2017ANNUAL REPORT2016

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Our work has continued to be recognised locally,

regionally and nationally over the past 12 months

and our key achievements convey how LiveWire is

held as an exemplar by national bodies and trusts

across the country:

• Five of the primary schools that our PE and

School Sports Team work with were awarded

the Association for PE (afPE) Quality Mark – an

award given to schools that show continuous

development and outstanding practice in

physical education and sport

• Westy Boxing Club was named the nation’s

best project for promoting community safety at

the StreetGames Awards

• LiveWire’s Neighbourhood Engagement Officer,

Paul Flannery, was given a Community Thank

You award by Cheshire Police for the work he

does to tackle anti-social behaviour

• The Fit to Tackle Rugby Team won the

Master Rugby Award at Warrington’s Man of

Steel Awards

• Birchwood Leisure & Tennis Complex was

selected as a venue to host the Davis Cup

during its tour of Britain

I remain extremely confident and positive about

the future of LiveWire and would like to take this

opportunity to sincerely thank the staff and my

fellow directors, who have worked extremely

hard over the last year, in sometimes challenging

circumstances, to deliver a vast array of projects

which are paramount to improving the health and

wellbeing of residents across the borough.

I would also like to thank LiveWire’s customers and

partners. It would not be possible to deliver the

services we provide without their support.

Alan Yates, Chairman of LiveWire

CONTENTS

03 STATEMENT FROM THE CHAIR OF LIVEWIRE’S BOARD, ALAN YATES

04 STATEMENT FROM LIVEWIRE’S MANAGING DIRECTOR, EMMA HUTCHINSON

05 ABOUT US

06 - 07 KEY ACHIEVEMENTS

08 -11 HIGHLIGHTS

12 - 13 KEY ACHIEVEMENTS

14 - 15 OVERVIEW OF KEY PROJECTS

16 - 17 LIVEWIRE IN THE NEWS

18 KEY PARTNERS

19 WHAT LIVEWIRE CUSTOMERS SAY

LiveWire (Warrington) CIC is a limited company registered in England and Wales.

Registered number: 07972958. VAT registered number: 134 9170 16.

Registered Office: Orford Jubilee Neighbourhood Hub, Jubilee Way, Warrington, WA2 8HE.

LiveWire (Warrington) CIC trades under the name LiveWire®.

It has been a challenging year for LiveWire, but

we have continued to work hard to provide a range

of services which address health inequalities

in Warrington.

As a result of reduced funding from central

government, we have witnessed funding streams

dry up, meaning we have had to search harder for

grants to support our key projects and fund some

activities in house.

In regards to our financial position, we have seen

our operating deficit increase, but have now

developed a robust deficit recovery plan - which

will help reduce the cumulative deficit during the

next final year. Changes to our staffing structure

and future plans to review staff terms and

conditions will also contribute to our

deficit recovery.

Despite these financial challenges, we’ve been

able to introduce a series of new projects and

systems over the last 12 months, which have

improved our offer across the services we

provide, including:

• A series of Friday night sports clubs - which

engage young people in areas where anti-social

behaviour levels are high

• A women’s only Fit to Tackle course – to

support women with a BMI of 28 or over to lose

weight through rugby themed activities

• A new library management system - enabling

library users to access more services online or

from home

• A car park management system at Orford

Jubilee Neighbourhood Hub – to reduce

congestion in the busy car park and improve

customer experience

• The popular Les Mills exercise classes –

available for members to take part in at home

as well as at our six leisure facilities

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ABOUT US LiveWire is a Community Interest Company (CIC) that has managed leisure,

library and lifestyle services in Warrington since May 2012. We are now

the largest provider of leisure and library facilities in the town, operating 2

neighbourhood hubs, 4 leisure centres and 11 libraries, which have attracted

more than 3 million visitors over the last year.

