Find great staffTM leisure opportunities 6 - 19 SEPTEMBER 2016 ISSUE 692 Daily news & jobs: www.leisureopportunities.co.uk DW Sports moves for Fitness First clubs The long-running saga of the south – particularly London – a sale of Fitness First’s UK clubs successful deal would see the UK’s looks to be in its final act, as up second largest health club chain to five operators are understood boast an enviable spread of sites. to have completed separate The former Wigan Athletic deals to buy out the nearly chair also said he “wasn’t 70-strong portfolio – with DW expecting any trouble from the Sports leading the way. competition people” in terms of The deals, expected to be the deal, with the geographical confirmed by Fitness First differences between DW Sports owner Oaktree Capital later and Fitness First reducing the this month, will see Fitness likelihood of intense scrutiny First carved up by DW Sports, from the Competition and The Gym Group and GLL Markets Authority (CMA), (Greenwich Leisure Ltd) – which previously proved the while other firms are circling. downfall of a proposed merger DW Sports, owned by between Pure Gym and The multimillionaire Dave Whelan, Gym Group. is expected to pick up a total of Whelan is optimistic the move would not be scuppered by competition authorities If the deal goes through, it 63 clubs, nearly doubling its will immediately make DW existing number of clubs operated under the have so much of a presence” in an interview Sports – which has around 80 sites – one DW Fitness banner. with the Wigan Evening Post. of the largest private gym chains in the UK, Whelan confirmed the business is With DW Sports boasting a strong selection rivaling current market leader Pure Gym, “getting 63 health clubs which are mainly of northern locations and Fitness First having which currently has more than 160 clubs. in the south of England where we do not a significant presence in affluent areas of the Details: http://lei.sr?a=X6O9m FA ramps up grassroots Sugar levy should facilities programme pay for activities The Football Association (FA) is awaiting the green light to build grassroots football hubs in Liverpool The hundreds of millions of pounds the gov- and West London after establishing ernment is expecting to generate as a result of facilities in Sheffield. its soft drinks sugar levy should be pumped New centres have launched in into physical activity initiatives outside schools the South Yorkshire city as part of as well as within them, according to Baroness Grey-Thompson urged the government to spend the a pilot for the Parklife Football Hub Tanni Grey-Thompson. revenue on physical activities outside school time Programme, which is being funded Launched last month, the government’s obe- by the FA, Sheffield District Council sity strategy set out its plan for physical activity However, ukactive chair Grey-Thompson and the Department of Culture, within schools, encompassing a recommenda- stressed that while it was “encouraging” that Media and Sport (DCMS). tion of 30 minutes of dedicated time every day, schools were being encouraged to promote St George’s Park Sheffield Graves funded by the levy. The levy – which will be physical activity, with Ofsted monitoring prog- was one of the first sites to open. applied to all soft drinks with a certain amount ress, a slice of the fund should be earmarked for Continued on back cover of sugar – is expected to generate £520m initiatives during the school holidays. (US$684.6m, €604.9m) for the Treasury. Details: http://lei.sr?a=T8Y4B_O GET Magazine sign up at PDF for iPad, Kindle & smart phone Online on digital turning pages Twitter follow us: leisureopportunities.co.uk/subs leisureopportunities.co.uk/pdf leisureopportunities.co.uk/digital @leisureopps @leisureoppsjobs LEISURE OPPS Job board live job updates Ezine sign up for weekly updates, Instant sign up for instant alerts, RSS sign up for job & news feeds leisureopportunities.co.uk leisureopportunities.co.uk/ezine leisureopportunities.co.uk/instant leisureopportunities.co.uk/rss Contacts: SPORT The Leisure Media Company Portmill House, Portmill Lane, £33m Oriam centre opens Hitchin, Herts SG5 1DJ, UK Tel: +44 (0)1462 431385 A £33m sporting facility Fax: +44 (0)1462 433909 in Scotland has opened at e-mail: please use contacts' Heriot-Watt University’s [email protected] Edinburgh campus. The Subscriptions national sports performance [email protected] centre has been backed by £24m from the Scottish Editor Government and £9m from Liz Terry 01462 431385 partners, sportscotland, Head of News Heriot-Watt University and Matthew Campelli 01462 471912 Edinburgh City Council. Journalists The partners include the Scottish FA, Scottish Rugby, Tom Anstey 01462 471916 Basketball Scotland, Netball Jane Kitchen 01462 471929 Scotland, Scottish Handball, Kim Megson 01462 471915 sportscotland Institute of Products Editor Sport and Scottish Squash The facility will act as Scotland’s national sports performance centre Kate Corney 01462 471927 and Racquetball. Design The new multi-purpose development pitches, two rugby