Link4Life Annual Report 2012-2013

Annual Report I 2012-2013

4Arts&Heritage

4Entertainment

4Fitness&Health

4 S p o r t & L e i s u re

Members of the 2012-2013 Volunteer team. Over 100 Link4Life Volunteers gave over 2,000 hours of support to boroughwide events.

Contents

1

Foreword

Page 2

Improving health and wellbeing

Page 12

Board Membership

Page 2

Connecting to communities

Page 13

Objectives and policies

Page 3

Providing quality and value for money

Page 14

A Big Year 2012-2013

Page 4

Improving access to services

Page 16

Facts & Figures 2012-2013

Page 8

Six years and counting

Page 17

Achievements and Priorities

Page 9

At a glance

Page 18

Providing facilities to be proud of

Page 10

Financial Statements

Page 19

Getting more people more active

Page 11

Link4Life Directory

Page 22

Annual Report I 2012-2013

Foreword It is over six years since Link4Life was formed to manage and develop cultural services on behalf of Rochdale Borough Council. There have been significant achievements during this time and many challenges. As we look forward it is a good time to pause, review our priorities and how these should best be delivered.

The Rochdale Boroughwide Cultural Trust – Link4Life – combines a broader cultural offer that includes arts and heritage, sport and fitness, entertainment and community development. In the year when Rochdale has been declared the World Capital of Co-operatives, it is appropriate to look also at how the Cultural Trust was set up and why.

As a social enterprise and a non-profit making charitable company, Trust services work collaboratively to meet the economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations of the borough in a way that is dynamic and proactive.

contribution that this can make to the spirit and prosperity of the local community.

Every time someone uses our cultural facilities and services they are investing back into the community. In partnership with Rochdale Borough Council and other stakeholders, we have embarked on an investment programme in new facilities in excess of £34 million with around £20 million of investment from Link4Life, over a period of twenty years, meeting the costs of associated borrowing. The borough of Rochdale now has some fantastic facilities. Success in this area plays an important part in achieving other positive improvements of increasing participation among all ages, improving local health and well-being and fostering a positive reputation for Rochdale borough as a high performer on a national platform.

We look forward to continuing this work in the future.

Partnership working has always been at the heart of what we do and this will become even more important with the changing face of public services and how they are funded.

As a member of the Public Service Reform Board we are committed to the joint aim of improving the quality of life for local people. Together we will help to shape the future of cultural services in the borough of Rochdale and the

Clinton Street Chair of the Board of Trustees

Board Membership The following Trustees served on the Board of Link4Life during 2012/13: B Ashworth* C Wood C D Street A Shah* T Linden

C Davis K Finnegan J G Knox J Heywood J Jackson

C Biant S Mills* S Wazir*

The Directors that served on the Link4Life Trading subsidiary company for 2012/13 included: P Unsworth D Crouch A Shah*

*Part year

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Heywood Voices performed at Big Year events.

Objectives and policies Link4Life is the trading name of the Rochdale Boroughwide Cultural Trust which is a charitable company, limited by guarantee. It was established to provide cultural, sport and leisure services across the borough of Rochdale on behalf of Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council (RMBC) under a 15 year partnership agreement. The Council transferred the operation of sport, leisure and cultural services to the Trust on 1 April 2007.

The charitable company has been established for the public benefit of the community and visitors to the Metropolitan

Borough of Rochdale and surrounding areas. Its principle objectives, under its Memorandum and Articles of Association, include but are not limited to the following: •

the advancement and support of education, culture, arts, heritage and history including the provision of libraries, museums, galleries, learning and information centres, archives and other related services;

• the provision or assistance in the provision of facilities for recreation or other leisure time occupations in the interest of social welfare, such facilities being provided

to the public at large save that special facilities may be provided to persons who by reason of their youth, age, infirmity or disability, poverty or social or economic circumstances may have need of special facilities and services;

• the promotion and preservation of good health through community participation in healthy recreation; and • such other charitable purposes beneficial to the public consistent with the objects above as the director trustees shall in their absolute discretion determine.

The Trust took a lead role regionally and locally in the co-ordination and organisation of the Torch Relay in the borough.

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Annual Report I 2012-2013

A Big Year 2012-2013 The Big Year has provided an exciting year of celebration, internationally, nationally and locally. As the nation prepared to host the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics, here the borough of Rochdale saw the completion of a building programme of more than £34 million investing in new sports and arts facilities. These facilities showcased an exciting programme of Big Year events that joined with external partner agencies, local clubs and groups to help provide a lasting legacy for this exciting year.

As part of the United Nations International Year of Co-operatives, Rochdale was declared the ‘World Capital of Co-operatives’. Link4Life played a leading role in staging local arts and heritage activities and the celebrations to mark the contribution of the original Rochdale Pioneers. The message for the year was “Co-operative Enterprises Build a Better World” uniting organisations and people working to meet common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations. The borough welcomed visitors from all over the world as part of this international celebration.

The Big Year programme in 2012 was a series of events boroughwide to mark this special year. The events were an opportunity to inspire the local communities to try a wide variety of sporting and cultural activities. It was also an opportunity for local sports clubs and cultural groups to showcase their talents and attract new members.

