice to local authorities through our unique and highly acclaimed Think Tank seminars. We are delighted to announce further details about our London Think Tank on Wednesday 3 October 2018 – Optimising your Leisure and Cultural Procurement. This facilitated peer learning event provides expert advice…
West Lindsey District Council has selected a preferred partner to manage its Leisure Services following a competitive procurement process. The Council awarded the 15-year contract to Sport and Leisure Management Ltd who trade as Everyone Active. The Council is undertaking a £7.8 million investment programme including substantial refurbishment at West…
Barrow Borough Council has selected their preferred partner to manage the Park Leisure Centre. Following a competitive procurement process, Life Leisure have been appointed as preferred partner for the 15-year contract. Life Leisure, the trading name of Stockport Sports Trust, was established in 2002. They are a not for profit…
The start of 2018 has brought a number of new commissions for the SLC team, from both new and some long established clients. SLC is continuing its strong tradition of supporting the education sector in establishing sustainable community use. We recently supported an independent school in the south west, exploring…
Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead’s councillors gave the green light to a futuristic leisure centre, featuring an indoor street and winter garden running through the spine of the building on 14 February (subject to final approval by the National Planning Casework Unit.) SLC played a pivotal role back…
SLC’s MD Duncan Wood-Allum delivered a challenging speech to delegates at the Annual SAPCA conference on “A Changing Marketplace”. In his 30 minute presentation he highlighted the state of the market for sports and play constructors and identified where there may be threats and opportunities for delegates to respond to…
On 8 February 2018, 11 Local Authorities and organisations from across England enjoyed a day of learning, knowledge transfer and engagement with SLC’s Directors on Optimising your Leisure and Cultural Procurement. Amardeep Gill from Trowers & Hamlins LLP was also on hand to offer his legal expertise. The session was designed to…
In 2017, Babergh and Mid Suffolk Councils published their Leisure, Sport and Physical Activity Strategy for 2017-2030. SLC supported the development of this strategy.
SLC Associate and Director of the VAT Consultancy, Steve McIntyre, has written an informative thoughtpiece on the latest position on VAT exemption for in-house managed leisure and cultural services. Over the Christmas period, and following the outcome of the earlier European Court of Justice decision for the London Borough of…
SLC continue to deliver sector-leading advice to local authorities through our unique and highly acclaimed Think Tank seminars and we are delighted to announce further details about our Sheffield Think Tank on 21 March 2018 – Transforming Leisure and Cultural Provision. This facilitated peer learning event provides expert advice on…
Watford Borough Council has agreed a new 15-year partnership with leisure operator Everyone Active to manage and help develop its sport and leisure facilities. The new contract will include the operation of the council-owned Watford Central Leisure Centre and Watford Woodside Leisure Centre and Athletics Stadium. The service has been re-designed…
The Sport, Leisure and Culture Consultancy Ltd has over the last 7 years assisted over 50 clients to transform their leisure and cultural services, and in doing so deliver significant financial savings (c. £60 million) and better services for communities. These projects have been as varied as improving service delivery…
As SLC reflects on 2017, we are delighted with the success of the year.
