Leisure review consultation - Wiltshire wide view

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Wiltshire Wide View

A total of 3,189 responses were received, of which 3,134 were found to be valid (98%). Of these responses 94% were completed questionnaires, of which 85% were posted or delivered to the leisure centres, 9% were completed online and 5% were letters or emails.

Of the total responses received 35% were male and 62% were female and 5% considered themselves to have a disability. A total of 3% of respondents were under the age of 18, 3% were aged 18 to 24, 9% were aged 25 to 34, 19% were aged 35 to 44, 18% were aged 45 to 54, 19% were aged 55 to 64, 16% were aged 65 to 74 and 4% were aged 75 and over.

Of the respondents 15% indicated an interest in being involved or running their leisure centre. A total of 63% of respondents visited a leisure centre weekly, with 24% daily, 5% monthly, 6% less often and 2% have never used a leisure centre.

The Council is aware of two public petitions, one from the Westbury area with 2,512 signatures which was submitted for consideration to the council and another in the Bradford on Avon area. The Bradford petition was not submitted. Both petitions relate specifically to the facilities in the respective towns remaining open.

In specific response to the questions

• 85% agreed with the principle that providing high quality, modern facilities with a variety of activities will encourage more people to become more active and furthermore 51% of respondents strongly agreed
• 71% agreed that local communities should be able to directly influence and / or manage their local services and only 12% of respondents disagreed
• 88% agreed that the price of using leisure facilities can be a barrier to taking part
• 67% of respondents felt that pricing should be reflective of the size and quality of facility whereas 48% disagreed that a standard pricing policy across all facilities, irrespective of the size and quality would work for Wiltshire
• 78% of respondents agreed that the council should try to provide multi-purpose indoor leisure facilities within 20 minutes travel time from home
• 88% agreed that introducing car parking charges at leisure facilities could be a barrier to stop people taking part

In terms of activities the most popular are swimming (29%), using the gym (14%), fitness classes (12%), badminton (6%) and squash (4%). Other facilities within leisure centres also proved popular with the inclusion of café facilities (9%), meeting spaces (5%) and crèches (3%).

There were 5137 comments made with reference to the leisure review, with the following comments being the most highly stated

• Lower/ affordable prices/cost/value for money – 9%
• Improved facilities/ equipment (additional stuff 6 lane pool, squash etc) – 8%
• Greater/ more variety of classes/ courses/ exercise options/ timings – 7%
• Keep the centre open – 6%
• Improved changing facilities – 5%

Last updated: 20 January 2011