The branding for the Big Year was developed to incorporate London 2012, the Diamond Jubilee and International Year of Co-operatives. It also promoted the 5th anniversary of Link4Life and the 10th anniversary of Touchstones Rochdale.

Individual events were promoted under the same ‘Big’ theme.

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Olympic yachtsman Stuart Bithell launches The Big Year 2012 at Hollingworth Lake where a Diamond Jubilee Water Festival in June coincided with the London Thames Pageant.

An official visit from Olympics mascot ‘Wenlock’ was just one of the attractions at the Big Games at the Middleton Arena.

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Touchstones Rochdale was buzzing with a Coop-tastic Family Funday in October with an exciting day of free arts and crafts.

Annual Report I 2012-2013 Over the course of planning these events, Link4Life was represented at regional level on the North West Steering Group for London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics and the Torch Relay. It was also a member of the Rochdale Council multi-agency Events Planning Group for the year. Link4Life was able to contribute to the borough’s township dimension by organising events in all four townships.

In developing the 2012 programme, Link4Life applied for recognition under the London 2012 Inspire Mark initiative, awarded to projects that help to promote sport, culture and volunteering. Eight projects were successfully accredited including ‘2012 Contemporary’, a series of exhibitions and events at Touchstones Rochdale based around contemporary art which also formed part of the Cultural Olympiad and ‘Big Dance Week’, a week long celebration with 22 dance events at Heywood Civic Centre. Other projects helped to promote health and physical activity - for people with disabilities, young people, Greater Manchester public sector employees and volunteers.

Registration for Inspire Mark provided the opportunity to carry the official London 2012 logo and the legacy of these projects has been recognised by a series of plaques in the Copper Box Olympic venue in London when it transferred to community use. Link4Life plan to continue the Big Games events as part of the local legacy of the Olympic Games.

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Big Dance Week was launched at Touchstones Rochdale with a performance by Spiral Dance in the art galleries including Laura Ford’s ‘Impossible Burden’, part of the Inspire Mark Contemporary Art programme.

Link4Life worked in partnership with Park Friends Groups, the Council, NHS and many local clubs and groups.

Big Games events attracted over 5,000 people into Link4Life facilities and local parks across the borough.

Over 115 Link4Life staff co-ordinated and delivered events.

Over 30 local voluntary sports clubs offered free taster sessions and demonstrations and 20 partner organisations contributed to activities.

Over 84 volunteers were used to support the Big Year programme totalling over 588 hours with 80 hours alone supporting the Torch Relay events in Rochdale and Heywood.

The launch of a new Co-operative Heritage Trail helped to mark the contribution that Rochdale played in the worldwide Co-operative Movement.

Coaching hockey at the Littleborough Big Games was Team GB Hockey player Nicola White who went on to win a Bronze medal.

Returning Rochdale borough Olympians were welcomed back from London 2012, along with Torch Bearers and Volunteers, at a Civic Reception.

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Young disabled people took part in a Light a Lantern celebration at Queen’s Park in Heywood to mark the start of the Paralympic Games.

The Sports Village and Queen’s Park welcomed around 500 people for the Heywood Big Games with local clubs playing an active part.

Link4Life Events throughout the year celebrated 2012 as the United Nations International Year of Co-operatives.

Part of a national celebration of dance the Big Dance Week programme explored ten different dance forms with more than 22 events at Heywood Civic.

A visit by the Rochdale Car Owners Club to Rochdale to take part in the Torch Relay parade was hosted by Link4Life bringing visitors from across the UK and Europe.

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Stars from Coronation Street visited Rochdale Leisure Centre on its opening day for Rochdale Big Games which combined events at Touchstones Rochdale and Broadfield Park.

Annual Report I 2012-2013

FACTS & FIGURES 2012-2013 7971 children

took part in the Go4it Summer Programme

15.6% increase in

8,014 pupils

Link4Life delivered sports sessions to

with

use Arts and Heritage services at school

in after school clubs

lessons were taught visitors to Funding of Income from TOUCHSTONES ROCHDALE

8,740 pupils

visit Touchstones from local schools

VISITS

47 SCHOOLS over 11,000 members coaching 830 young people to Sport & Leisure children’s swimming with 500 more sites up 13.4% FITNESS MEMBERSHIP

UP 53% Over 183,000

63,157

Over 1.8 million

£105,000 SWIMMING increased by 25% received from

Rochdale MBC

to deliver the Sunsport & Saturday Klub disability sports programmes

The total number of

SWIMS increased by 11%

There has been a 190% INCREASE in total use at Rochdale Leisure Centre from JulyMarch compared with the old centre

1989

on last year

80,016

ONLINE BOOKINGS made Around 50% of all FITNESS CLASSES

are now booked online

PARTICIPANTS 3

£200,000

was invested in new steam

new running groups rooms and gym established and 70 runners and wellbeing with new equipment at community outreach registered programmes RUN ENGLAND PROJECT Middleton Arena registered on health

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Achievements and Priorities 9

Annual Report I 2012-2013

Heywood Sports Village won ‘Public Sector Project of the Year’ at the national Builder and Engineer Awards.

