OPERATOR PERSPECTIVE
FREEDOM LEISURE
“Over the last 10–15 years, the sector has been myopic in the extent to which it’s been fitness-led,” says Ivan Horsfall Turner, CEO of leisure trust Freedom Leisure. “Most of the UK’s indoor swimming provision is delivered through the public sector. That’s important to recognise, because swimming should be viewed in the broader context of what public sector leisure is about. It isn’t about silos of fitness, swimming, sports. You have to look at a public leisure facility as one whole service – a service that delivers physical, mental and social health benefits to local communities, both in the facilities themselves and in the wider local community. “In that overall service, some products will be higher revenue drivers. Others can and should be subsidised to ensure they are delivered.” He continues: “The typical community pool, for example, needs to be subsidised. Usually it’s the centre’s fitness service that subsidises it, although I believe there should be funding too: swimming is a vital life skill and an important contributor to public health, getting people moving who otherwise would not.
It’s OK for swimming to be subsidised as part of a valued, funded public leisure service, say CEO Ivan Horsfall Turner and Commercial Director Emma Reeve
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STATE OF THE UK SWIMMING INDUSTRY REPORT 2023
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