Kirklees Active Leisure Proposed changes to service

Level of impact: Medium

Type of impact: Negative

Approximately 1,770 residents aged 55 or above use KAL facilities on a daily basis and 5,030 stated that they used a facility weekly. 982 of these older users were referred to KAL by a GP (15% of this age cohort). So therefore, KAL activities and facilities provide significant health and wellbeing benefits for a relatively large number of residents in this age category. Again, the decision to keep CVLC and BSTC open is a significant mitigation of negative impacts threatened by the original proposal because between them they account for 29% of all daily users and 27% of all weekly users.

Older residents – The overall reduction in services is likely to have a detrimental impact on older residents in terms of ease of access to both dry and wet side facilities. The overall reduction in wet side facilities caused by closing the DSC and the SHFC pools, on top of the recent closure of Batley Baths, could have deleterious impacts on the management of age-related, long-term limiting conditions – e.g., arthritis and respiratory illness. This impact will be partially mitigated by the decision to retain BSTC as it will avoid a significant impact identified in the consultation on the Get Active Owls, a service that provides residents over 60 with both physical recreation and a means of socialisation to combat loneliness and isolation (this emerged as a key theme throughout the consultation). However, there are 65 OWLS at DSC of whom only 26 have to date relocated to OWL provision elsewhere. KAL will need to consider engaging with these 39 potentially vulnerable customers to explore ways of supporting them back into OWL provision.

By comparing how under 25s and over 55s use the facilities within DSC and SHFC, it is clear that younger users are most likely to be concerned about the loss of gym and pool activities whereas older users are more likely to feel the loss of fitness classes. In the case of SHFC the loss of the café as a social gathering space may also be a slight issue.

Respondents who are weekly or even daily users of the SHFC have also expressed concerns (both through the consultation and the KAL disability discussion group) that their access to aqua-fitness and other health and wellbeing services may be terminated if that centre closes. Anecdotally, it appears that closing these two centres will have a very detrimental impact on older people.

As the revised swim offer within the remaining pools is as yet unknown, it is difficult to understand whether there may be supply side issues in meeting the demand from this age cohort.

The proposals are unlikely to have a disproportionate impact on adults under 25 as the consultation feedback shows a relatively even spread of daily and weekly users across all the main leisure facilities.

At the very young end of the Kirklees population pyramid, there are concerns that many children who would benefit from swimming lessons may lose out due to pool closures. Dewsbury, one of the areas most affected by the proposed closures, happens to have significantly higher numbers of under 24-year-olds than the Kirklees average – Dewsbury West for example, has 42% of its total population in this cohort compared with 31% for Kirklees overall. It isn’t just the impact on school swimming lessons, but also access to the KAL Swim Academy, especially for families in North Kirklees, where a single pool will need to meet a demand that was until recently shared out over four sites. Apart from the water safety issues associated with a reduced swim offer, there are ‘best start’ health issues such as childhood obesity to consider. Whilst this remains a worry should further closures be announced in the future, the DSC impact statement makes clear that KAL has successfully moved the schools that were using this site to alternative KAL provision.

There is a further intersectionality issue with withdrawing both wet and dry side facilities, in terms of gender, age and ethnicity. In terms of gender and age, women in the childbearing age range would benefit from leisure facilities to help recover from the physical impact of pregnancy. The closures in North Kirklees could have a disproportionate impact as the percentage of residents in the 25- to 34-year-old cohort is higher than the Kirklees average. This is in part due to the larger proportion of South Asian families in the Dewsbury area – see the section on Race and faith for further information.

The decision to keep CVLC open will mitigate what might otherwise be an issue for older women in the area. – i.e., the impact upon women experiencing the menopause and post-menopause due to the Colne Valley having a higher than Kirklees average percentage of residents in the 40 plus age category (e.g., population in the 50 – 64 age cohort is 23% for Colne Valley compared with 19% for Kirklees as a whole). 

Loss of dry side facilities could have a negative impact on managing obesity and maintaining good levels of mental health for example (What’s the best exercise for the menopause? (bupa.co.uk) but there is also evidence that swimming provides a very effective means of managing menopause and post-menopause symptoms (The Postmenopause Years: Benefits of Swimming | Menopause Now). Therefore, when revising the timetable and offer for both CVLC and Holmfirth, both of which have more than the Kirklees average of women over the age of 40, careful consideration will need to be made in meeting this set of needs.

