Physical activity, sports and leisure strategy 2025 to 2035 (HTML)

Foreword

Welcome to our physical activity, sports and leisure strategy. Our ambition is simply to make sure that Bracknell Forest has high quality, sustainable sports and leisure facilities which offer a range of sports and physical activities. This must meet current and future levels of demand and provide wide opportunities for active and equal participation. The strategy will make sure that we provide opportunities to focus on physical and mental wellbeing and sustain and create healthier lifestyles for all ages.

Working in collaboration with our partners, clubs and users we can take the steps required to increase physical activity participation levels across the borough. We strive to support our clubs in their development to increase participation levels from residents and visitors. This aims to improve physical and mental health wellbeing and foster a sense of connected and cohesive community.

We are extremely fortunate that the borough offers a wide range of fantastic physical asset infrastructure and open spaces to enable mass participation and access by all. It is of utmost importance that there is access to these activities to enable all to benefit and this strategy has been developed with consultation, collaboration and support of partners, clubs and users.

Where we are now

Physical activity, sports and leisure are critical components of living a healthy, fulfilling and happy life. Opportunities for residents, visitors and communities to be active are an important part of what makes Bracknell Forest a great place to live, work and visit. 

The provision of leisure services is not a statutory requirement however Bracknell Forest Council sees physical activity, sport and leisure as key to its community. This is emphasised where ‘Engaged and Healthy Communities’ is a borough priority within the Council plan 2023 to 2027.

The borough offers a unique active environment comprising a range of existing public and private leisure facilities, clubs and school-managed provision and activities, parks and open spaces, the Lexicon town centre and many informal facilities.

Bracknell Forest has a strong voluntary sector, including sports clubs. Many use the main Bracknell Leisure Centre (owned by Bracknell Forest Council), others use facilities on education sites and in the wider community, or their own facilities.

Informed by extensive consultation undertaken early in 2024, this strategy reflects the views and opportunities for residents, clubs, partners and the wider community. The consultation focused on individual and club views on current physical activity, sports and leisure provision and also actions that would help them to be more active. The findings from the consultation have led us to develop opportunities for change which reflect our ambitions moving forward. These will be reviewed and updated every 3 years.

Why we need a strategy

We need a physical activity, sports and leisure strategy in Bracknell Forest to:

• provide a clear, strategic vision and opportunities for change using the principles outlined in the Strategic Planning Outcomes Guidance Diagnostic for Bracknell Forest
• explore issues and challenges facing local communities regarding being active
• to align providers with identified local needs and priorities
• identify local needs for facilities and places where local communities can be physically active
• inform future investment priorities
• create links between physical activity, health and wellbeing
• establish the council’s role as a physical activity facilitator and enabler

Development of a vision and strategic overview in Bracknell Forest enables a proactive, coordinated and partnership approach to provision which will utilise resources more effectively. It will support and promote collaboration in physical activity provision and will strengthen the Bracknell Forest offer. It will offer prioritisation for opportunities and resources to communities that will benefit most from being more active, as well as supporting those who are already active.

The council’s role is to not solely direct delivery but to enable and facilitate physical activity, sports and leisure. The council’s priority is to promote mass community physical activity, and to create inclusive opportunities to increase participation amongst the least active. This will create the most impact on reducing health inequalities and support those who are most at risk of poor health from sedentary lifestyles.

National context

Sport England’s The Future of Public Sector Leisure examines the current state of the leisure industry as it recovers from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The report highlights that the pandemic has accelerated the appetite for local authorities to look at leisure services and re-examine the purpose of their provision. There is increased focus to assess whether councils are delivering positive local community outcomes and to consider their alignment with broader strategic outcomes, particularly health.