LiveWire strives to promote healthy lifestyles and increase participation in

activities, whilst encouraging reading and learning through the use of free

access to books, IT suites and the internet. We provide value for money leisure

memberships and are committed to ensuring facilities and activities are

accessible for all members of the community.

As a Community Interest Company, we invest any profit back into the

business and the local community to improve services and facilities for

Warrington’s neighbourhoods.

MISSIONTo be the number one provider of affordable, innovative wellbeing, libraries,

sports and leisure opportunities for all residents, visitors and people working

in Warrington.

VISION To be a thriving, financially strong Company with fantastic facilities in every

neighbourhood area of Warrington, inspiring and supporting residents to be the

healthiest, most active and happiest in the UK.

LiveWire has been operating leisure, library and lifestyle services in

Warrington for five years now, and it is evident to see that the work

we carry out is making a difference to the health and wellbeing of

residents across the borough.

In December 2016, adults in Warrington were named the most active

in the North West by Sport England whose Active People Survey said

Warrington was the top performing area for the first time, with 43.1%

of residents over the age of 16 taking part in at least 30 minutes of

physical activity once a week. The survey also put Warrington as the second best

performing area in the region for junior sports participation, with 42.9% of 14-16 year

olds engaging in 30 minutes of sport weekly.

It is through the varied programme that we deliver and the dedication and hard work

of our staff, that we have been able to encourage more people across the borough

to become active.

Our Lifestyles Team has now helped more people to lose weight through the

successful Fit to Tackle programme. During 2016, due to increasing demand, we

created a women’s only version of the course. Across the two years both the male

and female programmes have now supported more than 250 men and 200 women

to shed an incredible 376 stone between them.

However, good health and wellbeing is not just about physical activity and healthy

eating. Learning and education opportunities, which we offer through our library

service, also help to contribute to a happy and healthy life for residents in our town.

12 months ago, we consulted with residents on plans to modernise Warrington’s

library service for the future. Through the consultation, it was clear to see the

strength of feeling for the service and how libraries play an important role in each

community. We are now working with our commissioners, Warrington Borough

Council, and independent advisors to produce a model aimed at sustaining library

services in the future, through the newly established Libraries Working Group.

During the next year we will see a number of projects which have been in the pipeline

for the last few years completed including the new Great Sankey Neighbourhood

Hub. The dementia friendly facility will be truly revolutionary, providing state-of-

the-art leisure, library and health services all under one roof to serve an ageing

population in west Warrington.

We will be undertaking a customer service review aimed at improving the current

services we provide, to ensure we’re providing high quality services which best meet

the needs of our customers.

Emma Hutchinson, Managing DirectorSTA

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KEY ACHIEVEMENTS 2016-2017

3,170 Facebook Friends

3,997 Twitter Followers

8,349 Volunteering hours

419Staff employed by LiveWire

331Volunteers engaged by the Active Warrington Team

£1,808,000Value of trade with Warrington based suppliers

725,557 visits to LiveWire Libraries

30,036 Library members to date

648,267books, talking books, CDs and DVDs issued in 2016-17

1,711 children participated in the Summer Reading Challenge

897teachers and school support staff attended or received training

59Schools signed up as members of LiveWire’s PE and School Sports’ programme

46 PE and School Sports training course days provided

729people completed Weight Management programmes

877people completed the Reach for Health programme

285 people completed LiveWire’s Stay on Your Feet programme

75% of Smoking referrals go on to quit

876people quit smoking with help from the Smoking Cessation Team

140 stone lost by Fit 2 Tackle participants

2,062,301people chose to visit LiveWire Leisure facilities in 2016-17

18,470Leisure members

48Number of times customers progressed to a higher stage of the LiveWire Tennis Development Programme

3,453,790Visits to LiveWire services in the last 12 months

35% of Leisure memberships are concessionary

24% of Library memberships are concessionary

3,178 Number of times swimmers progressed to a higher stage of the Amateur Swimming Association (ASA) Learn to Swim Framework

26local sports clubs provided with development support

79,797People visited activities and events organised or supported by the Active LiveWire Team

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HIGHLIGHTS

Here are some examples of what progress has been made against our aims in the last 12 months.

