Chelmsford City Council sports centre shortlisted for top public service award

Chelmsford Sport and Athletics Centre has received national recognition for the service it provides to the area from the Association for Public Service Excellence (APSE). The Chelmsford City Council leisure centre was shortlisted from over 100 participating facilities across the UK for the ‘Best Performer’ in the Sports and Leisure Facility Management category of their prestigious Performance Networks awards. 

Video: Forever Fit at CSAC https://youtu.be/jMov8K_Wp5k

The centre, in the Melbourne area of the city, has excellent indoor and outdoor athletics facilities, providing opportunities for elite athletes to train alongside members of the local community. CSAC runs all the classes you’d expect from a leisure centre, but it is particularly well loved by its thriving network of members from across the city who come for classes such as ‘Forever Fit’, short mat bowls and walking netball. 

Councillor Jude Deakin, the council’s cabinet member in charge of leisure services says she isn’t surprised that the centre has been shortlisted for this national award. “Chelmsford Sport and Athletics Centre is a real asset to the Chelmsford community. It provides a wide range of activities and classes to help all of us stay fit, healthy and happy and it’s used by athletes from across the region. The centre is a real gem that should be better known across the city.” 

The awards were announced in Blackpool at the end of 2019 and Jon Lyons, the council’s leisure and heritage services manager, says he’s proud of his team’s achievement: “To be shortlisted for these awards is tremendous; they recognise the very best in local authority services and although we have brilliant facilities, the work of our committed staff is what delivers the great service acknowledged here.” 

Chelmsford resident Andrea Wise has been coming to ‘Forever Fit’ for the last five years and has recommended the sessions to her friends: “It’s the only class I’ve ever stuck at – I’ve joined four gyms for a very short space of time but this one has just been completely and utterly different. You’ll walk in here and from the reception to every single trainer, they appear to know every name and I don’t know how they do it. Everyone is so friendly and so nice.” 

Free gym trials are available at CSAC and all of Chelmsford City Council’s leisure centres this January.For more details about this and all of the activities on offer, visit www.chelmsford.gov.uk/firststep. 

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