There is an acknowledgement that change is needed and that collectively the focus should be on the following medium-term goals:

• to transition from a traditional leisure service to one which is far more focused on active wellbeing
• to move to a model that focuses on added value and supporting the delivery of key local priorities, and with that, enable the delivery of wider government priorities around net zero and health inequalities

The transition from traditional leisure services into an active wellbeing service is built on 4 inter-related foundations:

Alignment of leisure, physical health, mental health and social care

This includes:

• co-location - with refurbished or new leisure centres providing community hubs that combine traditional leisure services with other health and social services and facilities
• consolidation of the sector’s role as deliverer of preventative activity
• social prescribing and supporting local health and care priorities

Strong sector leadership

This includes:

• addressing the fragmented nature of the leisure sector
• building strong working relationships with multiple stakeholders

Provision that is place-based

This includes:

• making sure that health and wellbeing services are at the heart of local communities and that the facilities and services provided contribute to fulfilling the needs of those communities
• making sure that provision is aligned to the needs of the people that live in the immediate surrounding communities

Provision that is carbon neutral

Estimates suggest that leisure assets currently account for between 10% and 40% of a local authority’s direct carbon emissions. Therefore investment in and improvements to England’s leisure estate have the potential to make a notable contribution to the achievement of local and national targets.

Our vision

Our vision for physical activity, sports and leisure in Bracknell Forest is:

‘To inspire all communities to lead more active and healthier lives contributing to an improved quality of life for all’.

Being more active as part of everyday life is recognised as an essential component of our physical and mental wellbeing. The population is ageing, people live more sedentary lives and health inequalities have increased. A local strategy can foster community wellbeing, encourage participation and contribute to a healthier, happier population. To challenge and address inactivity in Bracknell Forest we aspire to:

• reduce inactivity levels and health inequalities across the borough
• improve mental health and wellbeing and increase physical activity levels

Our vision is underpinned by a number of SPECIAL principles which will guide in designing, planning and delivering all the work that we do.

Strategic overview

Our strategy consists of 3 main themes to increase activity levels in the borough. To achieve the opportunities for change we have defined these themes as:

• active people - providing opportunities for all those living, working and visiting the borough to be more active
• active communities - the provision and delivery of inclusive activities in the borough through collaboration and partnership
• active places - accessible high-quality and sustainable spaces and facilities in the borough which encourage people and communities to be more active

Active people

It has become more important than ever to focus on preventative health measures, including physical activity and to adopt a place-based approach, targeting those people who would benefit the most. It is important that leisure provision in Bracknell Forest is sufficiently attractive to encourage more people to both become and stay physically active.

There are pockets of health inequalities in Bracknell Forest particularly related to the social determinants of health. This will require a targeted approach for key population groups, identified by local public health data, to understand the opportunities and how barriers to physical activity can be overcome. Through collaboration with partners and co-production with residents, the health of residents can be improved, particularly those who would benefit the most from increased physical activity levels.

Poor health outcomes correlate to economic deprivation. While the borough’s communities have better health overall than the national average, there are pockets of deprivation where health inequalities are significant, for some this has meant that paid for sports and physical activity has become an unaffordable luxury.

Although activity levels for adults in England have returned to pre-pandemic levels, Sport England Active Lives data show that the scale of recovery has varied across different sections of society with women, those from lower socio-economic groups, and minorities still less likely to be active than others.

Age continues to be a major factor that determines how likely a person is to be physically active. The older a person is, the less likely they are to meet the Chief Medical Officers’ guidelines of 150 minutes or more of physical activity a week. However, younger people are also now less active, there are now nearly half a million fewer active young people (aged 16 to 34) than 6 years ago.

Widening programmes at informal facilities to incorporate physical activity will contribute to addressing the needs of those who do not, or cannot, access the main leisure facilities. Community facilities and outdoor open spaces are important in terms of increasing access to physical activity in the community and may be more accessible to those who would most benefit. This could build upon activities already being delivered locally such as seated exercise classes and local gardening initiatives such as the Get Green and Active Volunteer programme.

Developing more use of existing and potentially, new, outdoor areas and open space presents a significant opportunity to engage those who are inactive or feel more confident in an informal environment. Working collaboratively with the voluntary and wider public sector to develop and deliver this approach is key to delivery long-term.

The council will play a pivotal role in connecting health and wellbeing. We want to collaborate to make sure that organisations with physical activity and sports at their centre promote joined up thinking to support residents and visitors to move more. We need to strive to incorporate moving more into the wider approach to managing health. We also want to be able to engage and empower residents so that they become resilient, and they can take the initiative for their own health and wellbeing but equally that they are well supported when they need help to both access and continue in their physical activity of choice. We will do this by co-producing approaches with residents and partners to improve uptake of physical activity for those who face barriers.

Active communities

In Bracknell Forest, we have a thriving partnership network that wants to contribute towards increasing opportunities to be active.

