West Devon Borough Council 2006

The Brief

West Devon Borough Council commissioned Strategic Leisure, following a best value review, to assist them in the market testing of their leisure facilities Meadowlands Leisure Centre and the new Parklands Leisure Centre and Pool.

The best value review identified series of social, economic, environmental, health strategic outcomes and outcome performance targets, which the Council’s partner will be required to meet. A key requirement was the commissioned of the new facility at Okehampton and the contributory funding of equipment at the site.

Our Approach

The procurement process was managed entirely by Strategic Leisure. The approach utilised Strategic Leisure’s procurement toolkit tailored to specifically address West Devon’s requirements. This included adverting for expression of interest, establishing a shortlist of potential operators, developing all tender documents, evaluating submission and recommending the preferred partner. Strategic Leisure were subsequently retained to negotiate with the preferred partner.

Project Outcomes

The procurement process and subsequent evaluation identified a preferred partner Leisure Connection Ltd to manage the leisure facilities for up to ten years.

The result has realised significant benefits for the Council, in summary these are;

• A long-term sustainable solution for the leisure centre service for up to 15 years

• A sustainable revenue position

• Investment of up to £200k

• A performance management framework based upon a balanced scorecard for the future measurement of the performance of the service