The SevernCentre
Annual Report and Performance Review For the year April 2015 - March 2016 Facebook “f ” Logo
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Severn Centre is a registered charity and not-for-profit Leisure Trust.
@severncentre
2015 / 2016
“As a team we are excited by what the future holds...” Our General Manager, Chris Reeves This financial year has been a good one for the Severn Centre. Not only in terms of the leisure membership, events and participation (membership income, for example, was up and exceeded budget every quarter), but in terms of the new ways we’ve strengthened our bonds with the community and the plans for the future that have come out of that. Perhaps the best example of that community collaboration was the public consultation on our outdoor pool. This facility at the Severn Centre, established in the 1970s to offer the community a safe space to swim, has provided hundreds of thousands of hours of family fun, seen people swim hundreds of thousands of lengths as part of their health and fitness routines and delivered countless swimming lessons in its time. But it is 50 per cent over its life span and – after sitting down to discuss it – we knew usage was down and that we had real concerns about the condition of the facility. It begged the question, is the writing on the proverbial tiled wall? We felt the public should decide what should happen next and the fact they overwhelmingly voted to pull out all the stops to save it speaks volumes: about how they see and value the Severn Centre and about the Centre’s heritage. Most importantly it speaks volumes about the power of the people to make a facility like ours work and to prevent things they love, like the pool, disappearing. At the start of this year’s summer season (2015) sales of swimming season tickets were up (by the value of over £2,000) as people signed up to support its use. So many outdoor pools across the UK have only been truly appreciated after they’ve been closed down. But not here. The community’s view has not only shaped the campaign to save the pool (more news of that on p5) but helped shape and solidify the way we work with the public. This is their centre and it underlines that everything that happens here has to serve the community and their needs now. Whether it’s offering emergency children’s activities during school strikes or launching clubs for young people or developing services for older members of our community, Severn Centre will – we know – work and work well if it engages with its users, and if it meets their changing needs. Of course it couldn’t do all this without our superb staff. They have all been here longer than I have and they all – and bear in mind we only have five full timers and three part timers – work tirelessly, sometimes under challenging circumstances, to develop and support our services, to ensure Severn Centre has its own events (from fetes to triathlons) as well as helping host those run by outside organisations and our Friends of the Severn Centre Group. As a team we are excited by what the future holds, and we look forward to making more huge strides in the forthcoming year.
Severn Stats...
8,988 780 Gym visits 1
Group exercise classes delivered
9,000
Swims in our outdoor pool
11,000
Visits from children using childcare facilities and services
“We’ve seen the power of people to drive change...” Val Hill, Chair of Severn Centre Charitable Trust The story of this year has to start with the pool. As Chris, our General Manager, outlined on the opposite page, the public’s response to this (including votes from over 1,000 children) has underlined how much the people of Highley believe in the Severn Centre and what it is trying to do – they are willing it to be successful. The fact they raised over £20,000 in this financial year for the ‘Save Our Pool’ fundraising campaign is amazing. We have all strived for many years to foster a feeling of togetherness in the community - to engender that feeling of ‘belonging’ even as we continue to negotiate the hurdles of a difficult economic climate. What’s happening now is testament to that previous work, and a vote of confidence in our community’s future. People know that we’re a small team with a small budget and that it’s not always possible to deliver new services immediately. They have, though, signed up to our priorities and shown, with every pound raised, that they feel they have a say and a stake in what happens at Severn Centre, and want to make a practical commitment to its future. As we watch the funds grow it is a huge morale boost for everyone who works here and a step closer to securing the long term future of our outdoor pool, for generations to come. Everyone who works here knows – just as everyone who uses the Centre knows – that the Centre works because it’s inclusive – because it’s able to cater for every ability and every generation, and because it’s absolutely in tune with the priorities of the village. That means providing the right childcare services at our Sure Start centre and providing the right menu at our Miners café, and everything inbetween. So what do we want to see happen next? We’ve seen the power of people to drive change and this coming year we’ll be looking at how we can work more effectively with the public via volunteering schemes. Those that work with us have experienced and so understand that the more they put in, the more they get out. But there are opportunities for new volunteers, of all ages, to help us build on our success and to bring new ideas to the table (see p5). And there are opportunities for new trustees to join the board and share their experience with the team. If you want to get involved in any way, we want to hear from you. If we work together, who knows what the future could hold?