We need to continue to work with our stakeholders and support and engage community partners to deliver place-based targeted activities designed around the needs and preferences of local people. Where possible, we need to establish and coordinate new partnerships and investment opportunities into physical activity.

Partners need to work together to make sure that existing services and strategies dovetail and are not designed and delivered in isolation. Health and social care services can be complex add more work is needed to engage the physical activity sector to collaborate. Services need to be fully inclusive, focussing on the needs of under-represented groups, with activities and programmes co-designed with the group and seeking to remove barriers to participation. Perceived barriers to participation in physical activity sessions include social isolation or loneliness, physical and digital accessibility or exclusion, cultural inclusion and perceptions around cost versus quality.

There are a wide range of sports clubs in the borough including several nationally and internationally successful amateur clubs. The community map shows community groups, clubs, societies, activities and support services clubs. Most clubs have development aspirations. While they will identify talented individuals at all levels of the participation pathway, their key role, supported by relevant National Governing Bodies (NGBs) is to then develop them to their full potential in any given sport. To achieve this, they need the facilities and resources to support this work.

There are many community groups and organisations in the borough delivering a range of activities. Harnessing the resources of these local sports clubs and community groups could enable a more effective approach to reducing inactivity, improving physical and mental health and wellbeing. These organisations are based in the community and already use places and spaces which some people may find easier to access than formal leisure facilities.

There is an extensive voluntary sector network of organisations in Bracknell Forest (approximately 400 different organisations), many of whom deliver sport, physical activity and leisure activities. For example walks, social groups, drama activities and exercise classes. Some of these are targeted such as for young people, those with specific needs or those with a disability or long-term condition and under-represented groups.

It is also important to make sure that those who are already active, stay active. Local sports clubs have delivered significant sporting success in Bracknell Forest over the last decade and are important partners and providers. It is important that this success is recognised, and that these clubs continue to be a beacon of achievement to inspire people in the area.

Active places

Public leisure facilities, when designed well, provide an essential part of the ‘fabric of place’. They are an important enabler for local communities to not just be physically active but to access a suite of co-located, broader public, social and health services. There is increasing opportunity for a greater focus on place-based provision of activities and creative use of indoor and outdoor spaces within the community.

Sport England’s strategy Uniting the Movement 2021 highlights, as one of its 5 big issues, the importance of active environments or places - creating and protecting the places and spaces that make it easier for people to be active and provide opportunities for people and communities that have traditionally been left behind.

More recently, the government’s Get Active strategy 2023 focuses on addressing health inequalities and adopting a targeted place-based approach for those individuals and communities that need extra support.

The borough has many spaces for formal activity and sports such as private and public centres, private and academy schools, community centres and other buildings, outdoor pitches and courts and also informal spaces such as open spaces, parks, walking and cycling routes. There will also be opportunity for businesses to link into the offer both as those who are within the health and fitness industry but also that may offer active volunteering roles as part of their commitment to corporate social responsibility.

There are 3 main leisure facilities managed by Bracknell Forest Council’s operating partner, Everyone Active (Sport and Leisure Management (SLM)). The contract operates until 2033:

• Bracknell Leisure Centre (BLC)
• Coral Reef Waterworld
• Downshire Golf Complex

The current leisure contract with Everyone Active delivers significant return to the council which in turn enables investment into existing facilities and supports the development of a range of services. Coral Reef alone delivers 60% of the return to the council. Recognising this, this there is a need to consider options for the delivery of a new contractual arrangement from 2033. Retaining an outsourced, long-term contract and linking this to investment in future facilities is a key opportunity for the council and its community. The cost of maintaining large, ageing, publicly accessible buildings is huge. An outsourced build and operate model allows us to consider the future potential of the BLC site.

However, it is also important to consider that other facilities in neighbouring boroughs are being invested in and redeveloped, creating competition for our own provision. If the council does not consider the long-term future of its own assets, it runs the risk of losing its once captive market share, as people choosing to use other newer facilities, for example new leisure water facilities coming in Oxford and Guildford.