‘Families will be put under pressure to pay for more costly activities and swimming is an activity that parents, and their children can do together. This will have an impact on children’s services.’ KC Community Coordinator.(this emerged as a key theme from the consultation) 

Level of impact: Medium

Type of impact: Negative

Ethnicity - % BAME – KAL profile 11%, Kirklees 26%. Already a significant lack of diversity given the size of the workforce, but by closing Dewsbury Sport Centre (DSC) and the Stadium Health and Fitness Club (SHFC), both of which have a significantly higher proportions of BAME staff (the BAME proportion of DSC and SHFC staff combined is 26%) risks exacerbating this lack of diversity. This risk has been mitigated to some extent by the decision to retain Batley Sports and Tennis Centre (BSTC), which also has over 20% BAME staff. The closures could potentially disproportionately impact BAME staff due to the higher concentration of BAME staff at these two sites (18 staff in total). 34% of BAME staff will be affected compared with 15% for white British.

Level of impact: High

Type of impact: Negative

Through the consultation we know that DSC, which will close under the current proposal, is the most used centre by BAME residents with 251 respondents stating that they used its facilities on a daily basis – more than double the daily users compared with Huddersfield LC for example, and four times those of SVLC. The SHFC has the second highest number of BAME daily users with 127. 45% of all BAME daily users of KAL facilities use either DSC or the SHFC, so it is clear that the proposals could have a significant, negative impact upon BAME users.

When health patterns are mapped across different ethnicities, it is clear that any change to a health and wellbeing offer is likely to have a disproportionate impact upon ethnic minority groups in Kirklees. Depending upon which group is being focused on, the health risks will be different. There is a potential intersectionality issue whereby religious factors and ethnicity combine to create a particular pattern of need for South Asian residents. For example, the life expectancy of males in one of the wards catered for by DSC (Dewsbury South) – is three years less than the Kirklees average (76.1 against 78.4: ward summary extrapolated from Census 2021 data). Given the ethnicity data for this ward, this shows lower life expectancy for Asian men across the area. 

The proposed closures will impact Dewsbury residents which will exacerbate the problem. The proportion of Asian people living in the closest three wards to DSC is 43% - more than double the Kirklees average. The impact is most likely to be felt by residents of Pakistani heritage and weight management programmes aimed at this group as they are above the Kirklees average for being overweight and obese (CLiK 21 data – 28% compared with a Kirklees average of 25% for obesity). 

A further complicating issue is that Batley Baths was recently closed leading to local objections over the loss of culturally sensitive facilities – this has been partially mitigated through providing women only gym facilities at BSTC. Recent engagement with South Asian KAL members broadened this theme to include an anxiety that closing safe, trusted leisure centres could disrupt a positive generational shift around attitudes towards health and fitness for Asian women and girls, with negative consequences for both health and wellbeing and community cohesion. KAL in their recent DSC impact statement explained that they would not be able to relocate the six women only sessions that will be lost. A full mitigation of this impact may not be possible but engagement with this community of users and targeted promotion of women only provision at other sites, needs to be a priority.

The BAME group most vulnerable to obesity and associated health risks are those identifying as ‘Black’ the majority of whom are of Black African-Caribbean heritage (CLiK 21 data shows a 38% prevalence compared with a 25% average for the whole of Kirklees). As most Black Kirklees residents live in South Kirklees, the decision to close the Stadium site could have a disproportionate impact as it serves the Dalton ward, an area with a large Black African-Caribbean community (‘Black/African/Caribbean/Black British’ residents make up 5.9% of Dalton’s population compared with 2.3% for Kirklees as a whole), and this rises to 8% if one focuses on Rawthorpe, the Lower Layer Super Output Area (LSOA) closest to the Stadium.

Barriers identified by BAME respondents through the consultation included generic concerns regarding the cost and time involved in travelling to a facility that was further away from their home (this emerged as a key theme through the consultation). This may reflect the inter-sectional connection between BAME identity and the increased risk incidence of low income and poverty – this can be inferred from Census 2021 data, which shows that BAME residents are more likely to be long-term sick or disabled and/or unemployed than the Kirklees average (Kirklees Council: Kirklees Factsheets 2021).