Rochdale Leisure Centre was commended in the 2012 Rochdale Borough Design Awards

Providing facilities to be proud of

Eight of the tees at Marland Golf Course have been laser levelled and returfed, all greenside bunkers renovated and distance markers installed.

Rochdale Leisure Centre opened on 1 July 2012. This completed a five year boroughwide programme of investment in new sports and arts facilities of over £34 million.

We will also launch a training academy to ensure staff are equipped to deliver a high quality of service and create economies of scale from offering training externally.

Income from users has risen by 78% since 2007 and is now around £5 million. Opening hours have increased by over 70 hours.

We will continue to recruit into our Apprenticeship Academy to address skills shortages and provide employment and training opportunities.

Middleton Arena was the first of the new centres to open, in 2009. This year £230,000 has been spent on refitting the fitness areas with new gym equipment, steam rooms and a spinning studio.

HIGHLIGHTS Since its opening in July, Rochdale Leisure Centre has witnessed a phenomenal 184% increase in the number of swims compared with the previous year with over 14,000 pool attendances. The impact of the new centre was clearly seen in December when it was busy, particularly in the fitness areas, in what had been a traditionally quiet month at the old centre.

Bookings for the new sports hall continue to grow as does swimming lesson re-enrolment.

Priorities in 2013-2014 We will continue to address reinvestment and renewal in facilities to continue to meet raised customer expectations and performance targets.

We plan to restructure our facilities management and building maintenance requirements to improve efficiency and cost effectiveness and keep facilities safe and fit for purpose.

Link4Life launched an Apprenticeship Academy in September recruiting eight local young people, six of whom will study towards NVQ Level 2 Instructing Exercise & Fitness and two who will be based at Marland Golf Course and undergo an Intermediate Apprenticeship in work-based horticulture, sports turf and greenkeeping.

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Getting more people more active Since Link4Life was formed in 2007, visits made to Link4Life centres have gone up by 60% with nearly 1.9 million visits in total this year.

Over four times as many people are now choosing to exercise in Link4Life fitness centres.

Children’s swimming lessons have gone up by 60% with 180,000 lessons being taught this year.

Link4Life Swim Academy was launched in July 2012 with 2,242 enrolled by the end of the year.

Our programme of weekly based community activities has risen from 3,000 in 2007 to over 22,000 this year.

This year over 8,700 children have taken part in school educational visits to Touchstones Rochdale. This continues to build on previous years’ figures.

Searchable timetables of weekly activities have been added to the Link4Life website making it easier for people to find relevant information.

Priorities in 2013-2014 We will continue to target hard to reach communities traditionally under-represented particularly among young people.

We will continue to build on the 2012 legacy to increase participation in cultural and leisure activities across the borough.

Indoor cricket and bowling leagues have been introduced using Rochdale Leisure Centre’s new sports hall

Sport England’s Active People Survey recorded adult participation at 25.9% in October 2012, up 1.9% from the previous year.

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We will deliver a community programme called ‘activ8teme’ based around eight sports and in eight main centres working with National Governing Bodies to increase adult participation. Lottery funding through Sport England of £205,000 for this three year project has been secured and with match funding this will rise to £471,000.

Annual Report I 2012-2013 The successful Coop-tastic Family Learning Day at Touchstones Rochdale attracted over 400 people.

We will continue to develop our Big Games programme of free arts and sports fun days, working in partnership with groups and clubs, and will seek external funding to support this work.

We will continue to promote activities for children and young people under the Go4it banner building on our programme of holiday clubs and after school sessions.

The improvement of digital communications will continue to be a priority.

Highlights Touchstones Rochdale hosted and delivered a special Co-op Experience Day in partnership with the Co-op College for a consortium of eight local primary schools. Representatives from School Councils were nominated and 48 children from year groups 4, 5 and 6 took part in the day looking at the theme of ‘co-operation’.

The Go4it after school multi sports clubs has been a success with 720 young people aged 10-14 years taking part. 71% of places were taken up at Heywood in one month with 140 visits, a 55% increase on the previous year. The football camp once again proved very popular attracting 30 children aged 5-12 years, with many bringing brothers or sisters with them.

Touchstones Rochdale one again joined in the national Big Draw in October organising the ‘Coop-tastic’ family learning day. This provided families with the chance to join in with arts and crafts activities and learn together about the heritage and roots of Rochdale and the Co-operative Movement. The event was held in partnership with the Co-operative College, the Pioneers Museum and the Family Learning Service. Over 400 people of all ages attended.

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Volunteers at the Torch Relay provided valuable support for the day.

146 people achieved Level 1 and 2 National Governing Body coaching awards – the highest in Greater Manchester.

Connecting to communities Community development and outreach work is an integral part of Link4Life’s services and this is delivered through a variety of successful partnerships. Over £5.3 million in grant funding has been secured between 2007 and 2013. This funding has been used to support community based sports and arts provision for both children and adults in a wide range of settings.

Link4Life supports, on behalf of the Borough Council, a number of voluntary sector arts organisations, each of which receives grants to help fund their work in local communities and schools. This support has increased to extend the number of organisations from 9 to 14 in order to widen access and increase participation in the arts in its broadest sense.

