SLC were commissioned by North Herts Council in 2023 to support with development of a new Active North Herts Strategy. The Council previously had no overarching strategy that articulated its outcomes and objectives for the delivery of sport, leisure and physical activity services.

The new Strategy sets out a clear policy position on the Council’s role as a lead partner in enabling residents to be more physically active. It also provides strong strategic direction to support the implementation of a new leisure operator contract.Active North Herts logo

To inform the new Active North Herts Strategy, SLC undertook a comprehensive review of the current state of sport and physical activity within North Herts, which included:

  • A strategic document review – to understand the wider strategic context in terms of the Council’s future priorities
  • A review of local demographics & health inequalities to develop insight into the key District-wide challenges to be addressed through the new Strategy
  • A review of the role of the Council’s leisure centres in contributing to local outcomes in terms of the use, reach and impact of these facilities

Critically, the new Strategy was developed through a comprehensive programme of stakeholder engagement with elected Members, external partners, clubs, schools and North Herts residents. This helped the Council to identify a new set of strategic outcomes, objectives and enabling actions to support the future delivery of sport and physical activity services with partners across the District.

In line with the Council’s wider aspirations, the new Strategy seeks to address existing health inequalities through targeted work with less active populations. It aims to create a supportive environment that inspires and enables individuals to move more and lead an active healthy lifestyle.

It will provide a ‘clear line of sight’ or ‘golden thread’ which connects the specific actions for sport and physical activity with the broader strategic priorities of the Council and its partners.

The new Active North Herts Strategy was formally adopted by the Council in June 2023 and now forms a critical policy document to support the procurement of its new leisure management contract.

TESTIMONIAL

SLC made the process of developing our Active North Herts Strategy really straightforward and we are extremely happy with the end result. The team’s expertise is invaluable and their straightforward professionalism and relationship building skills are outstanding. We would not hesitate to recommend SLC for any leisure project where you may need specialist advice, they offer excellent value for money and we have ended up with a Strategy we are proud of.

Sarah Kingsley, Service Director – Place, North Herts Council

 

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