pitches, a 12-court sports aims to be a collaborative environment hall, a 120-station fitness suite, a café and Ed Gallagher 01905 20198 to support Scotland’s up-and-coming private dining area. Internet sportsmen and women, their coaches Other facilities on the site include a four- Michael Paramore 01462 471926 and volunteers, to train and prepare for court sports hall with climbing wall, two newly Dean Fox 01462 471900 competition at the highest levels. The centre developed exercise studios, eight squash courts, Tim Nash 01462 471917 will also welcome students, staff, the local including Scotland’s only glass back show Emma Harris 01462 471921 community and sports groups. court, video analysis facilities, an indoor Facilities include a Hampden Park 3G synthetic pitch, The Heart of Midlothian Publisher standard grass pitch, an outdoor synthetic Football Academy and a jogging course. Julie Badrick 01462 471919 pitch, four outdoor natural grass football Details: http://lei.sr?a=x4k8E_O Associate Publisher Paul Thorman 01462 471904 Associate Publisher/ Property Desk Simon Hinksman 01462 471905 Sport strategy triggers CIMSPA review Account Manager CIMSPA, the professional body for the UK Chris Barnard 01462 471907 sport and physical activity sector, has set out Jed Taylor 01462 471914 to undertake a full governance review as it Financial Administrator bids to fulfil its responsibilities set out in the Denise Adams 01462 471930 government sport strategy. Circulation Manager The review is being led by Anthony Michael Emmerson 01462 471932 Collins Solicitors and is consulting across the sector, taking in submissions from industry stakeholders such as the Royal College of Subscribe to Leisure Opportunities, Physicians, Sport England and ukactive. Online: www.leisuresubs.com Email: [email protected] Concluding later this month (September), Tel: +44 (0)1462 471930 the review will end with the recruitment of a Annual subscription rates are: UK £34, permanent chair following the exit of David Europe £45, Rest of world £68, students UK £18. Stalker, who spent six years with the body. Leisure Opportunities is published 26 times Andy Reed, the former Labour MP who a year by The Leisure Media Co Ltd, Portmill recently delivered a review on the County House, Portmill Lane, Hitchin, Herts SG5 1DJ, UK. The views expressed in this publication Sports Partnerships (CSP), will take over as CEO Tara Dillon said there was ‘work to be done’ are those of the author and do not necessarily the organisation’s chair in the interim. represent those of the publisher The Leisure CIMSPA – the Chartered Institute for the Tara Dillon, CIMSPA chief executive, Media Co Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored Management of Sport and Physical Activity – said that the body had “changed beyond all in a retrieval system or transmitted in any was tasked by the government in its Sporting recognition” under the stewardship of Stalker form or by means, electronic, mechanical, Future blueprint to develop a “single, clear but the “hard work doesn’t stop here”. photocopying, recorded or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright holder, and rigorous set of standards” for all sport “To continue to attract investment in Cybertrek Ltd. Printed by Warners Midlands and exercise professionals with the help of the sector we need employers to take a PLC. Distributed by Royal Mail Group Ltd grassroots quango Sport England. place at the table and deliver workforce and Whistl Ltd in the UK and Total Mail Ltd globally. ©Cybertrek Ltd 2016 ISSN As a result, Sport England ceased to fund development plans,” she added. 0952/8210 (Print). ISSN 2397-2394 (Online). fellow professional body SkillsActive. Details: http://lei.sr?a=E6q7B_O 2 Read Leisure Opportunities online: www.leisureopportunities.co.uk/digital Twitter: @leisureopps © CYBERTREK 2016 SPORT Equality in sport a ‘long way off’ AFC Wimbledon given a clear path to new stadium Disabled people do not have AFC Wimbledon’s proposal to build an adequate access to grassroots 11,000-capacity stadium close to its spiritual sport clubs and facilities and Plough Lane home has moved a step closer there is a “long way to go” as a result of the Mayor of London declining before the situation improves, to intervene in the planning process. said the chief executive Sadiq Khan wrote to Merton Borough of the British Paralympic Council to clear the local authority to make Association (BPA). a decision on the League One football club’s According to Tim proposal itself, without the input of City Hollingsworth, there are still Hall, following a short consultation period. barriers to participation for The move to develop the £20m disabled people because of complex – which will also include more limited physical accessibility than 600 residential homes and a range to grassroots sporting Hollingsworth said he was encouraged that the government sport of leisure facilities – appears now to be infrastructure and the inability strategy would increase opportunities for disabled people a formality and will go ahead.