Type of impact: Neutral

 Only 3% (13) of staff declared a disability and there is only one employee declaring a disability in any of the centres threatened with closure – so potential job loss caused by changes to travel distance are likely to be negligible, though obviously potentially upsetting for an individual who may be affected. Also, the core offer centres are amongst the most accessible in the borough. As 27% of employees choose not to disclose, it is difficult to understand if the proposals will have a differential impact on people possessing this protected characteristic. The only slight worry would be if part-time roles were prioritised for redundancy as 77% of employees with a disability work part-time compared with 64% for employees without – but as the numbers for employees reporting a disability are very low, this potential impact carries little or no statistical significance should it be realised. However, KAL will need to consider the impact of change on disabled employees on a case-by-case basis to ensure compliance with the Equality Act 2010.

Level of impact: High

Type of impact: Negative

22% of all respondents in the consultation survey, reported having a disability. 86% of these have conditions that would directly benefit from physical exercise in a safe supportive environment (2385 respondents). Any changes to the overall delivery of KAL services across their remaining sites will need to take this into account.

BSTC and CVLC between them account for 29% of disabled daily users and 28% of weekly users. The decision to retain both these facilities will go some way towards mitigating the impact of the proposals. Nevertheless, the closure of Dewsbury will have some impact due to the relatively large number of disabled customers who use the centre on a regular basis: 16% of all daily users across the eleven facilities. A comparison with Huddersfield Leisure Centre is revealing. Only 13% of disabled users attend daily sessions but this overall proportion increases to 18% for weekly usage and 25% for monthly. This suggests that users with a disability who require constant physical exercise to manage their conditions, tend to use local, perhaps more easily accessible, and familiar facilities, rather than travel into Huddersfield town centre. This finding supports much of the thinking below regarding impacts. 

The consultation revealed that 27% of disabled users had been referred to KAL activities by their GP compared with 6% of all respondents. Again, the decision to keep BSTC and CVLC open helps mitigate a potential avenue for primary health care professionals to support the long-term health and wellbeing of their patients. 

Physical disability and sensory impairments – anything that raises travel costs and increases the complexity of access to a service is likely to have a negative impact on this group (this emerged as a key theme of the consultation). The problems arising out of not matching available services to need based on physical attributes is likely to be exacerbated by the fact that physically disabled people are statistically more likely to be on a low income. Travel barriers were a key theme to emerge from the public consultation from the perspective of both respondents with a disability and respondents who care for an adult.

Many disabled leisure facilities users are reliant on them to manage long-term limiting health conditions and it is a significant health benefit not just a form of recreation.

Any loss of wet side facilities is likely to have a detrimental effect on residents with certain physical disabilities as swimming is a suitable weight bearing form of physical exercise that contributes towards general fitness and wellbeing. This has been confirmed through the consultation feedback and the lived experience that was shared by participants in the KAL members’ disability discussion group.

Where an individual disabled person has come to an arrangement with a particular centre to meet an identified need, if this cannot be replicated effectively elsewhere this could be a significant loss for them.

For an individual managing a behavioural disorder – e.g., some Autistic Spectrum Conditions (ASC) – the disruption caused by having to relocate to another service could be overwhelming and in addition to causing anxiety, drastically reduce the likelihood of them continuing to use leisure centre facilities. This may be particularly true of children and young adults living with an ASC.

Sensory – over time, people can adjust to their environment and a change could present as a deterrent factor. This is compounded for those using different public transport modes or routes. 

Mental health – complexity of travel arrangements could be a deterrent factor, as may unfamiliarity with a new leisure provision location. Physical activity has benefits in dealing with some mental health conditions, e.g., depression and anxiety (this emerged as a key theme through the consultation). The decision to keep CVLC open may help mitigate this. 

In addition, many people with mental health conditions require an environment where they feel reassured, can attend with a friend or swim together with other supportive people. The proposed closure of Dewsbury and the SHFC may act as an impediment to the necessary conditions for users with mental health issues to continue to swim. Swimming improves mental health | How swimming eases the mind

‘I have a number of clients who are obese or have fibromyalgia or joint issues who have difficulty engaging with other forms of exercise. The effect on mental health for people who regularly swim and use swimming as a tool for wellness.’  KC Health Coach

Impact of closures on existing health initiative and programmes: ‘All the forms of getting back into exercise that the Wellness Team in partnership with KAL deliver: Active for Life, a Physical Activity Recovery Programme for people with a mental health nurse, First Steps to Fitness for people wanting to exercise more, a referral scheme for people with medical conditions who need a hand holding programme to engage with exercise, and then a varied programme to follow that includes swimming.’ KC Health Coach.