Link4Life has a commitment to local employment and holds regular recruitment fairs. The number of full-time equivalent employees has risen from 169 in 2007 to 190.

Touchstones Rochdale knitting group celebrate International Women’s Day at Middleton Arena, one of many events over the year.

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Through the Link4Life volunteer scheme over 100 people gave over 2,000 hours of time in 2012 helping to support events such as the Torch Relay. Sixty individuals completed the bespoke Skills4Sport and Leisure programme with funding from Hopwood Hall College and Skills Funding Agency. The

training and qualifications gained from these activities has resulted in ten people securing part-time permanent contracts or regular weekly casual hours.

Events play an important part in the life of the community and Link4Life continues to support local community and voluntary groups in helping to promote these through a free listings service in a printed ‘Preview’ what’s on guide and promotion online and through social media.

Priorities in 2013-2014 We will continue to source external funding to support successful community based work and work in partnership to deliver this.

From September 2013, Sportivate is extending its age group so that 11-13 year-olds can also take part. Sportivate is inclusive and targets a variety of young people including those who have a disability and people from black and minority ethnic groups.

Arts and Heritage will build on their successful work with Sunsport to develop a new programme of activities called Sunarts for disabled young people.

Annual Report I 2012-2013

As a partner in the Armed Forces Covenant, Link4Life will work in partnership with the Borough Council to provide free use of facilities for serving members of the armed forces. The Trust will also continue to work with Veterans in Communities to provide sports and arts sessions for veterans. These initiatives recognise the special health and social needs of Forces personnel.

We will support a number of events in 2013-2014 providing organisation support and activities on the day.

This will include Township flagship events such as Rochdale’s Feelgood Festival, Heywood 1940s weekend and the Rugby League World Cup, for which Rochdale is hosting the Fiji versus Ireland Game.

This will also enable us to offer additional volunteering opportunities and work related learning experiences.

We will also continue to provide a co-ordinating role, resources and where appropriate funding for locally organised events including the Rochdale Boroughwide Sports Awards and the nationally important Heritage Open Days festival. We will also support Township priorities, for example Middleton Holiday at Home, and participate in working groups relating to tourism, health, regeneration, children and young people, etc.

HIGHLIGHTS Commissioned to deliver the four year Sportivate programme on behalf of the Greater Manchester County Sports Partnership, we have received funding for over 50 projects across the borough. The programme provides opportunities for 14-25 year olds to take part in a variety of sport and physical activity including boxing, windsurfing, football, tennis, hockey and dance.

Arts and Heritage has worked in partnership with the Workers Education Authority (WEA) receiving a grant to deliver a programme for adult learners. This included visits to Touchstones Rochdale and the Arts & Heritage Resource Centre and participation in workshops to inspire their continued studies.

The Neighbourhood & Communities service delivers sessions to 47 schools through its schools’ coaching programme. They coach 830 young people in schools each week taking part in sessions that include Sportivate, Street Games, Go4it and Freehold Football. They coach over 500 young people within after-school activities each week. A total of 1,346 young people take part in weekly activities through this coaching programme.

The Go4it summer holiday programme continued to grow – it was up 100% on the previous year at Middleton Arena with a 140% increase in take up of dry side activities at Heywood Sports Village.

The Christmas show at Heywood Civic achieved an 80% sell out across all three performances and a well attended auditorium programme at Middleton Arena included Rochdale’s Got Talent and an Asian heritage stage play with almost capacity audiences.

Heywood Sports Village hosted a regional Morris Dancing event when over 300 young people took part in the day-long event. Organisers have said they would wish to return in 2013.

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Improving health and wellbeing Feeling good is an important part of being healthy and Link4Life has signed up to the ‘Five Ways to Wellbeing’ campaign that encourages five simple actions that can be adopted and built into daily routines to help both physical and mental health. Cultural and leisure services makes a very real contribution to this.

In 2012-2013, 1,989 registered participants took park in health and wellbeing community outreach programmes against a target of 625.

Funding of £105,000 was received from Short Breaks for Disabled Children again this year to deliver Sunsport and Saturday Klub programmes. The programme has been extended to add new Sunarts activities which included visits to the galleries at Touchstones Rochdale.

Five members of staff have trained as tutors to deliver a Level 2 course in ‘Understanding Public Health’ as part of the NHS ‘Every Contact Counts’ programme for front line workers. 92 Link4Life staff have since attained the qualification with a 100% pass rate.

aQUaTICS

Link4Life introduced a new community CHD (Chronic Heart Disease) training course, commissioned by Public Health in partnership with the British Heart Foundation, CVD Nurses and Pennine Care Healthy Weight Team. Thirty participants took part in the two courses delivered.

Priorities in 2013-2014 The principles of ‘Five Ways to Wellbeing’ will continue to be embedded in service planning and delivery and will be supported by targeted interventions that address health inequalities and priorities among diverse communities of the borough. This will be achieved by working in collaboration with health partners.

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Work with young disabled people continued with the summer Sunsport programme and Saturday Klubs thanks to £105,000 of funding from Rochdale Council’s Short Breaks for Disabled Children budget with Sunarts activities taking place at Touchstones Rochdale.

