Four Wrexham Leisure Centres receive prestigious accreditation

Four leisure centres in Wrexham have received a prestigious accreditation awarded to the top sport and leisure facilities,

Waterworld Leisure & Activity Centre, Gwyn Evans Leisure & Activity Centre, Chirk Leisure & Activity Centre and Queensway Stadium, all operated by Freedom Leisure on behalf of Wrexham County Borough Council have, for the first time, secured accreditation by the UK’s leading national, quality scheme for the sport and leisure industry led by Sport England.

All were awarded the Quest Entry level accreditation after a rigorous assessment process that included site visits and mystery shops.

Quest is an independently accredited, industry recognised tool which encourages continuous improvement, designed primarily for the management of leisure facilities and leisure developments. Quest defines industry standards and good practice and offers a way of benchmarking facilities.

The facilities have recently undergone extensive refurbishments and this award recognises the impact of this and of the fantastic customer service delivered by the centre teams. A comment from a mystery visitor said “The staff were a real asset to the centre and I found them all welcoming and friendly”.

The report highlights strengths, with a few key highlights for Waterworld stated as:

“The Duty Manager was visible and staff were observed carrying out patrols and checks throughout the facility during my visit”

Gwyn Evans:

“A team of multi skilled staff enhanced the customer experience.”

Chirk Leisure Centre:

“Staff profile information notices were innovative, forging positive links with customers.”

Queensway:

“Good performance management systems are in place with targets for community development.”

Andy Harris, Freedom Leisure Area Manager says: “The teams and I are particularly proud of this award. This is the first time we have been assessed by Quest and for all four sites to have achieved the Entry level is a great achievement.

Excellence is so important to us and to WCBC and is something we continually strive for, for our local communities – so to be recognised within the industry means a lot.”

Cllr Andrew Atkinson, Lead Member for Youth Services and Anti-Poverty, with responsibility for Leisure, said: “Congratulations are due to Freedom Leisure on their receipt of Quest entry level accreditation – achieving it is no mean feat, and it’s clear commendation of the extensive refurbishment work all centres have undergone in partnership with ourselves at Wrexham Council.”

To find out more about the centres visit www.freedom-leisure.co.uk