Annual Report - Stevenage Leisure

L E I S U R E
Fairlands Valley Sailing Centre
Over the past year Fairlands Valley has continued
to expand and evolve its educational and youth
development activities. Corporate business has also
developed through the provision of team-building
days to local companies and event providers.
During the year the Fairlands team, working with corporate
marketing, developed the concept of working under the banner of
“Fairlands Valley Outdoor Activities” to encompass the additional
facilities built upon during the lake closure period. This revised
branding has proved useful in reflecting the increasingly wide range of
activities at the centre.
Working closely with the Stevenage School’s Sports Partnership,
Fairlands continued its work with inclusion units and expanded
its work with Stevenage secondary schools and out of town
educational groups, offering the young people the opportunity to
work on community projects and take part in the adventurous
activities and problem solving exercises. The centre continued to
offer Hertfordshire Schools & Canoe Association (HSSCA) regular
low price Saturday morning sailing, to encourage young people to
progress and develop new skills.
A link has been developed between Fairlands and the recently
grant funded “Turning the Tide Project”, which will lead to income
generation from teaching children to sail boats which they have built
themselves. For the first time in 2010 BBC’s ‘Springwatch’, working
with the SBC parks team, hosted a family open day to provide a
variety of across the board opportunities, which helped better profile
the wide ranging diversity that the park and centre are able to offer.
The Fairlands facebook site increased its links with young people and
proves to be a effective medium for communication with existing and
potential customers. At a recent National Governing Body (NGB)
conference it was reported that facebook was more effective than
text, email and conventional mail when communicating with the 16 -
23 age group.
During the summer of 2010 the GR8 mobile climbing wall continued
to be very popular with schools, youth groups and at community
events around Stevenage and the surrounding areas.
The Aqua Play area, in its second year, proved a very popular free
attraction for the residents of Stevenage and beyond, with many
thousands of visitors flocking in on sunny days.
As in previous years, inter-schools cross-country events again
proved very popular in the park. To allow more pupils to
participate, the events again took place over two separate days for
different age groups, with the primary schools event taking place a
couple of weeks before the larger secondary schools event.
The team’s pyrotechnic expertise and event management
experience was utilised to successfully present and oversee the
November 5th firework display and Town Centre christmas lights
‘switch on’, including fireworks, live stage performances and crowd
control.
The team at Fairlands continued to work closely with Hertfordshire
County Council (HCC) officers to gain recognition for the centre
to offer 14-19 Alternative Provision, and formal work experience
opportunities now take place at the centre.
As part of the centre’s development and ongoing disabled sailing
programme, Fairlands successfully gained recognition as an RYA
foundation site. This, followed with the very successful Eastern
Regional Regatta at Alton Water (Nr Ipswich), enabled two pupils
from a Stevenage Special School to take part in a whole day of
activities supported by the local Rotary Club and instructors from
SLL in a volunteer capacity.
Stevenage Borough Council’s ongoing commitment to boat
replacement has now enabled the centre to benefit from some
more modern and up to date dinghies for teaching adults and
children, in line with RYA guidance, making us more comparable
with the bigger organisations like PGL and holiday destinations in
the UK and abroad.
The centre has been heavily involved in the planning and
procurement of the now fully funded High Ropes project. When
this opens it will be of regional significance for both the leisure and
education market, and is expected to be a major asset to the centre.
The park was awarded the ‘Green Flag’ for the second year in
succession.
Fairlands continued to be a venue of choice for local and regional
charities, and during the year hosted the following major events:
• Race for Life (Cancer Research UK)
• Sponsored walks for Bedwell Rangers, Macmillan Cancer
Support and Climb
• 2 charity horse shows
• Dragon Boat Race: Mercy Ships (International Charity) & Rotary
Club at Ware
• Santa Run (Pasque Charity)
• Hertfordshire Air Ambulance Rota Run
This is in addition to local groups (i.e. Fairlands Valley Spartans and
Health Walks), and fairs and circuses that use the park throughout
the year, all of which make Fairlands such a popular venue.
28 Annual Report 2010/11