In part one of a nine-part series detailing Alliance Leisure’s process for creating successful public leisure facilities, we see the importance of starting with a frank discussion, an imaginative vision and a sound feasibility study.

There are many examples of new and architecturally impressive leisure centres to be found around the UK, yet that fact remains that over two-thirds of facilities are more than 20 years old, having been built with a 25-year lifecycle in mind. That suggests a lot of stock in urgent need of renewal and revival.

Alliance Leisure has been in the business of breathing new life into flagging, and often failing, sport and leisure facilities for the past 15 years. It offers a turnkey procurement and development service for local authorities and leisure trusts, taking on all the risk, with no upfront fees for councils in the all-important scoping and planning stages.

With access to a loyal stream of City funders, Alliance Leisure has so far invested over £60m into the public portfolio and completed over 100 projects. In many of these cases, there’s been no need for any capital outlay on the part of the client, and the end result can be a cost-neutral development delivered in half the time of a project taken through a more traditional route.

“We’re not in the business of producing expensive, signature buildings. In these times of huge pressures on public funds, clients should not be spending any more than they need to,” says Alliance Leisure’s commercial director, Paul Cluett.

“Also, there’s no point in investing in a new facility that fails to engage 89 per cent of the local population.”

Detailed analysis
The foundations for success are laid early in the Alliance Leisure-client relationship, starting with a rigorous process to scope and test out a project’s commercial viability and sustainability in the community before any decisions to go further. Cluett says that, at this early stage, clients must be prepared to face a potentially difficult process.

“We’re not afraid to challenge our clients. They may want to knock down an old sports centre and build a brand new one. If there’s a more economical way of doing things that delivers higher value to the community, that’s what we’ll push for.

“For example, a client might ask for a 100-station gym. But then we commission a latent demand report from Leisure Database, and the results show they really only need 60 stations. That’s a lot of money to be saved on equipment, and a lot of space that can be put to better use,” says Cluett.

“We also like to challenge their perceptions of what a sport and leisure centre is and can be – it’s all about recognising the art of the possible.”

Finding ‘the possible’ in a project first involves an exhaustive process of detailed demographic analysis, business planning and stakeholder engagement.

Alongside detailed discussions with the client, starting a meaningful conversation with the local community is vital, says Cluett. “We rely heavily on local knowledge and stakeholder engagement. Local member groups and councillors are really the earpieces to the wider community.”

Before a client decides to commit any further, there’ll also be a fairly clear prediction of future costs. “We take a highly diagnostic approach, and “put our money where our mouth is” to back the achievement of the feasibility study targets,” says Cluett.

Ground-breaking model
This unique model has been successful in past Alliance Leisure projects because it essentially turns the procurement process on its head.

By the more traditional route, a council may pay high fees in the pre-contract phase. If it goes ahead, there will undoubtedly be a much slower delivery process, with unpredicatable and rising costs, and with all the risks of construction borne solely by the local authority.

Still working within council and EU regulations and the Development Framework, the Alliance Leisure process can eliminate the fear of the unknown from the outset, while at the same time bridging the funding and skills gap.

Its early-stage analysis can also produce fresh and exciting ideas, generated by a team that’s dedicated to researching new trends. “For example, few may have predicted the huge rise in popularity of functional fitness and what that means in terms of requirements on the gym floor, says Cluett “Also, local authority fitness income is being challenged with the rise of private sector budget clubs, so we must find commercially-viable concepts that refresh the leisure offer, ensure wider community engagement, address the ageing population and promote social cohesion,” he says.

Alliance Leisure clients can be sure that once the scoping and investigation phase is complete, says Cluett, they are on the path to a truly sustainable and inspirational project.