North Kesteven District Council has selected preferred partners to manage its leisure services following a competitive procurement process. The preferred partners, all of which are not-for-profit or trust organisations for three Lots are: Lot 1: Sport and Physical Activity – Greenwich Leisure Ltd Lot 2: Whisby Natural World Centre – Lincs Inspire…
SLC Managing Consultant, Toby Kingsbury presented to delegates at SALTEX, held at the NEC on 1st November. Toby explored the topic of inequalities in sport and physical activity and explained how new leisure contracts are helping to tackle this issue. The correlation between socio-economic groups and levels of inactivity is…
As we approach the end of 2017, SLC is in the process of delivering a number of interesting and important projects for clients across the country. The team has been entrusted to support a number of local authority clients in their leisure and / or cultural procurement. Ongoing procurements currently…
East Grinstead Sports Club is one of the highest profile sports clubs in Sussex featuring National Hockey Men’s and Ladies Teams and a number of other sports. Its management contract was coming up for renewal and the club was seeking advice on how to either extend or retender the management…
The Sport, Leisure and Culture Consultancy (SLC) is delighted to announce that de Stafford School in Caterham has agreed a new 15-year partnership with Freedom Leisure to manage and develop the School’s dual-use sports centre. SLC was appointed by de Stafford School to support the School throughout the procurement process…
On 28 September 2017, Local Authorities from across England and the LTA enjoyed a day of learning, knowledge transfer and engagement with SLC’s Leisure Procurement and Feasibility experts on Sustainable Leisure and Cultural Services. Amardeep Gill, Legal Partner from Trowers and Hamlins, was also on hand to offer his legal…
SLC continue to deliver sector-leading advice to local authorities through our unique and highly acclaimed Think Tank seminars and SLC is delighted to announce further details about our London Think Tank on 8 February 2018 – Optimising your Leisure Procurement. This facilitated peer learning event provides expert advice on the…
The SLC team has been kept busy over the summer months by a combination of new and ongoing client projects across the UK and Ireland. Our expanded team has returned from summer holidays refreshed and ready to continue to serve the needs of existing clients, get new projects underway and…
The Sport, Leisure and Culture Consultancy (SLC) is inviting local authorities to take part in the latest of our successful Think Tank facilitated seminars on Sustainable Leisure and Cultural Services. The seminar takes place on Thursday 28 September: 9.30am – 3.45pm at Trowers and Hamlins, 10 Colmore Row, Birmingham B3…
As SLC reflects on the last year, we are delighted with the success of 2016/2017 and are looking forward to continuing to support our existing client base and forging some new partnerships in the upcoming year. SLC has successfully delivered over 50 projects for clients in local government, education, the…
The last two years has seen a significant change in the leisure management procurement market but it is about to change once more. Procurements concluded during the last two years have seen more and more services move from subsidy to delivering surpluses for local authorities on the back of extremely…
SLC have forged a partnership with BSSEC, one of the UK’s leading Energy Consultancies. BSSEC have worked with over 600 clients over the past 10 years and can assist you in identifying how much more efficient your assets can become linked to invest to save opportunities. Together with BSECC, we are supporting clients…
Recent months have seen SLC add a number of new projects and clients to our current portfolio, and the team is looking forward to supporting a variety of strategy, feasibility and procurement projects over the summer and into 2018. Procurements have been secured across the whole length of the country…
Slough Borough Council has agreed a new 10-year partnership with leisure operator Everyone Active to manage and help develop its sport and leisure facilities. The new contract will include the operation of a new leisure centre for Slough to replace Montem Leisure Centre along with other major public leisure facilities…
On 6 June, 10 Local Authorities and organisations from across England enjoyed a day of learning, knowledge transfer and engagement with SLC’s Leisure Procurement experts on optimising their leisure procurement. The session was designed to provide a platform for best practice, sharing of lessons learned and promote the development of more…
Barrow Borough Council’s Leisure Services which include Park Leisure Centre and The Forum, currently run in-house are to be tendered for the first time. The procurement is scheduled to start in the summer of 2017. Leading leisure consultants SLC have been commissioned by Barrow Borough Council to assist with the…
Crawley Borough Council has commissioned The Sport, Leisure and Culture Consultancy (SLC) to provide support for the procurement of a long-term partner to operate K2 Crawley and associated leisure facilities. This procurement exercise will run in parallel to the Council’s planned capital improvements to their leisure facilities. The project aims to…
Oxford City Council have now published their Oxford Community Centre Strategy for 2016 – 2020. SLC was commissioned in March 2015 to develop the evidence which has informed the City’s Community Centre Strategy as published in February 2017. The needs assessment undertaken by SLC contributed to the development of the…
Oxford City Council’s Community Centre Strategy for 2016 – 2020 which SLC supported by developing the Strategy’s evidence base.
SLC and Set Square Surveyors are thrilled to announce the formalisation of their new partnership, working together to optimise the value and minimise lifecycle costs of SLC’s clients’ leisure assets. Set Square provides a comprehensive range of Building Surveying services to the leisure industry with expertise in Dilapidations Management and…
SLC is delighted to announce that following our ISO 9001:2008 Surveillance Audit in February, our certification has been renewed for another year. The assessment raised no major or minor non-conformities, emphasising the dedication of the team to maintain our quality systems and accreditation. ISO 9001 is a certified quality management…
SLC is delighted to announce that Richard Leman has been appointed as Chairman of SLC to lead the SLC Board in its plans for growth. Richard was a member of the Gold Medal winning Great Britain Hockey squad in the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul. Richard has been the President of Great Britain Hockey…
SLC had a fantastic and productive day at the Think Tank Seminar – Optimising your Leisure Procurement on the 2 March at Ponds Forge International Sports Centre, Sheffield. The session was designed to provide a platform for best practice, sharing of lessons learned and promote the development of more effective…
As Managing Consultant Toby Kingsbury reaches one year at SLC, he has written an article detailing his learning points for the Sport and Leisure Industry from the consultant’s perspective.