19,375
Library visits
10,000
3,600
1,000
Meals on wheels delivered Pets made Meals served in our better Miners café
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things you should know about our year at the Severn Centre
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The community centre of choice The Severn Centre is proud to be the home of the local vet, community police station, Highley Minors Childcare and Sure Start Children’s Services Centre. We also provide a base for the community’s Meals on Wheels service and our Miners Cafe delivers library books to those on the scheme. But that’s not all. Here at Severn we are home to 17 different community groups (from Walking Group to the WI, bowls club to Tae Kwon Do). We not only want to offer people who live in this area a secure and accessible place to relax and meet with friends, but ensure when they do they learn about and have access to all the other services we offer. We know when parents visit the library they might learn about our Wiggles and Giggles session, or when older people pop into the Miners Cafe they may meet new friends who can take them along to bowls club or invite them to join a weekend walk. We have seen an increase in cross usage - a sure sign of a community in action - and want to build on this as we move forward.
Severn Centre and Good Health Promoting our community’s health and wellbeing every day We know that being more active more often is one of the secrets of good health, and our leisure facilities (including the The Gerry Hitchens Fitness Suite, our sports facilities and our pool, more of which at number 5!) are central to our success.
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Our team leads classes and offers professional support to visitors every day and this, matched with our superb facilities, are the keys to our growing membership and success - in delivering health benefits and ensuring financial stability for the Centre. This strategy extends beyond the gym of course. Last year Severn Centre started working with the Shropshire Doctor’s Co-operative on a three year Help2Change programme to promote better health via Help2Quit and Help2Slim. In addition, our general manager Chris Reeves also delivered a range of first aid courses which not only raised income (nearly £3,000), but helped more people across Shropshire learn crucial skills. We’ve already heard how participants have put these skills into action, parents reporting back how they’ve prevented problems like choking using the skills they’ve learned.
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Severn Centre Events Our team continues to lead several events across the year, determined to demonstrate we are not just a for-hire venue and ensure our calendar reaches and meets the needs of the local community in style and content. This year events included our third and most successful Triathlon (we received brilliant feedback from officials, volunteers and participants), an Aqualon (a Centre based swim/run attracting 28 junior competitors), pamper parties, concerts, as well as our wonderful Summer Fete and Christmas Lights Switch On (both attended by hundreds).
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Severn Centre and Charity support Special events this year included a moving Remembrance weekend in November 2015 which featured a performance of a local story (The Smiths – Story of a Highley Family) and a Gala Concert of Remembrance featuring Arrow Valley Brass Band (raising some £400 for Help for Heroes). We also organised a Sport Relief Mile run in March (raising over £250 for Sport Relief).
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Severn Centre’s Pool Our village has had a swimming pool since the 1970’s when, shocked by the number of accidents and fatalities among those swimming in the River Severn, locals raised money and the miners gave some of their wages to create a safe, secure place for kids to learn how to swim. Our team here are determined to keep the pool, knowing that one in three children still leave primary school unable to swim, and that our pool plays a vital role in teaching children this essential skill. We’re also dedicated to providing affordable, accessible health and fitness facilities and know swimming is one of the best and most accessible ways to get an all over workout, especially good for those who want a low impact way to support mobility and good health. In this financial year the community raised a staggering £22,000 for the ‘Save Our Pool’ fundraising campaign, via individual donations (we have a donation page at www.gofundme. com), a monthly raffle and some brilliant community led events (from rummage sales to quiz nights). While we are still some way from our target, the support – and promise of it – has given us confidence to get to work on the pool so we can keep it open while more funds are raised.
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£120,000
Your outdoor pool wants
£25,000
YOU
Join The Severn Centre fundraising team and Save Our Pool. Speak to Reception
New beauty room launch At the beginning of the year we launched our new Beauty Room which has not only delivered a range of treatments but also an income stream above and beyond estimates.
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A community venue To raise income for the Centre, and to provide the community with a safe, accessible venue for hire, we’re delighted to be home to a range of events, meetings and more across the year. And now we’re a venue for wedding receptions, too...
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8
Severn Centre and the Parish Council We are privileged to have the Parish Council as partners of Severn Centre. Their practical support for the work we do in this community and their additional funding for children’s activities during school holidays benefits families across the area.
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Severn Centre and its volunteers This is one area of life at the Centre we’d like to develop. All the volunteers who get involved with our work say they get more out of it than they put in, but what they put in is transformative. Be it working as a trustee or collecting jumble for a sale, each and every volunteer makes an important difference. We know that working with the local community means we can work harder for it so we’ll be exploring new opportunities in the next financial year.