To provide accessible, modern and well

maintained facilities that cater for all customers

• Installed LED lighting at the following sites:

• Broomfield’s Leisure Centre

• Orford Jubilee Neighbourhood Hub

• Woolston Neighbourhood Hub

• Implemented a car parking order at Orford

Jubilee Hub in response to customer feedback

at the site

• Improved the heating systems, the plant

room and pipes under the swimming pool at

Woolston Neighbourhood Hub, with £1.1m

investment from Warrington Borough Council

from its capital investment programme

• Launched the outdoor tennis courts at

Great Sankey Leisure Centre as part of the

developments at the site

• Introduced Koha, an open source, web based

Library Management system

• Sustained the IFI Mark accreditation at 5

LiveWire leisure sites for the work LiveWire

does to help disabled people take part in sport

To be the customer’s first choice for recreation,

leisure, libraries, sport and physical activities

improving health and wellbeing

• Customer Service review undertaken across

all LiveWire’s venues

• Implemented a new Database Client

Reporting System (DCRS) to create a

joined up solution for customers accessing

LiveWire’s lifestyles services

• January 2017 LiveWire launched its new

integrated Membership Packages for libraries

and leisure

• Les Mills Masterclass held to launch the

return of BodyCombat and BodyPump classes

in the group fitness programme

Provide a diverse range of activities to meet

the specific needs of each neighbourhood

in Warrington

• Libraries delivered a series of

performances and workshops across the

town to celebrate the 400th anniversary of

Shakespeare’s death

• To mark National Fitness Day on 7 September

2016, LiveWire set the challenge to achieve

1 million reps in 37 days. People were asked to

play their part in completing as many squats,

press-ups and burpees as possible and post

short videos to social media to nominate

friends to join in.

• LiveWire expanded the Door Step Sports Club

sessions to provide positive activities for

young people within the town

• LiveWire was awarded funding by the Police

and Crime Commission for Cheshire to

introduce a boxing club in Chapelford

• Introduced Aqua Rehab at Woolston

Neighbourhood Hub

• Held a programme of Family friendly

Finding Dory swim sessions at sites over the

summer holidays

• Introduced a pram pack group from Penketh

and Orford Libraries

To address disadvantage and inequality and

contribute towards a positive reduction in health

inequalities

• Piloted an innovative summer project Fit

and Fed in Westy to provide sports activities

and healthy eating plans for young people in

the area

• Introduced a Visually Impaired Programme

with a well-established Visually Impaired

swim session that takes place at Orford

Neighbourhood Hub

• Launched two cohorts of This Girl Can

programme to encourage females within the

borough to become more physically active

• Stoptober campaign 2016 focused on

smoking in the workplace with the Lifestyles

Team delivering events at Warrington Hospital

and Warrington Town Hall alongside taking

the i-Van, a vehicle providing free health and

lifestyles advice, into local communities

• Launched an exercise class for people with

memory problems and dementia

• Library staff supported the Hopes and Dreams

event at Dallam Primary School delivering

talks and reading workshops with the children

and their parents to promote reading for

pleasure and early story sharing

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To increase participation in wellbeing,

leisure, learning, health activities, sport and

physical activity

• Led the 2016 Victoria Park Experience (VPX)

project in partnership with the Police offering

free access sessions for young people and

adults at Victoria Park during August

• Delivered a Tennis Foundation Roadshow

in local primary schools, culminating in

an open weekend at Birchwood Leisure

& Tennis Complex

• Ran the Summer Reading Challenge (SRC)

