Funding and Investment

Chesterfield BC appointed FMG to prepare a business case for the development of a new Queen's Park Sports Centre. The current facility was more than 40 years old and had a leaking pool tank, high energy and maintenance costs and a lack of modern changing facilities.

The Council needed to spend at least £3m on the centre over the next 25 years to deal with repairs and maintenance and was funding a major annual revenue deficit.

FMG carried out a demand assessment to determine the optimum facility mix and produce a business plan and financial model for the new facility. The business case identified a core facility mix but also proved the strategic and financial need for expansion to accommodate a larger 8 lane pool, increased 8 court sports hall and a state of the art studio fitness hub. FMG also prepared a funding application to Sport England Strategic Facilities Fund to raise the additional capital required.

This was successful, raising the maximum amount possible from the funding stream (£2m). This was the first successful application to Sport England's Strategic Facilities Fund in the country. The remainder of the capital funding came from a combination of Council borrowing, capital receipts and a capital contribution from Chesterfield College in exchange for access to onsite co-located classrooms and time within the swimming pool and sports hall timetable.

The new facility was opened and generates significant revenue savings for the Council.