As you can see, SLC has not sent you a paper Christmas card this year. Instead we are making a donation to Parkinson’s UK. Close to SLC’s heart, this charity drives better care, treatments and quality of life for those suffering from Parkinson’s. They are the largest European charitable funder of Parkinson’s research,…
The Sport, Leisure and Culture Consultancy (SLC) would like to invite you to take part in the latest of our successful Think Tank facilitated seminars, Optimising your Leisure Procurement. This facilitated peer learning event provides expert advice on the approach to externalising your leisure procurement to help you achieve the very best sustainable…
A new government in Westminster is forming, elected by an increasingly unhealthy electorate. The Brits just can’t help eating too much and exercising too little.
A UK specialist in leisure management has been chosen to run the three leisure centres in East Northamptonshire along with a new outreach programme. East Northamptonshire Council has awarded Freedom Leisure the contract to manage and develop the healthy and active lifestyles offer in the district through the Nene Centre…
Westway Trust, the charity that is custodian of a vibrant 23 acres of land underneath the Westway flyover in Kensington, has agreed a 10 year partnership with leisure operator Everyone Active to manage the sports and fitness enterprise on the estate. The partnership will see Everyone Active and Westway Trust…
Take responsibility for your own future. At SLC our vision is to be the leading strategic adviser to the Sport and Leisure Sector and to respond to increasing levels of demand for our services, we need to bring some more exceptional people on board. About Us SLC (The Sport, Leisure…
West Lindsey District Council has commissioned The Sport, Leisure and Culture Consultancy (SLC) to provide support for the procurement of a long-term partner to operate its leisure facilities. The existing leisure management contract comes to an end in April 2018 and the Council has identified the procurement of a new contract…
Challenging thoughtpiece on local authority leisure provision and services.
On 14 June 17 Local authorities from across England enjoyed a day of learning, knowledge transfer and engagement with SLC’s subject matter experts. They attended SLC’s second Think Tank of 2016 – ‘Developing Sustainable Leisure Facilities’. Through a series of facilitated workshops, delegates explored their own projects with input from…
The Sport, Leisure and Culture Consultancy (SLC) has been commissioned by Watford Borough Council to assist with the procurement of a long-term partner to operate the Council’s leisure centres. This is part of the Council’s strategy to promote sport and physical activity across the borough through the provision of high…
Leisure provision within Slough is undergoing an exciting transformation with a staggering £34m being invested in leisure facilities for the town. These developments are being delivered through the council’s ambitious leisure strategy, with the ultimate aim to get more people, more active, more often. The council is in the process…
SLC client, Malvern Hills District Council, has been awarded a Certificate of Excellence for improving services to the public sector and its citizens by the Improvement and Efficiency Social Enterprise (iESE) for its management of the re-procurement of their leisure services. SLC acted as a strategic advisor to the Council…
Read Duncan Wood-Allum’s interview in CIMSPA’s magazine, the S&PA Professional. His interview discusses why Councils need to take a smarter approach to leisure commissioning and discusses his view of priorities for the sector.
SLC is delighted to announce that following our ISO 9001:2008 Annual Assessment in February, our certification has been renewed for another year. Our assessment raised no major or minor non-conformities, emphasising the dedication of the team to maintain our quality systems and accreditation. ISO 9001 is a certified quality management…
SLC facilitated a half day Transforming Leisure and Cultural Services Procurement Think Tank on 23 February 2016 in Loughborough. Strategic input and facilitation was provided through SLC’s Duncan Wood-Allum, David Rushton and Toby Kingsbury. The session was designed to provide a platform for best practice, sharing of lessons learned and…
The Government Sports Strategy recognises that “local authorities have and will continue to have, an absolutely crucial role to play in delivering sport and physical activity opportunities.”