‘Impacts on people which I am most concerned about are impact on mental and physical health, conditions such as diabetes, arthritis, weight management, increase in children and young people developing diabetes – if there are closures this will impact on the support that I am able to offer in terms of signposting people to activities to improve their health and wellbeing. There will be even more demand and pressure put onto GP services and the NHS as there will be a significant impact on so many aspects of health. Adult Social Care will also feel the impact of this as adults won’t have facilities to keep well for longer. KC Community Coordinator.

Type of impact: Neutral

Only one employee out of a team of 456 has disclosed a gender identity that is potentially related to this protected characteristic so it is highly unlikely that the proposals will have a significant impact.

Type of impact: Neutral

Current data doesn’t shine a light on the experience of people in this category. Some of the themes that may require exploration include:
• Personal safety and ability to travel to other locations.
• Comfort with facilities and staff that could create a perceived space that encourages use by residents in this category.

Type of impact: Neutral

The proposed changes are unlikely to have a specific effect on access to employment within KAL facilities or the terms and conditions of employment that will adversely or positively impact this social group.

Type of impact: Neutral

This group has life expectancy of between 10 to 12 years less than the UK average (UK Parliament Tackling Inequalities faced by Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities) and also experiences poorer physical and mental health outcomes than the rest of the population. In addition, they may be more vulnerable to cost of living impacts on access to facilities if they require more costly travel solutions.
A lack of statistically meaningful data means that it is difficult to assess the impact of the proposal upon this group and would require some qualitative surveying of travellers who use the facilities to understand their needs and how any changes may create barriers to access.

Level of impact: Low

Type of impact: Negative

 Without more detail of the roles that could be at risk, it is difficult to determine whether the secondary impacts of the proposals (i.e., job loss, reduced hours, changes to Terms and Conditions) would have a differential effect on particular gender groups. We know that 53% of the workforce is female and that women are slightly more likely to be employed on a part-time basis (68% as opposed to 60% for men) and so the main, potential concern would arise should KAL decide to make a larger overall reduction in part-time roles across the organisation, as this might lead to a disproportionately high number of female redundancies. 

Level of impact: Medium

Type of impact: Negative

Personal safety issues if women must travel further to access alternative provisions, especially those who may be reliant upon public transport. This is particularly true for former users of DSC where there were significant female only offers – e.g., gym, aquatics and studio-based fitness. This has been slightly mitigated by offering women only gym sessions at BSTC for those travelling by car, but it would still represent a detrimental change for public transport users as Howden Clough is not easily accessible from most parts of Dewsbury and especially residents of Dewsbury South. A further mitigation might be to increase the amount of targeted promotion of existing female only provision elsewhere along with safe travel information.

Intersectionality issue arising from low income and access to more distant provision - i.e., in terms of travel costs, ease of transporting an infant and personal safety. 

Intersectionality issue (sex and age): middle aged and older men may be disproportionately reliant on the formal activities provided by a leisure centre to remain active due to the reduced likelihood of not belonging to a supportive social network. This may exacerbate the risk of loneliness in this group (this emerged as a key theme through the consultation in relation to the OWLS (a group of KAL users aged 60 and over), so the decision to retain BSTC is a significant mitigation of this impact in North Kirklees)

If the impact of the reduced service is to exclude adults in a household from getting out of the house and relieving stress, this could be a contributory factor for domestic abuse both in terms of the perpetrator’s mental health and likelihood of committing acts of abuse, but more importantly, could exacerbate the psychological and behavioural control of potential victims.

The reduced offer may lead to an inability to meet the demand for Moving Mums, a fitness programme to help people remain fit and healthy throughout maternity. There are also concerns that participants may find the increased travel times and costs prohibitive.

Level of impact: Low

Type of impact: Negative

The changes that are likely to take place in response to the proposals may lead to employees being made redundant who are the most insecure and possibly lowest paid members of staff due to them having minimal employment rights. 

Level of impact: High

Type of impact: Negative

34% of respondents in a low-income band use KAL facilities on a daily basis compared to 29% for all respondents. Usage is spread relatively evenly across all the main leisure centres, so the closure of DLC and the SHFC, whilst negatively affecting individual users of those centres, will not have a disproportionate impact on users based on having a low income. See below for detail on how individual users in Dewsbury may be disadvantaged.