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Link4Life introduced free swimming for Under 5s in November 2012 increasing swims by 7.2%

Annual Report I 2012-2013

100 people of all ages took part in the Sport Relief Millipede Mile at Broadfield Park organised by Link4Life to promote the health benefits of walking and running.

Successful projects delivered in 2012-2013 will be sustained and developed, securing funding externally as required. This includes the disability sports and arts programmes Sunsport and Sunarts as well as the Healthy Workforce public sector employee health initiative which will extend work carried out on ‘Cook4Life’ working with the Health Connections Team.

Ongoing advice around disability engagement will be given to local clubs to enhance capacity and skills to support young people and adults with a disability and to provide enhanced sporting opportunities.

HIGHLIGHTS Link4Life introduced free swimming for Under 5s at the end of November to encourage families to introduce young children to regular physical activity early in life. This is in line with Chief Medical Officer published recommendations.

Under 5s swims increased by 7.2% overall in 2012-2013 addressing a slight decline in the previous year.

We continue to run a physical activity programme for inpatients of Birch Hill Hospital with successful outreach activities provided at Littleborough Sports Centre and Hollingworth Lake Water Activity Centre. This programme is for patients with diagnosed mental ill health and 64 attendances have been recorded.

A New Run England project, delivered in partnership with Greater Manchester Sports Partnership, has resulted in over 70 runners registering to take part in 3 new running groups.

Disability Sports team at Link4Life worked together to organise and deliver a printmaking and collage session during the October half term as part of the Sunarts activity programme for young disabled people.

Further to the successful drama and animation project over the summer holidays, the Art Gallery Officer and the

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Annual Report I 2012-2013

Across Link4Life employment has increased by 12% since 2006/2007

‘Anytime’ fitness membership costs less than £1 a day with discounts and concessions reducing costs further.

Sport England has highlighted new facilities as an example of industry good practice nationally

Providing quality and value for money In 2011 the National Audit Office recognised Link4Life for delivering explicit efficiency targets “beyond levels expected had provision remained in the public sector”.

It is through this success that the Trust can make the savings that it was originally planned to deliver. Link4Life receives an annual management fee for delivering the agreed level of service under its Partnership Agreement with Rochdale Council. In 2007-2008 the management fee accounted for 58.3% of income; in 2012-2013 this accounted for 39.7%.

Year on year the costs to the Council tax payers falls. In addition, Link4Life has, since

2007, contributed £1.55 million in efficiency savings against Prudential borrowing to meet the costs of the £34 million invested in new facilities. This will rise to £2.2 million by March 2014.

Both Heywood and Middleton centres have won regional awards for community benefit with Rochdale Leisure Centre recognised as part of the Rochdale Borough Design Awards in 2013.

Priorities in 2013-2014 Link4Life will continue to use external accreditation as a benchmark for quality where this is appropriate. In its annual

assessment as a Quality Assured visitor attraction (VAQAS) the independent assessor applauded the excellence of the overall experience at Touchstones Rochdale as a “splendid resource”. Touchstones has also been recognised nationally as an official ‘Arts Award Welcome Centre’ for developing young artists and art leaders aged 11-25 years.

independent health and safety body to validate this.

Many prices have been frozen for more than one year and others are pegged to inflation. The review of fees and charges in 2013/14 will be considered within the same overall pricing policy and benchmark prices regionally.

The Trust’s employee induction programme and quality management system provide the framework for monitoring and assessing adherence to safe working practices and quality measures. Link4Life will continue to procure the services of an

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Improving access to services Breaking down barriers to participation is an important way of improving access to services. These barriers take many different forms.

Opening hours to leisure centres have risen by over 70 hours a week giving customers the early morning and late evening sessions they were asking for. This is supported by imaginative programming that is designed to cater for different groups and take into account their specific needs.

Improving access to services for people with disabilities remains a priority. Significant improvement has been made to disability access to buildings. The three new centres have had this built into their design and older buildings such as Touchstones Rochdale have been adapted.

Link4Life has secured funding to extend the role of the Disability Development Officer appointed in 2009 and since that time, by working with young disabled people and their families, the number of activities has doubled. This has been supported both by staff training and investment in equipment. More disabled children are also taking part in schools through the Playground2Podium programming encouraging children with talent into regional competition.

Link4Life launched its new style website in September 2012 at www.link4life.org with an easy to use and accessible design. Many people choose to keep in touch through Facebook and Twitter bringing them the latest information straight into their phone or mobile device.

Free WiFi is now available at Heywood and Rochdale leisure centres and free internet access is also at Touchstones Rochdale.

Online access to arts and heritage collections is a major break-through and is part of a worldwide movement to

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100 pupils from 16 schools took part in the successful Playground2Podium competitions delivered in partnership with Rochdale Harriers and Rochdale School Games Partnership with support from 10 volunteers. Participants went on to take part in the Greater Manchester Disability Sports event in June and joined the regular Harriers disability session plus Link4Life’s Sunsport and Inspired Sport activities.

widen access to arts and heritage by opening up historic collections to a wider public audience, helping to create the 24 Hour Museum. Link4Life has invested £25,000 in specialist software to open the collections up to the public in this way.

