10 years ago Halo Leisure and Bridgend County Borough Council got together to create healthier communities. To mark this milestone employees, many of whom have been with Halo since day one, customers, trustees and guests from Bridgend County Borough Council and Public Health came together at Bridgend Life Centre to mark the anniversary and look ahead to the next 10 years.
Since the partnership was formed in 2012 in Bridgend County, Halo Leisure has successfully transformed the community leisure spaces in the County through innovation and sustained reinvestment, bringing lasting benefits to its local communities. It has seen:
- 26.4% increase in participation to 2.35 million customer visits per year since 2012.
- Reinvestment of over £7 million into initiatives including refurbishments at Halo sites in Bridgend, Garw Valley, Ogmore Valley, Pencoed, Pyle, Maesteg and Ynysawdre.
- A whooping 2.1 million attendances at over 32,966 swimming lessons delivered to local children.
- Local people worked out and wound down together at 841,526 group exercise classes.
Councillor Huw David, Leader of Bridgend County Borough Council, said: “Bridgend County Borough Council’s long lasting partnership with Halo is making a real difference to both the physical and mental wellbeing of residents of all ages. The Council is pleased to work with a charity and Leisure Trust that is committed to supporting projects and activities right across the community.”
“Partnerships such as this play a vital part in ensuring that residents can access the best services possible. The statistics show that the partnership has a wide-reach and it’s great to see that thousands of children have gained key skills such as learning how to swim as part of the agreement.”
Scott Rolfe, CEO of Halo Leisure said “This partnership has resulted in a myriad of initiatives (many award winning!) too numerous to list here – think free swimming lessons for children and adults, workplace wellbeing packages for local businesses, training opportunities for local athletes ambitious to compete in international competitions. We are especially proud of the work of our Active Communities Team which has enhanced mental health and disability support via groundbreaking initiatives such as the Dementia Friendly physical activity and Autism Friendly swimming lesson programmes”. Scott Rolfe says none of this would have been possible without the creative, collaborative relationships Halo has built with Bridgend County Borough Council, and in 2018 the partnership became the first in Wales to be awarded an ‘Excellent’ rating by the industry’s National Benchmarking Service, Quest for Communities.
Scott went on to say, “I would like to thank everyone who has been through the doors of all our leisure centres in Bridgend County – be it to the gym, pool, exercise studio, toning suite, racket court, sports hall, climbing wall, outdoor pitches, indoor soft play, cafe, library…, whether they be staff or customers, for their commitment to a healthy lifestyle. We’ve seen so many success stories over the years, and I’d like to thank you all for being a part of it. We can’t wait to see what the next 10 years and beyond brings.”