Based on figures for DSC, the number of Kirklees Passport holders using facilities is very low (1.5% of all visits and 3.1% of swims). One possible mitigation that might help offset increased travel costs for displaced DSC and SHFC users, could be greater and more effective promotion of potential user discounts.

The consultation revealed that respondents on higher incomes were more likely to use non-KAL leisure facilities though the disparity was so great (E.g., 6% of those in the £10-20K income band compared to 11% for those earning 70K or above). However, this shows current usage patterns rather than the ability to access alternative provision and it doesn’t reveal the frequency of use.

The proposed closures are likely to increase the cost of accessing leisure centre facilities (this emerged as a key theme through the consultation) especially for those living in North Kirklees where the closure of DSC will impact pockets of high deprivation – e.g., The index of Multiple Deprivation shows that both Dewsbury West and East include areas that are in the bottom 20% InstantAtlas Kirklees – JSA Home – Inequalities. This will only be exacerbated by the current cost of living crisis that has seen petrol and diesel costs increase significantly.

For a family relying on public transport, there are many permutations, but to give an idea of additional costs, if a typical nuclear family (2 adults and 2 children) who would normally walk into Dewsbury town centre from Eastborough, Eightlands or West Town to use DSC, were to access SVLC, they would need to purchase a family bus ticket for £13.50 (cheapest option). It the family were out of work then the cost of the journey alone could be as high as 6.7% of their weekly income.

If the increased length and cost of journeys acts as a significant barrier to accessing sport and leisure facilities, then this could mean a disproportionate impact on the health and wellbeing of children of poor families who are already significantly disadvantaged – The National Child Measurement Programme 2013/14, revealed that 74% of year 6 children in the top 10% decile were within the healthy weight range as compared with between 60% and 65% for the bottom four deprivation deciles. Any move to reduce children’s access to swimming risks this health inequality widening still further. The decision to retain BSTC and CVLC will go some way towards mitigating this risk in the short to medium term, as KAL retain sufficient wet side capacity to cater for the current level of demand.

All of the services of Community Plus, the Wellness Service and 
Personalised Care will be affected by reduction in centres and facilities as they signpost people into KAL's affordable health and wellbeing services. There is a risk that patients who are referred by Adult Social Care, GP surgeries, mental health services, Locala, will no longer have access to the means of improving their health and wellbeing. Smoking cessation programmes, health weight programmes, campaigns to reduce diabetes, mental health programmes for example, will all be affected. (Smoking cessation is an important aspect of increasing income). KC Community Coordinator.

‘Whilst it might be argued that the centres are not supporting the least active people, they do help people who are active to remain so, and a part of a wider spectrum of physical activity opportunities and settings. The proposed closures disproportionately affect North Kirklees, which includes many of our areas of highest deprivation, and may result in widening health inequalities. The potential disruption to school swimming programmes could also create major inequalities in this curriculum area based on geography. 

‘Efforts should be made to see if alternative arrangements for the operation of some, or all, of these centres (or elements within them) can be secured with other parties, possibly through asset transfer or with the support of volunteer groups who may themselves be existing site users.’ KC Health Improvement Practitioner.

Type of impact: Neutral

The proposals do not include the introduction of a provision, criterion or practice that would discriminate against this protected characteristic. In fact, the most vulnerable employees to changes arising out of the proposal are young, single employees on short-term contracts.

Type of impact: Neutral

There is no aspect of the service that includes access or affordability criteria relating to marital status. Therefore, the proposed changes will not affect this situation

Type of impact: Neutral

There are only 16 employees who have declared a LGBT identity (44% did not respond to the question) and they are distributed across multiple sites (seven) and roles (eight). Any overall reduction in lifeguards could have a differential impact as they are overrepresented in this role 44% (seven) as opposed to 29% for all employees. 

Type of impact: Neutral

Other than the possibility that personal safety issues may be slightly increased, where journeys are longer and more complex (this would need further engagement to test), it is difficult to see how there would be an impact that altered the current status quo. Analysis of Middle Super Output Area (MSOA) data reveals that one of the three leisure centres marked for closure, serves areas that have below Kirklees average percentages of residents identifying as gay, lesbian, and bisexual (Dewsbury and Batley).

