health aNd fitNess


£2.5m package to continue Birmingham gym scheme


PeTe hAymAn


Birmingham’s Be Active gym scheme will be continued into 2011-12 aſter a £2.5m funding package was secured by the NHS and Birmingham City Council (BCC). The scheme has attracted more than


300,000 members since its launch and offers all city residents free swimming, group exercise classes and gym sessions. BCC and the city’s four Primary Care


Trusts sponsor the Be Active scheme, which supports the Change 4 Life programme and has grown participation by 10 per cent.


New Quest format announced Tom wAlker


Te new format for the Quest assessment scheme has been revealed ahead of its launch date of 1 June. There are significant


changes to the way leisure centres are assessed by Quest, with the aim of making the process more flexible. Tree new levels have been


introduced – Quest Entry is a one-day, operational assess- ment aimed at smaller and community sites; Quest Plus is a two-day process, which includes a one-day operational assessment; while Quest Stretch will feature an unannounced day-one assessment, plus a sec- ond day focussing on a centre’s approach to measuring impact and outcomes. According to Caroline Constantine, Quest


operations director, there will also be a renewed focus on health and safety measures.


Alesha Dixon is creative director at LA Fitness


Alesha Dixon launches new lA Fitness classes


Tom wAlker


Reality show starlet Alesha Dixon has officially launched LA Fitness’s new pro- gramme of small group exercise classes. As part of a marketing deal signed with


the health club operator in December 2009, Dixon was given the title of creative director at LA Fitness and has seen a programme of dance classes launched bearing her name. Te new Accelerator and Fight Fit classes


were unveiled on 9 March and will be run as small group sessions, targeting those with less time to spend at the gym.


whitstable college adds new £162,500 fitness gym


Tom wAlker


Te Community College in Whitstable, Kent, has opened a £162,500 fitness suite as part of its upgrade under the Building Schools for the Future programme. Te redevelopment, designed and carried


out by Createability in partnership with Zynk Design, included linking the main school building with its sports centre. Life Fitness equipped the gym, with use


of the school’s facilities – managed by trust Active Life – extended to the local commu- nity in the evenings and at weekends.


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Te new Quest format will provide a renewed focus on health and safety “If sites don’t pass [the health and safety


threshold score], they won’t pass their assess- ment. Tey will also have to know the impacts and outcomes their changes have made – for the first time Quest will be asking sites to measure the difference they make to their cus- tomer’s lives,” said Constantine.


DP Associates to enter fitness sector Tom wAlker


DP Associates, the leisure con- sultancy which has operated largely within the attractions sector, has unveiled plans to expand its services into the fitness industry. As part of the compa-


ny’s expansion strategy, founder Duncan Phillips has appointed two new mem- bers – Ben Silcox and Norris Panton – to his team. Both Silcox and Panton join the consultancy from budget health club chain Nuyuu. Silcox’s experience includes


Norris Panton (leſt); Duncan Phillips (centre); and Ben Silcox (right)


a year-long stint as managing director of Nuyuu, a company which he helped set up with James Caan. Te group launched in September 2009 and operated for a year before being sold to énergie in October 2010.


Meanwhile, Norris Panton is a former inde-


pendent gym operator who has also worked as operations director at Nuyuu. Panton has also held positions at health club chains Esporta, LA Fitness and Fitness First.


Barry leisure facilities set for £400k overhaul PeTe hAymAn


Te Vale of Glamorgan Council is to invest £400,000 in a series of improvements to three leisure facilities in Barry, South Wales. Colcot Sports Centre’s Hammer Strength Gym is to be moved to a new, larger venue at


Read Leisure Opportunities online: www.leisureopportunities.co.uk/digital


the Holm View Leisure Centre and will accom- modate twice as many stations. Te vacant space at Colcot Sports Centre


will be turned into additional football chang- ing facilities, while Barry Leisure Centre’s dry-side changing areas will be overhauled.


Twitter: @leisureopps © CYBERTREK 2011


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