The Big Read across all LiveWire sites

• Author visits throughout the year

included Ann Cleeves, Rachel Abbott and

Cathy Cassidy

• Hosted the Olympic style Road to Rio event

with 1500 primary school children taking part

• Launched an exercise class for people with

memory problems and dementia

• Introduce Les Mills On Demand, an online

streaming membership option that includes

LiveWire’s popular fitness classes

• Libraries celebrated World Book Day,

a national event by delivering a programme

of story times to 450 local preschool and

primary children

Continue to develop and further strengthen the

LiveWire brand

• More than 650 residents took part in

the LiveWire Mile as part of 2016’s

Warrington Festival

• LiveWire’s Instagram account was launched

in June 2016. The approach to integrate

Instagram into the social marketing mix is

in-keeping with an increasing shift towards

image and video led content sharing to

encourage greater engagement

• In partnership with Network Warrington the

branding on the LiveWire bus was updated to

reflect the development of the brand

• The use of Google adwords ensured LiveWire

and its services achieved enhanced promotion

via increasing search engine rankings

• LiveWire’s mascot ‘Jet’ attended key events

across the town

Introduce a new innovative LiveWire

volunteer strategy

• Implemented a new Volunteer Strategy and

Volunteer Policy across the organisation

• Supported DWP clients undertaking work

experience placements in LiveWire’s libraries,

in partnership with the Department of Work

and Pensions (DWP)

• Friends of Penketh Library group was

officially constituted in January 2017

• Celebrated LiveWire volunteers for their

contribution to our services with a special

coffee morning

To position LiveWire as the employer of choice

• Facilitated an External Verification visit by

Active IQ and retained LiveWire’s approved

centre status

• As part of LiveWire’s Healthy Workforce

Challenge, 7 advisors undertook a health

check at Woolston Library

• Continued to offer employees a Free gym

membership after 12 weeks of use

• Introduced a new Training Prospectus

• Continued the employee Cycle2work scheme

in partnership with Halfords

To achieve and maintain financial viability and

deliver long term growth for LiveWire

• Implemented VoIP phone solution across

the organisation

• Introduced Online2200 for internal reporting

of ICT issues and requests

• Implemented a new open sourced library

software system called Koha

• Embarked on a restructure of the Extended

Management and Central Services Teams

• Undertook Public Consultations on

Library Service

• Developed a Fit for Business offer (FFB) for

corporate customers including corporate

membership, conferencing facilities and

lifestyles advice

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KEY ACHIEVEMENTS 2016-2017

LiveWire introduced a

Visually Impaired Programme

supporting residents to

participate in LiveWire’s

programme of activities

Westy Summer camp enabled

LiveWire to engage children in

hard to reach communities to

participate in physical activity

LiveWire’s Walking Football Team

won the county championships in

August 2016

LiveWire’s libraries launched

a new Books on Prescription

Service for teenagers to mark

Mental Health Awareness week

Birchwood Leisure and Tennis

Complex hosted the Davis Cup

as part of the Lawn Tennis

Associations’ celebratory Trophy

Tour across the country

LiveWire was invited by the

national membership organistion

Sporta, to present the Fit to

Tackle project

Hosted the Beach at Bank Park

attracting more than 8,000 visits

to the park

Orford’s Touch Rugby Team won

the ‘ Man of Steel Award'

LiveWire was awarded

The Liverpool Health

Trainers commission

Westy Boxing Club became a

flagship programme for effective

community engagement and won

the Best Community Project at

the Streetgames National Awards

in March 2017

LiveWire Libraries were awarded

a Silver Award as part of the

Reading Agency’s National

reading scheme Reading Ahead

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GREAT SANKEY

The development of the existing Great Sankey Leisure Centre into a multi-million

pound neighbourhood hub has really progressed over the last 12 months. Elements

of the project are already completed, including the two brand-new tennis courts and

the upgraded 3G artificial grass pitch, which opened to the public in July 2016 and

October 2016, respectively.

Work to construct a 4,328 square-metre two-storey extension, that will house the

new entrance, fitness suite, library and studios, commenced in Autumn 2016, along

with construction work on a new entrance route from Lingley Green Avenue.