The decision to retain CVLC may have mitigated a possible issue that the original proposals could have caused if it had gone ahead. The consultation revealed that 24 Gay and Lesbian respondents used CVLC daily, almost twice the number of any other centre in Kirklees. Given that there was no similar anomaly for weekly and monthly usage, it may be that CVLC is providing both a source of physical recreation and a social network for local gay and lesbian residents? There was a different pattern of daily usage for bi-sexual respondents, with Huddersfield Leisure Centre (HLC) and the SHFC being comfortably the most used centres.

Type of impact: Neutral

Currently lacking data on this – only one person in this category appears to be affected by the closure of DSC. Also, it is difficult to identify any obvious ways in which the proposed changes would have a specific impact on employees with this protected characteristic. However, given that 53% of employees are in the age group 18 to 40, any significant future changes to terms and conditions that impact this protected characteristic group would be potentially significant in quantitative terms.

Level of impact: Low

Type of impact: Negative

Reduction in overall provision plus the specific reduction in wet side facilities for Dewsbury residents could mean a potentially smaller offer and one that may be less accessible for women with infants (a situation that may be exacerbated by cultural norms within the South Asian population of the three Dewsbury Wards). However, the decision to retain BSTC will go some way towards mitigating this, particularly for residents in Dewsbury West and East. For more about leisure centre benefits for post pregnancy women see under Gender (below). This may have a detrimental impact on one aspect of child development (mother-child bonding) and also on parental mental health, due to the loss of valuable socialisation opportunities. Additionally, public health data shows that North Kirklees has higher than average infant mortality for England 4.8 per 1,000 for North Kirklees as opposed to 3.9 for England). 

Level of impact: Low

Type of impact: Negative

There is little impact on this protected characteristic. The original proposal which included the closure of BSTC would have led to two thirds of Muslim employees being at threat of redundancy or contract termination (12 out of 18) but the decision to keep BSTC open reduces this impact to seven out of eighteen (including one employee at Deighton Sports Arena, which is now on the closure list).

Level of impact: Medium

Type of impact: Negative

There is some overlap with issues arising out of race/ ethnicity especially in the case of Islam, so culture and religion often need to be considered together.

Except for Muslims, the number of respondents who identified with a non-Christian religion was too small to reveal any pattern of differential impact.

There was nothing in the data to suggest that the proposals would impact differentially upon Christians (the largest religious group by far).

The closure of DSC represents a challenge for Muslim communities living in the Dewsbury area, especially Dewsbury South, which is the furthest away from BSTC and SVLC of all the Dewsbury wards. The consultation has revealed that 23% of all Muslim respondents (999) used DSC on a daily basis and 26% weekly. The decision to retain BSTC has gone some way towards mitigating the impact on Muslims given that the combined number of Muslim weekly users for both centres equals 53% of the total number of Muslim respondents and because it is likely that some Muslim DSC users will be able to switch to BSTC due to its relatively close proximity to Dewsbury West and East.  

The main potential religious issue is the ability of the revised offer to cater for the cultural needs of South Asian women – e.g., practising Muslims. This is particularly problematic given that the reduced offer will impact Dewsbury significantly, where some of the largest South Asian communities are established. Furthermore, this group are statistically more likely to experience poor health outcomes and therefore be more reliant upon leisure centre facilities. The Index of Multiple Deprivation health and disability domain as captured by the Kirklees Observatory for each of the affected wards in North Kirklees: Dewsbury East, Dewsbury South and Dewsbury West.

This data shows a number of deprivation factors affecting North Kirklees, which includes health and disability and demonstrates that they are some of the most deprived areas in England. The removal of leisure facilities in these areas is liable to further compound these inequalities.

Public funded facilities may be especially important for South Asian Women – as was indeed the case with the closure of Batley Baths. This was confirmed in the BAME on-line discussion group for KAL members, where culturally sensitive facilities and the ethos of KAL gyms was cited as a positive feature of the service provided by KAL to South Asian Muslim families. Private gyms on the other hand were described as having a culture of vanity and judgementalism and a claustrophobic atmosphere where unacceptable levels of gender mixing were the norm. 

Type of impact: Neutral

Difficult to determine due to a lack of data relating to the caring responsibilities of employees.