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Severn Centre as a Social Enterprise The Severn Centre is open 70 hours each week and has a pricing structure that allows local people membership with unlimited use for less than £1 a day and concessions for those members who have disabilities, are aged under 17 or over 60, are on means-tested benefits, or in full-time education. We can do this because we are a community focused, ‘not-for-profit’ organisation. That means the money we make from memberships and bookings is ploughed back into the Centre and the work we do. This would not have been possible without the commitment of everyone who works here and who works with us - the police, Sure Start Children’s Centre, our librarians, group leaders and volunteers. The board is supported by one of the UK’s leading Leisure Trusts, Halo Leisure. Severn Centre has again demonstrated what a multi-agency partnership can achieve.
Want a piece of the action? There are so many ways you can help your local community by getting involved with the Severn Centre - through volunteering at an activity/event, by joining our board of trustees or getting behind our fundraising efforts. If you feel you can contribute - in any way - to the growing success of the Centre, please speak to reception.
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Financial Accounts 2015/2016 Financial Performance in the year ended 31 March 2016 Income
Expenses 2015/16
£
2015/16
£
Grants & Donations
3.55%
10,792
Staff costs
41.38%
150,257
Management Services fees
28.80%
87,575
Gas, electric & water
12.74%
46,259
Membership subscriptions
19.54%
59,412
Repairs & grounds maintenance
1.60%
5,815
Swimming pool
4.91%
14,937
Swimming pool
4.77%
17,310
All other centre activity
18.47%
56,162
All other property costs
4.47%
16,247
Food & beverages
4.21%
12,809
Food & beverages
2.26%
8,203
Lease income
11.40%
34,668
Administration costs
6.32%
22,942
Recovered service charges
5.95%
18,086
Halo management fee
5.51%
20,000
Grounds maintenance contracts
3.15%
9,574
Grounds maintenance contracts
0.53%
1,924
Charity administration costs
1.18%
4,294
Fund raising expenses
1.17%
4,256
Depreciation charges
18.08%
65,648
All other income
Total income
0.01%
100.00%
25
£304,040
2015/16 Severn Centre Total Income £304,040
Grants & Donations 3.55% Management Services fees 28.80% Membership subscriptions 19.54% Swimming pool 4.91% All other centre activity 18.47% Food & beverages 4.21% Lease income 11.40% Recovered service charges 5.95% Grounds maintenance contracts 3.15% All other income 0.01%
Total expenditure
18.08%
65,648
100.00%
£363,155
2015/16 Severn Centre Total Expenses £363,155 £363,585
Staff costs 41.38% Gas, electric & water 12.74% Repairs & grounds maintenance 1.60% Swimming pool 4.77% All other property costs 4.47% Food & beverages 2.26% Administration costs 6.32% Halo managment fee 5.51% Grounds maintenance contracts 0.53% Charity administration costs 1.18% Fund Raising costs 1.17% Depreciation charges 18.08%
Severn Centre is a registered charity and not-for-profit Leisure Trust.
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A-Z of Services
A
is for Activity - and there are scores to get involved in
All weather pitch - for team games Badminton - one of several racket sports Bar and cafe Beauty treatments Books - hundreds of them at our library Bowls club Bus pass renewal
C
is for Clubs (we have a growing number), and for cafe and coffee and chatting with friends
Childcare via Highley Minors Childcare and the area’s Sure Start Centre Concessionary discounts Conference and meeting rooms for hire Community - it’s what we’re all about Cricket club Dance workshops and lessons Exercise studios
F
is for Friends
Fitness classes Function room for hire Gardening club GP exercise referral scheme Gym sessions Holiday activities for children in school holidays
I
is for new Interests
Indoor sports hall Internet access
J
is for Joy
K
is for Kids, all the ways they can get involved
Library and mobile library services Meals on Wheels
N
is for News and our website at www.severncentre.co.uk
Outdoor pool Police station services Q is for quitting, and the support we offer to smokers who want to kick the habit Running (on our treadmills at the gym) Severn Strollers club Slimming club Social events Storytime in the library Swimming lessons Table tennis Tae Kwon Do Tennis Training Triathlon - Highley’s annual sports event
U
is for Under 5s - and all the activities they can enjoy
Vet’s practice Volunteering opportunities WI meetings Walking clubs Walking football clubs Weight management - and the support we can offer Wiggles and Giggles - pre school fun Writing clubs X is for Xtra...and so much more Yoga Youth Activities
ZZ
Z
is for the healthy sleep. One of the many benefits of exercise
Want a piece of the action? Pop into the centre, visit www.severncentre.co.uk or call 01746 860000 The Severn Centre is a registered charity and not-for-profit Leisure Trust.