Great Yarmouth Borough Council has just begun a series of fact-finding visits around the country to discover the best sport and leisure facilities and ideas.

Community Sections Service Head Marie Hartley; General Manager, Wayne Nixon and Operations Manager, Martin Marsh both of the seafront Marina Centre visited leisure centres in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, and Royston, Hertfordshire.

“The aim of the fact-finding is to ascertain how buildings can be constructed in an environmentally-friendly way, practical designs and layouts, and the business models other organisations use to operate facilities,” said Marie.

“While nothing has been decided on the future of the Marina, as a responsible local authority we need to explore options if the building does close in the future.

“Currently there are sites within the urban regeneration area and close to the town centre which could be used to provide excellent sport and recreation facilities.

“So we need to be aware of design improvements that have been made in recent years, and customer expectations.

“Our visit to High Wycombe was to the privately-owned Odyssey centre which has a swimming pool, multi-gym, dance studio and spa.

“At Royston we looked at a local authority owned leisure centre, with a pool, sports hall and fitness gym, which is used jointly by a school and the public.

“We are interested in the type of buildings and the materials used to make them environmentally-friendly, in their construction methods and the way they are subsequently run. The two buildings we saw were designed by a company which specialises in high quality environmentally projects throughout Europe, so they make a good base to judge others on.

“Obviously another major aspect is the kind of facilities we can offer the people who will use it.

“There are plans to visit other sites around the country over the next few months.”

“The Borough will not only benefit from the information collected on the fact-finding trips,” said Councillor Jim Shrimplin Cabinet Member (Environment). “But Great Yarmouth will also benefit from Marie Hartley’s secondment to Sport England East.

“As she is visiting authorities around the eastern counties advising on the setting up of community sports networks, she will also be learning about new sport and recreation facilities in the six counties she is helping.”

The results of the fact-finding will be reported periodically to the Great Yarmouth Sport and Leisure Trust board, the body which runs the Marina Centre.

For further information contact Community Sections Service Head Marie Hartley on 01493 846354 or email mlh@great-yarmouth.gov.uk.