Leisure Services

It has often been said that we are spoilt for recreation here in Bracknell Forest and your Conservative Council aims to continue to provide and maintain that which we all value.

FACT - Did you know we live in the third largest forest in the country.

 

Coral Reef

In our 2015 Conservative manifesto we promised to deliver an enhanced Coral Reef. True to our word we closed the doors and commenced construction in June of 2016. The restoration and enhancement was completed and opened by the Countess of Wessex in September 2017; Here is just some of the work that was carried out:

  • The main roof was removed and replaced
  • The old ceiling of the Coconut Grove was replaced with new joists. 
  • A new air handling unit was installed.
  • The roof structure in Sauna World was completely refurbished
  • Splash pool steel work completed.
  • The old Flume tower was taken down and concrete base for the new 5 storey flume tower was constructed 
  • The Changing Room Village was completely refurbished. 
  • Five (5) new state of the art flumes were installed replacing the three (3) old flumes
  • The new flumes include a super crater design – in which, midway through the ride, sliders find themselves spinning around a huge crater before descending down a tube in the middle of the crater – and one with a double crazy cone feature – where riders emerge at the top of a cone and experience the sensation of being pushed against the walls of the cone by gravity as they descend in to a second crazy cone.

We delivered it all - within Budget and on time

 

The Look Out

Its twenty-six (26) years since the Look Out was opened by Her Majesty the Queen and for twenty-one (21) years in succession The Look Out has been awarded the highest National Award for the cleanliness of its toilet facilities, affectionately known as “The Loo of the Year “award.

Running in parallel are some other national wards The Look Out holds:

  • Tripadvisor Certificate of Excellence;
  • Customer Service Excellence;
  • Quality Assured Visitor Attraction (Visit England);
  • Learning Outside the Classroom;
  • Occupational Health and Safety Advisory Service;

Visitor numbers continue to increase and currently stand at just under 370,000

The Look Out plays a major part in our community and beyond. It shows that the Centre has not only remained relevant and at the cutting edge in its field but has retained what made it so special in the first place; making learning and education fun and enjoyable for our children.

Parks and Countryside

In the 2014 Residents Survey you told us that you rated Parks and Countryside in the top three reasons why you like living and working in Bracknell Forest.

While up and down the country Councils are neglecting, even selling off, their parks here in this Conservative led Borough we are continuing our investment time and effort in that which we value and keeps gaining us national recognition, here is just a couple of our awards:

  • Winners again in the Britain in Bloom competition another joint Town & Borough venture led by the Bracknell Town Council
  • 8 of our parks are now multiple National Green Flag award winners

 

Downshire Golf Course

We’ve worked hard over the years to make the Downshire one of the top ten rated municipal courses in the country, and it is and that’s a fact.

The superb 18-hole course is well established, and benefits from some of the best Berkshire countryside, with its firm, tree-lined fairways and lush, even greens. The Downshire’s parkland setting also makes good use of water features, offering interesting and varied challenges to golfers of all standards.

Want to play the old course at St Andrew’s without leaving the Borough? You can at the Downshire, pop into the shop to find out more.

Libraries

It has always been the belief of your Conservative Council, unlike other Authorities up and down the country who have or are closing theirs, that our libraries are an integral part of our communities not just somewhere to take out a book. That’s why we held no less than eight (8) public consultations about the future of our libraries.  Reassuringly you told us that you value the borough’s library services which continue to play a significant role in our communities. Despite the financial challenges we face rather than close any of our nine (9) libraries, as many other councils have done, we embarked on a journey to help keep them open.

There is now new technology in all nine of our libraries giving users greater self-service and longer hours of accessibility.

Let’s take a moment to recognise one of the reasons we still have all our libraries and that’s our committed volunteers. We now have over 100 trained volunteers helping to ensure residents get more out of their library service.

If you are interested in becoming a volunteer in a borough library, please go to: www.bracknell-forest.gov.uk/libraries/volunteer-your-library to find out how you can get involved.

 

Cemetery & Crematorium

Easthampstead Park Cemetery & Crematorium was opened in 1971 and has served the residents of Berkshire, Hampshire and Surrey for 46 years. In that time, it has deservedly earned a reputation for first class service at a time when our bereaved expect and are accorded the highest level of dignity, service and respect.  It is a testament to the service provided that we were almost at capacity and therefore invested £1.1million by adding a second chapel and enhancing, doubling in fact, the car park area to meet the need.

We didn’t close the crematorium during the build of the new chapel and in order to minimise disruption we worked closely with our Funeral Directors so that they are kept informed of the works and could schedule their service provision accordingly.

Our aim was to open the second chapel in September 2017 – and we did!

We recently had a mystery visit from Federation of Burial and Crematorium Executive and here a sample of what they said:

  • The Cemetery & Crematorium Manager and her team are to be congratulated on delivering an excellent service to the local community
  • Staff – the appearance of the staff was excellent, and their enthusiasm, commitment and motivation were a credit to them and the Authority
  • Facilities – The toilet facilities were in excellent condition with provision for disabled visitors.
  • The standard of housekeeping in the crematory was excellent and a credit to the team.

 

Time 2 Change - Relocating our Council Offices to Times Square

As part of our approach to the financial challenges we face a task and finish group was set up to deliver a refurbishment of Time Square which in turn facilitated the relocation of our staff from Easthampstead House.  This Conservative administration, well known for its fiscal management, worked, as ever, with officers of the Authority to deliver a modern working environment for staff and members alike while at the same time making significant savings. Particular attention was paid to the customer reception area on the ground floor where state-of-the art technology is used to help people with their enquiries.

 

Customer Service

Since 2015 we have worked to create a digitally focussed environment which is aimed at customer independence and the “My Account” now has over 28 thousand (28,000) users.  Opening your own account to register and track your enquiries only takes a few minutes, here’s the link to get you started: myaccount.bracknell-forest.gov.uk. As part of the transformation programme the Council has set up a website page explaining how Council Tax payers, who make cash or cheque payments, can now set up an online Direct Debit and benefit from the convenience of paying online.  In addition, the customer service reception area has the new layout in place where residents have the ability make chip and pin payments

 

Democratic services

Our decision to move the Registrar Service to South Hill Park has proved highly successful. Since moving in the Registrars have performed over 70 civic ceremonies.

 

Easthampstead Park Conference Centre

After protracted and highly focussed negotiations your Conservative administration secured the future of this important venue and its ancient woodland. Following a successful bid, which includes a significant £10m financial investment, a well-respected organisation in the hotel and catering industry, Active Hospitality, have taken over the ongoing and continuous business of our much-loved venue, on a 999 year lease.

We can now begin to look forward to the exciting changes ahead, which will see EPCC become even more accessible for local residents and businesses, as well as those from further afield for the benefit of the Bracknell Forest community.

 

Regulatory Services

Our Regulatory Services in Bracknell Forest are comprised of environmental health, trading standards and licensing which some years ago we combined to deliver efficiencies and help reduce the inspection burden on businesses.  With that in mind we have over the last 12 months worked with our officers and colleagues in West Berkshire and Wokingham to create a tripartite regulatory service that will enable further efficiencies to be realised whilst still ensuring the mandatory duties are undertaken on behalf of the Council.

The merger, in January this year (2017), has enables us to realise a significant saving whilst providing greater opportunity for job enrichment and advancement.  The bringing together of the three services has resulted in one large team of about 100 staff providing a greater range of professional skills as well as scope for operational and management efficiencies.