LiveWire has secured extra funding for the project in the last 12 months, including

£1.5 million from Sport England’s Strategic Facilities Fund. The dementia-friendly

facility, which will provide support to an ageing population in west Warrington, is set

to be completed in spring 2018.

LIBR ARY MODERNISATION

In 2016, LiveWire consulted on how to modernise the library service in Warrington. Many people took this

opportunity to highlight how important the service is to them, and the good it does for our communities.

It was this strength of feeling that led to the establishment of a working group to consider residents’

feedback, fully understand the local need, involve more community groups and assess the impact of any new

proposals for Warrington’s library service.

The working group is chaired by Warrington Borough Council’s Chief Executive, Professor Steven Broomhead

and is made up of two council officers, three LiveWire Warrington officers and two independent advisors.

The group’s main priority will be to implement a modernisation programme aimed at ensuring a sustainable

library offer for Warrington residents.

The group has been meeting once a month since March 2017 and will present a report to the Council’s

Executive Board in November 2017. It is the Executive Board who will make a final decision on how to sustain

library services in the future.

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WS Boxing club successful in

knocking out bad behaviour

TROPHY TOUR PROVES A SURE FIRE WINNER

Pupils try reading with Wolves stars thanks to book giveaway

Free swimming at refurbished pool

Crime authors visit Warrington Library to talk about their work

COURTS OPEN FOR FUTURE WIMBLEDON CHAMPIONS

Top PE award for five primary schools

RECORD BREAKING VPX GOES FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH

SCHOOLS’ SPORTING EVENTS PROVES TO BE BRAZILIANT

Library staff on hand to deliver hopes for the future

Support offered for talented athletes

New online management system for libraries

Families getting fit together with healthy scheme

LEISURE CENTRES NAMED ‘CENTRES OF EXCELLENCE’

FITNESS COURSE HELPS TO EMPOWER YOUNG WOMEN

Rain fails to dampen spirits at Orford Park Festival

New group to develop libraries

Town top for sport in the region

Hub parking is improved

Hundreds of fitness

fanatics turn out

for three-hour mass

workout at hub650 run the LiveWire Mile

CANCER REHAB PROGRAMME HELPS PATIENTS TO RECOVER

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• Warrington Borough Council

• NHS

• Clinical Commissioning Group

• Macmillan Cancer Support

• St Rocco’s Hospice

• Cheshire Police

• Culture Warrington

• Warrington Wolves

• Warrington Town FC

• Warrington Guardian

• Warrington Worldwide

• Warrington Collegiate

• Citizens Advice Bureau

• Golden Gates Housing Trust

• Active Cheshire

• Cheshire School Sports

Partnership

• Warrington Disability

Partnership

• Third Sector Hub

• The Gateway

• Warrington Voluntary Action

• The Reading Agency

• Time to Read

• Network Warrington

• Sporta

• Sport England

• The Football Association (FA)

• Lawn Tennis Association (LTA)

And many more!

KEY PARTNERS

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LEISURE

The Aqua Rehab sessions have given me the confidence to just be me again.

When I found some of the exercises too easy, the instructor gave options to

make it harder which was great. On my second session I drew on my new found

confidence and decided that that I’d walk home alone. That day I was on an all-

time high and was feeling so fantastic due to the Aqua Rehab sessions.

ACTIVE LIVEWIRE

Westy Summer camp is the best thing that has happened for kids in the

summer holidays for years in this community. It gave them structure and focus,

when otherwise they would be hanging around causing mischief

LIBR ARIES

I loved the reading challenge; it really got me into reading again after hardly

picking up a book for 10 years

LIFEST YLES

Through participating in the Stay on Your Feet programme, my confidence

has improved; I have made new friends and I have realised my capabilities of

exercise are better than what I thought

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livewirewarrington.co.uk

@yourLiveWire