The significant age of both BLC and Coral Reef does mean that in the medium to long term there will be limited return on maintaining investment in the existing buildings and the development of new facilities provides better value. A specific action from this strategy should be to undertake a full feasibility report on replacing BLC, reviewing funding options and how a new centre would dovetail with the existing site. Reactive maintenance and planned capital programme costs require continued and prolonged investment into ageing and energy inefficient assets. Both existing facilities are located on sites with covenants protecting the use of that land for recreational purposes. This means it is highly unlikely that facilities will be relocated anywhere else. There is a clear strategic need for this type and extent of provision in the borough. No other provider is delivering to this scale.

BLC plays an important role in the physical activity provision in the borough. It is the key site providing for community physical activity, sports and leisure. Any replacement provision must retain this focus on accessible mass community provision because this is what will deliver the greatest impact to the largest number. This focus is a critical part of the council’s future role and responsibility - mass participation is what will turn the dial on inactivity rates.

BLC is an ageing, energy inefficient building, the existing building covers a large footprint and could be more effectively designed which would have a positive impact on reducing operational costs and delivery. Any new builds must consider greener and more sustainable design and technology.

The Look Out Discovery Centre although not specifically a sports facility, is set in Swinley Forest, with over 1,000 hectares of woodland. This is recognised as a key facility in terms of its outdoor environment and opportunities to be in nature for walking, running, cycling amongst other activities.

Over a 150 parks and countryside sites can be found throughout the borough. While some open space, particularly in the Green Belt, is protected due to its characteristics, there is significant provision which can be used for informal activity.

The council also provides all-weather and natural turf playing pitches, walking and cycling trails. There are a number of community centres in the borough offering flexible space for activities including sports. Some of these are managed by town and parish councils and others are leased to community organisations by Bracknell Forest Council.

There are several schools in the borough, offering a range of sports facilities including sports halls, pitches, swimming pools and gyms. Community access to these facilities varies school to school. Several schools also have long-term partnerships with local clubs and organisations who use their facilities.

Developing additional use of education facilities as part of an overall ‘hub and spoke’ approach in the borough is key for club and community use. This could be through developing use of education facilities out of school hours or developing new provision through a partnership approach. Either would provide additional opportunities for community physical activity and could also benefit the education curriculum and after school activity sessions.

Within the borough there are a variety of private facilities and club provision that support access to physical activity.

Opportunities for change

The insight developed through consultation and developing this strategy has identified opportunities for future delivery of active wellbeing services in Bracknell Forest. These opportunities for change have been summarised below within the 3 key themes. These will be reviewed and updated every 3 years.

1 - Active people

• 1.1 Improve the extent, nature and reach of inclusive provision for all in the borough, delivering a universal and targeted offer to support both physical and mental wellbeing.
• 1.2 Ensure that facilities and programmes are wholly inclusive and meet the needs of those who would benefit the most and those that are least likely to participate.

2 - Active communities

• 2.1 Support and empower local communities and partners to deliver activities and services for local people. Promote and support innovation.
• 2.2 Develop opportunities to achieve more through targeted engagement, collaboration and codesign with key partners and stakeholders.
• 2.3 Identify funding and coproduction opportunities for financial sustainability, long term investments and resourcing provisions where appropriate.
• 2.4 Develop options for the delivery of a new leisure contract in 2033. This will require pre-market engagement and procurement to understand model options. This will have a clear link to the redevelopment of Bracknell Leisure Centre.

3 - Active places

• 3.1 Undertake more detailed feasibility work to inform the replacement of Bracknell Leisure Centre, this may include complete or part replacement, potential funding routes and site location.
• 3.2 Develop a long term and sustainable investment programme for the council owned sports assets including planned preventative maintenance. Where possible our assets will minimise their impact on the environment.
• 3.3 Work collaboratively to develop opportunities to use and promote a place based approach and access provision and space for delivering physical activity sessions for those who may feel intimidated by a traditional leisure centre setting

How we will make this happen

This strategy outlines the council’s opportunities for change in relation to physical activity, sports and leisure in the borough. This will be supported by a supplementary implementation plan which will outline key actions.

These opportunities link to work being undertaken as part of other strategies, locally, regionally and nationally. These include our health and wellbeing strategy, climate change strategy and emerging community strategy.

To deliver we need to be clear on our governance, leadership and oversight. We need to know that we are making a difference and alongside our opportunities for change. We will develop an approach to measuring, reporting and evaluating progress. Our implementation plan will be reviewed and evaluated on a 3-year cycle.