Priorities in 2013-2014 Over 550 paintings from the borough’s Art Collection can also now be viewed online through the national BBC ‘Your Paintings’ project. The ongoing digitisation of the borough collections will remain a priority in 2013-2014.

With the explosion of technology, the internet has revolutionised access to services. More than half of the bookings for fitness classes are now made online greatly speeding up telephone bookings for everyone else. In 2013-2014 this will be extended into sports hall and court bookings. The majority of shows at Middleton Arena and Heywood Civic also offer online or 24 hour ticket booking The majority of shows at Middleton Arena and Heywood Civic also offer online or 24 hour ticket booking and we will be investigating online payment systems in the forthcoming year.

Annual Report I 2012-2013

Highlights The Online Bookings Service has seen an unprecedented number of bookings made, with an average of 50% of all fitness classes being booked via this method. Over 80,000 bookings were made in total during the year. This is available 24 hours a day and outside our normal opening times, greatly improving both accessibility and convenience for customers.

In January-March at Rochdale Leisure Centre, 74% of bookings were made either online or at the self service kiosks positioned in the centre’s main entrance.

Touchstones Rochdale was one of five museums which made major new acquisitions for their collections through the £75,000 Art Fund COLLECT scheme. Art Gallery Officer, Yvonne Hardman attended a special preview of artworks and objects at the Saatchi Gallery in London and had one hour to select the object they most wanted to see added to their museum’s collection, finally defending their choice in a ‘Dragons’ Den’ style presentation to a panel of experts. The Art Fund agreed with her choice and bought outright her selected piece ‘Propogation Project: Super Jumbo Nigella Wave’ by Junko Mori, the Japanese artist’s largest work to date made in forged mild steel sculpture coated in wax.

The new acquisition to the Rochdale Borough Collections by artist Junko Mori

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Six Years and Counting – Progress Report 2007-2013 Quality

The opening of Rochdale Leisure Centre in July 2012 marked the completion of three new £10 million plus leisure facilities in Middleton, Heywood and Rochdale as part of the delivery of the £35.28 million capital investment programme over a period of three years.

Investment of £950,000 in the extension and refurbishment of existing leisure facilities in Middleton and Littleborough as part of the capital investment programme.

Introduction of a formal system of staff performance management linked to a process of service planning and review that reports directly to the Board of Trustees.

Winner of the Municipal Journal Award for best Public Private Partnership in 2010.

Sport England recognises Heywood Sports Village nationally as an example of best practice in developing effective and efficient solutions to facility investment and service development in a period of national austerity.

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Participation

Investment of £0.7 million in new fitness equipment including the introduction of new youth gym facilities and renewal at Middleton Arena with additional investment in equipment at Marland Golf Course and Hollingworth Lake Water Activity Centre.

A 92.88% increase in income from fees and charges rising from £3.112m in 2007/8 to a budget of £6.001m in 2012-2013.

Income from external funding of £5.3m approx over six years for community development.

Use of Sports & Leisure facilities has increased by 86.5% since 2006-2007 with a 486% increase in fitness membership and 73% increase in children’s swimming lessons.

Development of an exciting and holistic arts and heritage exhibitions and events programme in collaboration with voluntary sector arts organisations with the introduction of an Under 5s activity station at Touchstones Rochdale and a community-led outreach exhibition programme at Middleton Arena.

Annual Report I 2012-2013

Access

Improvement of services to customers with the introduction of online bookings for fitness classes and sports hall sessions, Fast Pass quick entry systems for fitness members and online joining for fitness memberships.

Extension of concessionary pricing through the Passport to Leisure scheme to include a monthly off-peak membership option (£19.50 per month in 2012-2013).

Investment of £25,000 in web-based technology to provide online access to the arts and heritage collection.

Development of online communication networks including launch of new website in 2012, Facebook, Twitter, E:Bulletins and Text messaging broadens access to audiences.

Link4Life receives the Employee and Employer of the Year in the Works Skills category in the 2009 North West Local Employment Partnership (LEP) Awards.

Value for Money

Successful transition of cultural services from the local authority to a not for profit company limited by guarantee, registered as a charity and governed by a board of Trustees.

Delivery of £1.55 million to 31 March 2013 in planned efficiency savings to Rochdale MBC as part of £20.184m over the 25 years of the capital programme.

Delivery of Cost Cutting Review efficiency savings to Rochdale MBC of £400,000 in Phase1/2 and £166,000 in Phase 3.

A 12.4% reduction in annual management fee received from Rochdale MBC from £4.094m in 2007/8 to £3.586m in 2012/13.

Reduced Net Cost Per Visit from £1.70 for Sport and Leisure and £2.09 for Civic Venues at the beginning of the Trust in 2007-2008 to a combined figure of £0.56 after six years of operation in 2012-2013.