We are delighted to announce that North Kesteven District Council has been selected to take part in the prestigious ‘Whole Systems’ Approach to Obesity Pilot Programme. The other three successful councils are Durham County Council, Gloucestershire County Council, and London Borough of Lewisham. 60 local authorities bid to take part in the…
Oxford Spires Academy and Fusion Lifestyle supported by a large investment from Oxford City Council have opened the doors of a new health and fitness facility this week to extend the Academy’s community use provision in East Oxford. SLC has had a long association of working in Oxford and we…
SLC has been appointed by Westway Trust to provide advice and manage the procurement of a not-for-profit operator for its Sport and Fitness facilities. The Trust currently operates in a number of areas within the community as part of its charitable remit to provide facilities, services and opportunities for its…
Following successful completion of the Leisure Strategy for East Northamptonshire Council, SLC has been appointed to support the Council through the procurement of a leisure operator. SLC will manage the procurement process, exploring options for the future management of three facilities in Thrapston and Rushden post 2016. Duncan Wood-Allum said…
Toby Kingsbury has joined SLC as a Principal Consultant. Toby has over 15 years’ experience in the delivery of sport, leisure and cultural services and has worked in a number of roles in local authority leisure provision and has a Master’s Degree in Sports Management from the University of Leicester.…
In 2015, North Kesteven District Council published their Sport and Physical Activity Strategy, developed in partnership with SLC.
We are delighted to announce the appointment of Laura Froshaug as a Research Consultant from October 2015. Having recently graduated from the University of Exeter with a degree in French and Latin, Laura is now eager to develop her experience in the sport, leisure and culture sector. Laura has been…
SLC client, South Ayrshire Council and South Carrick Community Leisure have recently announced that all capital costs are now in place for a new Leisure Centre in Girvan. In 2013-14, SLC played a vital role in challenging the existing business plan and feasibility study and making recommendations in relation to…
Oxford Spires Academy set to open doors on new community leisure facilities in January 2016. The Sport Leisure and Culture Consultancy has been supporting Oxford Spires Academy, part of the CfBT Schools Trust in developing new community sports facilities in East Oxford, due to open to the public in January 2016.…
North Kesteven District Council has appointed the Sport, Leisure and Culture Consultancy (SLC) to develop its Sport and Physical Activity Strategy. SLC will review the existing evidence base including the Council’s health, well-being and strategic priorities to develop clear objectives for sports and physical activity services. The strategy will inform…
The Sport, Leisure and Culture Consultancy has achieved ISO 9001:2008 certification, following a successful audit. What is ISO 9001? ISO 9001 is the international standard that sets out the requirements for a quality management system and is the most widely recognised standard in the world. Over a million organizations are…
In the context of unprecedented challenges to public funding and the requirement on local authorities to seek new and innovative ways of delivering services to ensure sustainability, Live Active Leisure were seeking to develop innovative, informative, effective, efficient and Service Propositions that reflected current and future challenges. Phil Collins, under the directorship of…
SLC has recently been appointed by an independent co-educational day and boarding school in Surrey to advise on the scope, size and design of a new indoor Sports Centre development for the school. High quality sports facilities are increasingly becoming a signficant feature of top independent schools nationwide, with many…
SLC are delighted to announce the launch of our new free SLC Helpline service from January 2015 – a first in the leisure consulting sector. Through this new phone and email based service, SLC will provide bespoke initial advice in response to queries from individuals and organisations seeking assistance, guidance…
Suffolk County Council have now published their Suffolk Disability Sport & Physical Activity Strategy for 2014-2019. The Sport, Leisure and Culture Consultancy were commissioned in February 2014 to develop a Disability Sport and Physical Activity Strategy for Suffolk County Council, and will now be jointly developing and delivering a Think…
We are delighted to announce the appointment of David Rushton as Associate Director from January 2015. David will be responsible for leading the development of our services in the Midlands and North. David has over 25 years experience in the sport, leisure and culture sector and has worked in a…
As part of their ambitions to build on the legacy of London 2012, Suffolk County Council commissioned The Sport, Leisure and Culture Consultancy (SLC) to develop a Disability Sport and Physical Activity Strategy.