Level of impact: Medium

Type of impact: Negative

Unpaid carers are reliant upon local leisure facilities, due to their caring responsibilities and will potentially have to travel further to access this provision. This could dissuade them from attending – either for themselves or with the person they are caring for, which will impact on their own health and wellbeing, as well as adding to the demands on statutory services for the person they care for. From an intersectionality perspective, a reduction in local facilities will particularly adversely impact unpaid carers who do not have access to a car and are reliant on public transport.

Feedback from both the KAL members disability discussion group and from an engagement session with the Kirklees Carers Strategy Group raised concerns about financial and temporal barriers that centre closures could present. This has been partially mitigated by the decision to retain CVLC as this will address worries expressed in relation to the original proposal that people living in the Holme and Colne Valleys could find it difficult to travel into the centre due to increased travel times. This issue is still likely to create barriers to access for those living in parts of North Kirklees, as it was felt that SVLC was too far for some carers who had previously used DSC and meant they would not be able to respond quickly if they needed to address an urgent situation. It could also be an issue for working carers who need to use leisure centres straight after work if they are required to make a longer journey during rush hour traffic. For carers relying upon public transport the barriers might be even greater.

Concern was raised by the Carers Strategy Group, that groups that support young people with learning difficulties such as WAVES in Slathwaite who are regular users of the CVLC, may struggle to offer the same level of physical recreation, a deficit that parent carers may need to make up at their own expense and in less supportive settings. This remains a general risk to be mitigated, though in the case of CVLC, the issue has been resolved by the decision to retain the centre under KAL management.

The group also expressed worries that the proposed closures could have a double impact affecting the physical and mental health of both carers and the people they care for, due to reduced physical recreation and the possible loss of social ties.

Type of impact: Neutral

There is unlikely to be any significant change in transactions from the current situation. Customers will continue to contact via the same channels and access info in much the same way.

Type of impact: Neutral

The proposal will have little or no effect on the way in which transactions take place. The only likely change is that there may be more conversations with an unsatisfactory outcome for customers if the supply of services cannot meet their demands and expectations due to the overall reduction in facilities.

Type of impact: Neutral

Unlikely to have any effect on bio-diversity as the proposals only affect the internal use of three buildings.

Does this proposal include changes to a location within a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), local wildlife sites or green belt: No

Will the proposal be impacted by climate change: No

Type of impact: Neutral

Any impact will be negligible as sites are neither buildings of historic interest nor are they located in places of natural beauty or a conservation area.

Level of impact: Low

Type of impact: Positive

The overall impact is likely to be neutral or slightly positive, but the situation is complex:

To accommodate greater travel distances from home to a centre, some journeys will see a switch from active travel to car or bus transport and longer car journeys.

Positive impact due to decrease in the Council’s consumption of electricity, gas and water dependent on mothballing arrangements, and although this may in turn lead to a decrease in cost for these utilities, with gas the Council must pay a fee for under consumption. It is hoped for future gas contracts (from April 2025) that this will not be the case, but this is unknown at present. Please note, if sites are mothballed then daily standing charges will still need to be paid for all utilities.

Potential ongoing consumption and cost concerning maintenance of the swimming pools, i.e., will they need to be kept at a certain temperature, and filled up.

Positive impact on the Council’s carbon footprint due to above potential decreases in consumption and cost.

Type of impact: Neutral

Very little impact if any especially as the centres at threat of closure are away from residential areas and will not impact on residents.

Type of impact: Neutral

Probably neutral, although possibly a very slight improvement to noise levels if any sports facilities were to be discontinued (which is unlikely to happen in the short-term following the revised proposal) but these improvements would be during a portion of the day that is not sensitive – i.e. day time and early evenings – so negligible improvement which would be greatly exceeded by the disbenefits of losing a leisure resource. 

Level of impact: Low

Type of impact: Positive

The closure of leisure centres, including café facilities will reduce the overall amount of waste generated by KAL in the delivery of their services, though this is probably a small change.

To what extent was reducing the amount of waste created in the first place been considered: Not at all

Details, information or evidence in relation to waste reduction: Waste management is not a significant factor in the proposed changes.

Type of impact: Neutral

It does not affect the water supply

Does this proposal involve the installation or use of a private water supply: No

Level of impact: Low

Type of impact: Positive

A very tiny positive impact on water stress as even under moth ball conditions, there will be a reduction in water usage.