22

At a glance TOTAL NUMBER OF VISITS Sport , Leisure and Civic Venues Arts & Heritage* NET COST PER VISIT Sport & Leisure Civic Venues Sport, Leisure and Civic Venues – Combined measure from 2009/10 Sport, Leisure and Civic Venues – per 1,000 population INCOME: RESOURCES FROM CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES Rochdale MBC Annual Contract Fee Fees and Charges and other income

2007-08 Actual

2008-09 Actual

2009-10 Actual

2010-11 Actual

2011-12 Actual

2012-13 Actual

2013-14 Target

1,110,846 78,511

952,526 84,406

1,245,011 90,923

1,352,052 82,031

1,605,606 56,960

1,828,000 63,157

1,887,200 50,000

£1.70 £2.09

£1.63 £2.08 £1.18

£1.04

£0.56

£0.56

£0.51

£7,140

£6,798

£4,352

£4,800

£4,540

58.3%

57.4%

54.9%

49.2%

37.3%

39.7%

41.8%

42.6%

45.1%

50.8%

62.7%

60.3%

INCOME FROM GRANTS

£837,501

£1,075,760 £987,342

£928,499

£860,450

£628,808

TOTAL GROUP INCOME All sources

£7,885,483 £8,642,543 £9,046,459 £9,760,607 £9,612,634 £9,978,043

PLANNED EFFICIENCY SAVINGS Repayments on Prudential borrowing on capital programme NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES Full time equivalents

N/a

N/a

£118,500

£212,100

£519,700

£696,600

169

169

197

188

189

190

*Touchstones Rochdale closed two days a week from 2011 resulting in a fall in total number of visits. A further fall is predicted in 2013/14 due to the closure of the café.

Robin Parker from Just Poets presents a workshop at Middleton Arena for the Big Games.

23

Annual Report I 2012-2013

Total of of Visits to to TotalNumber Number Visits Link4Life Link4LifeCentres Centres

Rochdale Annual RochdaleMBC MBC Annual Contract Fee ContractFee

Feesand and Charges other Fees Charges andand other income income

TotalGroup Group Income Total Income (£) (£)

2007-08

2008-09

2009-10

2010-11

2011-12

2012-13

PlannedCapital Capital Programme Planned Programme Efficiency (£) (£) EfficiencySavings Savings

24

3.6

A n n0.2u a l R e p o r t I 2 0 1 2 - 2 0 1 3

6.3

Financial Statements In 2012-13, the company had an operating deficit in Unrestricted funds of £196,552. There was also an excess of expenditure over income of £63,902 in Restricted funds. The company also incurred pension operating charges of £110,000. In summary, this explains the difference of £370,454 between the total group income of £9,978,043 and total group resources expended of £10,348,497.

Incoming Resources

In the consolidated statement of financial activities for the period ended 31st March 2013, the total incoming resources was £9,978,043. This is made up as follows: DESCRIPTION

Incoming Resources from 8,967,563 Charitable Activities – General income into the trust from various sources. This includes the annual Contract Fee from Rochdale MBC, income from fees and charges, facility rental charges and voluntary income.

8,386,445

Investment Income – Bank interest received

22,085

27,201

Activities for Generating Funds – Turnover of trading subsidiary company

359,587

338,538

Restricted Funds – income into the Trust from grant funding for specific project work. This includes grants from Rochdale MBC, Sport England, Arts Council, NHS Heywood, Middleton & Rochdale, National Governing Bodies and Rochdale MBC voluntary sector grant.

628,808

Total Group income

9,978,043

25

Chart 1: Total Incoming Resources (%) 2012-2013

2012-2013 (£) 2011-2012 (£)

3.6

Chart 2: 89.9 Incoming Resources from Charitable Activities (%) 2012-2013

0.2

6.3

1.6

4.9

39.7

53.8

89.9

860,450 Restricted Funds 4.9

0.9 0.2

1.6 Rochdale MBC 2.6 Annual Contract Fee

1.6

5.1

Incoming Resources from Charitable Activities

Fees and Charges

Investment Income 39.7

11.6

Activities for Generating Funds - Turnover of Trading Subsidiary

Facility Rental Charges Other Income

In terms of the 89.9% of income made up of Incoming Resources from Charitable Activities, totalling £8,967,563, this is broken down further in Chart 2.

9,612,634

53.8 78.0

6.3

Resources Expended

In the consolidated statement of financial activities for the period ended 31st March 2013, the total resources expended was £10,348,497

89.9

This is made up as follows: DESCRIPTION

2012-2013 (£) 2011-2012 (£)

Cost of generating funds – staff costs and allowances, transport expenses, supplier, services and other expenses.

196,761

Direct charitable expenditure

9,000,388

8,066,172

Operating costs of Trading Subsidiary Company

327,188

336,674

1.6

4.9

182,406 39.7

Staff from Rochdale Leisure Centre cycled 150 miles from Morecambe to Scarborough to raise money for the women’s and children’s unit at Oldham Royal Hospital.