A strategy for supporting Letchworth residents to be more active and healthy is being launched with local sports, community and health groups on 17th November at the Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation offices on Icknield Way. Organisations involved in grassroots sport, physical activity, health and wellbeing activities are being invited to…
In the context of unprecedented challenges to public funding and the requirement on local authorities to seek new and innovative ways of delivering services to ensure sustainability, Live Active Leisure (LAL) were seeking to develop innovative, informative, effective, efficient and Service Propositions that reflected current and future challenges. Phil Collins,…
I’ve just been to the gym. A solitary run in an uninspiring environment, with no human interaction whatsoever. I had no programme, have set no goals and apart from ‘feeling good’ after my workout, have nothing else to show. I’m pretty highly motivated as regards looking after myself having played…
The Sport, Leisure and Culture Consultancy (SLC) in partnership with Trowers & Hamlins LLP and FMG Consulting, hosted a half day Leisure Procurement Think Tank on 21 May 2014 in Birmingham. The sessions were designed to provide a platform for best practice, sharing of lessons learned and promoting the development of…
The Sport, Leisure and Culture Consultancy were commissioned in February 2014 to develop a Disability Sport and Physical Activity Strategy for Suffolk County Council. This is part of the Council’s ambitions to build on the legacy of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and address the key outcomes identified…
The Sport, Leisure and Culture Consultancy (SLC) is working with a number of Unitaries, London Boroughs and second tier authorities on addressing the challenge of major budget reductions looming in 2015/16. In the last 12 months we’ve identified well over £5 million of cashable savings for three clients. Budget reductions…
The Sport, Leisure and Culture Consultancy is delighted to announce that Anna Dalton has recently been promoted to Consultant. Anna joined SLC on an Internship in October 2012 and has progressed from a Research Consultant role to her new role. Her role will now incorporate leading SLC Insight’s development of…
Malvern Hills District Council (MHDC) has now approved their first Sport and Leisure Strategy 2014-2018, Active Communities Malvern Hills District: A Vision for the Future. Developed in partnership with SLC, the strategy seeks to define how the council will support sport and leisure provision in the future. It is set…
The Sport, Leisure and Culture Consultancy (SLC), supported by Hall Aitken, conducted a half day workshop on performance management on Thursday 16th January, at the Triangle, Burgess Hill, West Sussex hosted by Freedom Leisure and attended by the South East Leisure Contractors Organisation (SELCO). Following a debate about Key Performance…
We are thrilled to announce that our grant application to sported. on behalf of Ockley Amateur Boxing Club in Bognor Regis, considered by the sported. grant panel on 11th December 2013, was successful. Duncan is Ockley ABC’s sported. mentor, and SLC have been working with the club to develop a…
SLC was a proud sponsor of the recent Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA) seminar on Planning for Culture, the Arts and Sporting Facilities in Sustainable New Communities in London on 6 November 2013. The seminar also included a presentation by Duncan Wood-Allum on Leveraging strategic investment in culture and…
The Sport Leisure and Culture Consultancy in partnership with Trowers and Hamlins and FMG Consulting have been delighted at the response from the sector to their two Leisure Procurement Think Tanks recently held in Manchester on 5 November and in London on 12 November. Sport England were represented following the…
Boost for sport and leisure activities Malvern Hills District Council has appointed the Sport, Leisure and Culture Consultancy (SLC) to develop a Sport and Leisure Strategy by March 2014 to provide a clear approach to its role in supporting sustainable sport and leisure opportunities within the district. The strategy will…
The Sport, Leisure and Culture Consultancy (SLC) is now entering its fifth year of trading off the back of its most successful year ever. The Consultancy, which is now firmly established as a trusted brand within the sector has supported over 30 clients from the third, private and public sectors…
East Hampshire District Council (EHDC) has appointed The Sport Leisure and Culture Consultancy Ltd (SLC) to provide a detailed understanding of the options to the Council for the refurbishment or replacement of Alton Sports Centre. This is the first project to be taken forward from the Council’s Leisure Built Facilities…
When there’s a mad panic on in the Town Hall to find savings and local authorities are short on time, important decisions can often be made with limited information and understanding. With reductions in specialist Leisure senior managers, there are a number of myths we encounter relating to leisure which…
Pro Active Camden (PAC) is one of the leading CSPANs in England, with a proud track record of cross cutting work in one of London’s most dynamic and diverse boroughs. Back in 2009, The Sport, Leisure and Culture Consultancy supported PAC in the development of its Sport and Physical Activity…
With the LGA predicting the potential loss of leisure services by 2020, Duncan Wood-Allum explores the potential of this popular, but embattled sector to reinvent itself.
