Making Culture Count
The purpose of the Leisure Strategy is to set out the strategic direction for Leisure Services and establish how we will contribute to the corporate priorities for Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council over the next three to five years. It will link the work of the business unit to the Corporate Plan and translate priorities into themes for leisure.
There is no longer a national government requirement for local authorities to have a Cultural Strategy and Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council’s Corporate Plan does not explicitly feature leisure as a corporate priority. However it does have objectives relating to leisure and has made significant investment in leisure infrastructure, people and places over the last 10 to 15 years, which it continues to support. The challenge for the future is to refocus Leisure Services to maximise its contribution to the council’s corporate priorities and the delivery of the Council Plan and Community Strategy. This needs to be done while maintaining high satisfaction levels and minimising costs.
The Local Government Association’s, ‘Cultural Services and the Shared Priorities’ (Jan 05) stated, “Cultural services are playing a growing role in meeting the increasingly ambitious objectives for service delivery under the new modernising agenda”. This document outlines ways in which this best practice can be developed in the borough, so that leisure and cultural services become a tool for change as well as being valued in their own right.
The analysis of the environment and the context in which leisure will be delivered in the borough over the next few years suggests that a number of challenges will be faced. These include increasing access and participation in worthwhile leisure activities, especially for key groups, such as young people and those on low incomes. Another challenge will be to increase activity levels among residents to meet the Government’s targets of five sessions of 30 minutes moderate exercise each week. It is also proposed to provide more activities for young people to discourage them from anti-social behaviour. The growth of housing in the borough will offer the challenge of maintaining the level of provision and residents’ satisfaction with leisure. Leisure can help to support the wider challenge of improving the image of the borough and attracting visitors and inward investment.
These challenges will be met by redirecting Leisure Services’ activities and resources, maintaining the current infrastructure and working to achieve continuous improvement in performance and efficiency. Leisure Services will focus on the delivery of the following themes:
- Promoting active, healthier communities
Providing choices and incentives for people to take part in activities that improve physical and mental wellbeing
- Developing safer, stronger communities
Improving the quality of life for all residents by offering opportunities to take part in worthwhile leisure activities that develop a sense of community
- Improving local environments
Ensuring that better public spaces are provided and also encourage a sense of local community ownership and involvement
- Contributing to the economic vitality of the Borough
Attracting visitors to the town, encourage employment and inward investment and improving the image of the borough