Pension scheme related – Balance of pension scheme operating charge less other pension finance (FRS 17)

110,000

Restricted Funds

692,710

(187,000)

Chart 3: Total Resources Expended (%) 2012-2013 5.1

2.6

1.6

53.8

0.9 0.2

863,334 11.6

Governance costs – auditors fees (internal and external)

21,450

18,400

Taxation – tax on the trading activities of the trading company

-

-

Total Group Resources Expended

10,348,497

9,279,986

Cost of generating funds Operating costs of Trading Subsidiary Restricted Funds Actuarial losses on pension Direct charitable expenditure Pension scheme related 78.0

Governance costs

26

Consolidated Balance Sheet Fixed assets

2013 (£)

2012 (£)

Tangible fixed assets

116,921

33,310

Stocks

31,656

28,486

Debtors

198,334

290,549

Cash at bank and in hand

1,724,154

2,138,028

Taxation – tax on the trading activities of the trading company

1,954,144

2,457,063

Creditors: amounts falling due within one year

(1,611,700)

(1,770,554)

Net current assets

342,444

686,509

Total assets less current liabilities

459,365

719,819

Defined benefit pension scheme liability

(3,731,000)

(2,174,000)

Net Liabilities

(3,271,635)

(1,454,181)

427,884

491,786

Other charitable funds

29,476

226,028

Non charitable trading funds

2,005

2,005

Pension reserve funds

(3,731,000)

(2,174,000)

TOTAL FUNDS

(3,271,635)

(1,454,181)

Current assets

Income funds Restricted funds Unrestricted funds

The charitable group’s retained income funds fall into the following categories: •

•

27

Restricted funds (£427,884 as at 31 March 2013 and £491,786 at 31 March 2012) represent various grant income receipts earmarked for specific projects.

Unrestricted funds (£3,699,519 in deficit as at 31 March 2013 and £1,945,967 in deficit as at 31 March 2012) represent funds held for the day–to–day running of the charitable group.

The unrestricted fund includes the pension deficit of £3,731,000 (2012: £2,174,000). The Council has agreed to meet the liability to the Greater Manchester Pension Scheme in the unlikely event that the company could not meet this cost. The unrestricted fund, excluding the pension deficit, is in surplus by £31,481 (2012: £228,033).

Annual Report I 2012-2013

Directory of Link4Life Centres Arts & Heritage Resource Centre Tel: 01706 641085 Museum & Archives Store; Research Facility By appointment only.

Bowlee Park Sports Centre

Windermere Road, Langley Middleton, M24 4LA Tel: 0161 643 4907 Sports Hall, Activity Studio, Gym, Shokk Youth Gym, Artificial Pitch

Castleton Swimming Pool Manchester Road Castleton Rochdale OL11 3AF Tel: 01706 924000 Swimming Pool

Heywood Civic Centre

LCpl Stephen Shaw MC Way Heywood, OL10 1LW Tel: 0300 303 8399 (Local Rate) Multi-purpose hall with stage facilities. Community/Meeting Rooms.

Heywood Sports Village

West Starkey Street Heywood, OL10 4TW Tel: 01706 924000 Swimming Pools, Gym, Steam Rooms, Shokk Youth Gym, Exercise Studio, Youth & Community Rooms, Sports Hall, Artificial Pitches, Meeting rooms.

Hollingworth Lake Water Activity Centre

Marland Golf Course

Springfield Park Bolton Road, Marland Rochdale, OL11 4RE Tel: 01706 649801 18 Hole Pay&Play Parkland Golf Course. Shop.

Middleton Arena

Lakebank Littleborough, OL15 0DQ Tel: 01706 370499 Water Sports and Outdoor Adventure Activities. Indoor teaching room.

LCpl Joel Halliwell VC Way Middleton, M24 1AG Tel: 0161 662 4000 Swimming Pools, Gym, Steam Rooms, Spinning Studio, Exercise Studio, Sports Hall, Squash Courts, Auditorium, Community/Meeting Rooms

Kingsway Park Sports Centre & Athletics Arena

Rochdale Leisure Centre

Turf Hill Road Rochdale, OL16 4XA Tel: 01706 750894 Sports Hall, Community/Meeting Room, Athletics Arena

Littleborough Sports Centre

Calderbrook Road Littleborough, OL15 9JQ Tel: 01706 927560 Gym, Shokk Youth Gym, Activity Studio, Squash Court, Sports Hall, Artificial and Grass Pitches. Indoor Climbing Wall, Meeting Room

Entwisle Road Rochdale, OL16 2HZ Tel: 01706 926000 Swimming Pools, Gym, Sports Hall, Activity Gym, Thermal Suite, Meeting Rooms.

Touchstones Rochdale

The Esplanade Rochdale, OL16 1AQ Tel: 01706 924492 Art Gallery, Museum, Heritage Gallery, Education/Performance Studio, Local Studies Library, Tourist Information Centre. Meeting Rooms, CafĂŠ, Shop

28

4Arts&Heritage 4Entertainment 4Fitness&Health 4Sport&Leisure Link4Life P O Box 428 Number One Riverside Smith Street Rochdale Greater Manchester OL16 1ZL T: 01706 926232 E: culture@link4life.org

Link4Life will lead and manage the delivery of high quality, enjoyable, affordable, accessible cultural provision in the Borough of Rochdale that gives residents and visitors the opportunity to live the healthy, creative, active lifestyle of their choice.

www.link4life.org Link4Life is the trading name of Rochdale Boroughwide Cultural Trust, a Company Limited by Guarantee.

Registered Office: Number One Riverside, Smith Street, Rochdale, OL16 1XU

This information is available in large print on request.

Registered in England, No: 6052980.

Registered Charity No: 1118610.

Published January 2014