Warrington got the royal treatment on Thursday 17th May when HRH Queen Elizabeth II officially opened the Park and Orford Jubilee Neighbourhood Hub. The 50 acre site has been transformed with a £30 million investment from a number of sources to provide the Northwest of England with a real physical…
sported. is the UK’s leading sport for development charity helping to transform the lives of disadvantaged young people. They do this by supporting community and voluntary sports groups, which deliver sport for development. Their aim is to help them grow and run to the best of their ability. This helps to…
With increased pressure on town halls to find savings, Duncan Wood-Allum provides an insight into the thinking of Chief Executives towards sport, leisure and cultural services.
It’s been really satisfying to have followed a number of major capital projects we’ve worked on over the years. They’ve now started to come out of the ground and open to the community. Over £100 Million worth of schemes will open this year (not including the Olympic Park!). The…
The Sport, Leisure and Culture Consultancy (SLC) has recently completed a sport and physical activity strategy for Warrington Borough Council. The draft strategy, which is now out for consultation, has been prepared by a partnership representing schools, clubs, the NHS, community organisations and the Council. SLC has driven the development…
So it’s arrived. 2012. Olympic Year. Sporting anticipation, culture, pride and pure joy awaits – possibly a few gold medals to boot. Regardless of the politics – let’s enjoy it! The Legacy debate will continue and many sports development colleagues will be just getting on with creating the very best…
Duncan Wood-Allum has been invited back to speak at the Sport and Play Construction Association’s (SAPCA’s) annual conference on Monday 30 January, 2012 at Forest of Arden Hotel, Meriden, Warwickshire. After delivering a challenging insight into what the future would hold for suppliers to the Sports sector back in January…
SLC ran a Trust Seminar on 6 October for 10 Derbyshire Councils in Matlock, with three leading Trust Chief Executives ‘telling it like it is’ and sharing their experiences of setting up, establishing and developing their Trusts. The learning proved to be very powerful for the Officers who attended. The…
Derby City Council is currently undergoing a major transformation of its Museums service. SLC have been appointed to provide the Council with specialist support linked to project managing the programme, providing business planning and bid management support for a Major Grants Application to Arts Council England (ACE). SLC is working…
Suffolk County Council has long recognised the important contribution Community Use on school sites makes to the health and wellbeing of its communities. With a direct interest in around 20 school facilities, it wanted to explore new approaches to: Broadening community access to sports facilities on school sites Improving the…
In Part 2, the sector’s response to the challenge from members of SLC’s Online Forum provides fascinating insights from some of our leading thinkers.
In a series of two thought provoking and controversial articles over the summer of 2011, Duncan Wood-Allum suggests the need for a debate on where public money is spent on sport and leisure services in the future.
The Royal Borough of Kingston Upon Thames has appointed the Sport, Leisure and Culture Consultancy (SLC) to prepare a sport and leisure needs assessment for the borough. With the Olympic cycling road race coming through the Borough next year, interest in sport will be at an all-time high. But with…
Warrington Borough Council has appointed The Sport, Leisure and Culture Consultancy (SLC) to prepare a five year sport and physical activity strategy that looks beyond traditional ideas of exercise to deliver improved outcomes for health and wellbeing. The strategy aims to make Warrington the most active borough in the North…
Like most local authority leisure departments, Canterbury City Council is exploring the best possible way to deliver leisure services for less and ensure that service quality meets expectation into the future. With an opportunity to review the current management contract with their operating partner, back in late 2010, SLC were…
Ten local authorities in Derbyshire, led by Derbyshire Sport, the County Sports Partnership, recently challenged SLC to help them to explore efficiency savings. The Derbyshire local authorities identified the current state of their respective cultural services – sport, arts, museums, heritage and libraries – via a simple questionnaire. A number…
Having just spent two days at the LGA Culture Tourism and Sport Conference, on the long journey home I’ve been wondering how Carlsberg would do it? As the premier event in the Culture and Sport calendar, this is the ‘must attend gig’ for all those involved at a senior level…
SLC has finalised the Heritage Change Programme Support Pack featuring guidance, toolkits and advice from the Heritage Change Programme on behalf of the London Cultural Improvement Programme (LCIP). The Heritage Change Programme (HCP) is part of the overall London Cultural Improvement Programme which is funded by Capital Ambition (London’s Regional…
