Company Number: 8735413 Charity Number: 1156582

Report from the Meet the Alive team Open Forum meeting at Alive Lynnsport, Greenpark Avenue, King’s Lynn, Norfolk PE30 2NB between 6pm – 9pm.

Present:

Board of Directors:

Peter Lemon – Chairman Michael Andrews - Treasurer Abbie Panks - Trustee

Alive Leisure Staff:

Simon McKenna – Chief Executive Nina McKenna – Director of Culture and Communications Tommy Goode – Director of Business Development Jan Clay – Company Secretary Adam Garford – Sports Development Manager Victoria King – Leisure Development Manager Jodie McGill – Tennis Development Manager Sarah Dignam – Marketing Assistant Kathryn Bithray – PR and Advertising Officer Elaine Hinds – Administration manager Mark Mitchell – Corporate Sales and Fitness Manager Dave Cleland – Alive Oasis, Manager Louise Biggs – Alive Downham Market, Manager Philip Bayfield – Alive Corn Exchange, Manager Lucy Melish – Alive St James, Manager Neil Gromett – Chief Operating Officer Alive Management

Public:

Robert Raab Amanda Watson Alfred Wells Claire Paget Sherry Peel Keith Mardall Zan Wynne C A Fysh

From 6pm – 7pm the public were welcome to drop in and look around the displays by the Alive Card, Sports Development, Leisure and Corn Exchange teams, and to ask any questions or give feedback. At 7pm the Chief Executive welcomed Trustees, staff and the public to the Open Forum and thanked them for coming along. He encouraged everyone to look at the displays set up by the various Alive Leisure sectors to showcase what was on offer, and to talk to staff members and to share their opinions.

The Chief Executive then showed a short presentation, reporting on the annual Key Performance Indicators over the 2015-16 year. The Trust, which is a not for profit company, ended the year with a turnover of nearly £5.2m, generating a surplus of £88k (from a total surplus of £125k, from which the Borough Council of King’s Lynn and West Norfolk received £38k). The money the BCKLWN receives has to be invested back into leisure facilities and the £88k retained by the Trust will be reinvested into the facilities and services it provides.

Performance:  The Trust was instrumental in bringing in £176k worth of funding and sponsorship for The Shed project  £15k in sponsorship was secured and  £15.5k for the GEAR (Grand East Anglia Race)  Mystery visits scored 86.4% across all venues, as against 73.6% last year  There remain some challenging issues across fitness but plans are in place to address these  GEAR recorded record entries with 2,400 entries in the main race and 1,200 in the mini GEAR.

Governance: The Chief Executive talked about the issues that arose from the Kid’s Company Charity and the importance of good governance, highlighting the training undertaken by Alive Leisure:  The Trustees and senior management team attended a governance training day  A staff development and training plan is underway  The CEO and Chairman attended a training day  An audit of the governance processes received ‘substantial assurance’

Partnership working: From the 2014-15 surplus £25K was put aside to meet the Board’s agreed policy on spending and projects included:  Telephone system £7.5K Lynnsport  Dance studio air conditioning £5K Lynnsport  Children’s Summer Holiday activities £10K, borough wide  Synrgy 360 installed at Lynnsport  New gym equipment at Downham  Wembley Room alterations at Lynnsport  Toning chairs relocated, and,  The Lynnsport Masterplan includes: o 4 new tennis courts (opened 16th July) o Two new synthetic pitches o New road, due to open December 2016

The Director of Culture and Communications updated on arts development, the Corn Exchange and marketing:

Arts development:  Alive leisure is now working with Creative Arts East to deliver a 2 year Arts Development programme targeting children and rural areas  664 people attended Breakin Convention, a collaboration with Sadler’s Wells to deliver a hip hop event  Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment school and family performances were sold out

Corn Exchange programme:  The first ever week-long show, The Mousetrap, was attended by over 5,000 people  Cinderella has already sold over 12,000 tickets, ahead of Snow White. There will be autism and signed performances  Exciting shows coming up : Elaine Paige, Jimmy Carr, Russell Howard, Peter Pan on Ice

Marketing:  The AL Team campaign has been very well received  A successful fitness event was held at the Corn Exchange on 31st July. Another is planned for 22nd January 2017  Technological advances have been made with email surveys, digital screens and an easier to access website The Chief Executive then talked about priorities going forward which are Capital Investment; New opportunities and ways of going forward; and, redefining our future direction.

 The Shed project which starts in the Autumn will see the building insulated and a mezzanine floor added, doubling capacity and adding a classroom area  GEAR will be managed by Run For All, a not for profit company for 2017  Book and pay online is a priority  The Arts Development partnership with Creative Arts East will see the Trust engaging with young people in high deprivation and low cultural engagement areas

The Chief Executive then invited questions from those present. Several questions had also been sent in by email:

Q: Why is the Jacuzzi at the Oasis not working all the time? A: The Jacuzzi is a dated design that requires the slide to be switched on as well to operate. The noise that the slide makes and the possibility that some people may want to use the slide is not conducive to quieter length swimming periods.

Q: St James has video/music in the background with a high proportion of adverts featuring ‘quick loan’ companies with interest rates between 35 – 1,800% +. Is this the sort of advertising are content to sanction? A: The centre manager will be asked to review this and report back.

Q: Are there any plans to introduce a Body Balance class(es) at Downham? A: The fitness manager will see if this is a feasible option.

Q: The Shed has mixed ages using the facilities at the same time and some of the older children feel this is dangerous. Are there plans to introduce age specific times? A: When The Shed reopens there will be specific times introduced for young BMX and skateboarders.

Q: Is the Corn Exchange going to introduce discounts for Alive Card members? A: There are already discounts for schools, seniors, unemployed and disabled.

Q: Often productions at the Corn Exchange finish after the last bus, or pensioners cannot use their bus passes at that time. A: The Corn Exchange has put on more matinee shows to offset this.

Q: A question was asked about the content of a show being different to the advertisements for it. A: The show in question was a hiring, so there is no control over the event.