New participation figures from Sport England’s Active People Survey 4 paint a mixed picture of progress in grassroots sport, with strong growth in running and cycling but a drop in numbers for other major sports. Overall, the poor increase in participation numbers seen over the past five years continues, with…
It’s only been 8 months since we started trading and we’re very proud of what has been achieved in 2010. Here’s a quick summary: SLC secured all three publicly tendered major projects it bid for in 2010 – and has successfully delivered 11 projects over the last 8 months, with…
SLC’s ten golden rules for options appraisals have been developed from our learning over the years in taking Councils through their future options for Culture and Sport services. Duncan Wood-Allum authored guidance still being used by the Improvement and Development Agency on Options Appraisals and Business Cases for Culture and…
The massed forces of the sector gathered at the 6th Annual Future of Culture, Tourism and Sport Conference held on Tuesday 14th September in London. The top brass lined up to prepare the troops sitting knee (for some, neck) deep in their local government trenches for their pre October budget…
Canterbury City Council has commissioned the Sport, Leisure and Culture Consultancy to undertake an Indoor Leisure Review to explore future options for the management of its five Leisure indoor facilities located in Canterbury, Whitstable and Herne Bay. The Council’s aim for the review is to identify the most effective and…
Confidential support for service heads If you’re heading up a local government Culture and Sport Department, we don’t have to tell you these are tough times. You’ll probably be exploring how to find savings of up to 30-40% over the next couple of years. Some of you will be needing…
The Big Apple’s Approach to Parks and Recreation Autumn Seminars in London, 30 September and Birmingham 12 October. Duncan Wood-Allum invites you to SLC’s exclusive half day seminars highlighting a number of successful approaches that could be the inspiration for adapting ways of working in the sport, parks and leisure…
Following my successful Study Tour to the City of New York Department of Parks and Recreation, I’m now concentrating on developing SLC as the consultancy of choice for the Culture and Sport sector. I’ll soon be releasing details of my series of articles describing my experiences and learning in New…
Two days into my study tour of New York City hosted by the Parks and Recreation Department and I’m already convinced that we in the UK can learn a lot from the Big Apple. The key difference I have noticed so far from meeting numerous members of staff, customers, volunteers…
Following several months planning, research and business development activity, The Sport, Leisure and Culture Consultancy will be trading from 1 May 2010. Duncan Wood-Allum, founder of SLC said, “I’m thrilled at the response and support I’ve had from the sector, colleagues and previous clients. We have developed an excellent network…
February 2010: Santiago’s Park Life Surprise. I had the privilege to spend few days in Santiago recently as part of my South American trip, travelling through most of Chile and over to Easter Island. What I was not expecting was a parks and cultural masterclass. By simply walking outside my…
I love NY January 2010: New York’s Commissioner for Parks, Adrian Benepe has invited Duncan Wood-Allum to visit the Big Apple’s world class Parks and Recreation facilities as part of a planned study tour and information exchange project. Kevin Jeffery, Deputy Commissioner for Parks said, ”As a major provider of…
January 2010: The Sport, Leisure and Culture Consultancy is proud to announce it will be supporting The Leisure Review (TLR) as a Premium Partner. Over the next twelve months, SLC’s branding will appear on the front page of this monthly magazine and alongside a number of leading articles. The Leisure…
On 29th January 2010, the ground was broken to signify the beginning of the construction phase of the £30 Million Orford Park Community Sports Hub Project in Warrington. I’m absolutely delighted for Warrington Borough Council, and in particular the indefatigable Orford Park Project Manager Duncan Richardson, who has driven this…
NZRA 9 November 2009: What do you think of when it comes to conferences in the UK? Overly packed seminar programmes of mixed quality? Not enough breaks to network? Cheesed off sponsors who’ve been hidden in the broom cupboard? Empty seats on the last day? I could go on, but…
November 3, 2009: Having spent three days with the New Zealand Recreation Association in Hastings, Hawkes Bay this week, I have some observations to share. Polticians Chris Tremain NZMP and Lawrence Yule – Mayor of Hastings hugely impressive opening speeches – they actually get sport and recreation! A conference floor buzzing…
I was invited to write an article for the Locum Review over three years ago.. I dug it out today… I wonder how far my predictions were from the reality of where we are today? I’ll let you decide.. Going for Gold Can the official targets for 2012 be hit?…