April 2024
Teesside has UK’s second-best ice rink

08 Feb 2024

Charitable Trust, Tees Active is celebrating after Billingham Forum was named the second-best ice rink in Britain, according to a major new study.

The Ice Arena at the much-loved Teesside venue was only beaten by London’s Alexandra Palace in an analysis of customer service feedback by a national research company.

Billingham Forum is operated by charitable trust, Tees Active, which manages a host of leisure venues and adventure attractions across Stockton-on-Tees.

Tees Active managing director, Leon Jones, said: “It is quite an achievement to be beaten only by Alexandra Palace in a study encompassing all 57 ice rinks across the UK, and testament to the superb job our staff do to provide a memorable experience.”

Factors in the study include the total number of TripAdvisor reviews, the TripAdvisor rating score, total number of Google reviews, Google rating score, price per person, and transport links.

Billingham Forum Ice Arena had an index score of 75.97 out of 100, compared to 77.69 for Alexandra Palace.

Billingham Forum, which opened in 1967, has been run by Tees Active since 2004, and underwent an £18.5m refurbishment before reopening in 2011.

As well as being popular with visitors, it is home to the Billingham Stars ice hockey team, and Billingham Ice Skating Club.

It also makes ‘accessibility for all’ a high priority, with ice skating one of the activities provided by support group SNAPS (Special Needs Activities With Parent Support), run by Ruth Benson, on Friday mornings.

Tees Active also arranges for residents of local care homes to take part in wheelchair ice skating sessions as part of its ‘Care Home Legends’ activities programme, while other community events have included foam parties on ice, glow-in-the-dark parties, and silent discos.

Tees Active operations manager, Roy Broadbent, who has been closely involved with the development of Billingham Forum, said: “We are very proud to receive such a high rating, though not surprised because such a lot of hard work and investment has gone in to working with the community. Billingham Forum has a special place in the hearts of countless people across Teesside. It’s the place many of them visited on school trips, or where they met their first loves, and we’ve continued to be innovative and make it the best it can be.”

Billingham Forum’s general manager, Anne Restall, added: “It means so much to be recognised in this way because we try so hard to work with the community to provide affordable and enjoyable experiences.”

Councillor Steve Nelson, Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Health, Leisure and Culture, is also thrilled by the “outstanding rating. We know that Billingham Forum Ice Arena offers great customer service but for that to be recognised nationally makes all the hard work and investment worthwhile. We won’t rest on our laurels until we make it to number one!” he said.

Meanwhile, it was revealed last month that former Love Island winner, Amber Davies, has been using Billingham Forum Ice Arena to practise ahead of taking part in TV show Dancing On Ice.


back
Latest member news
Edinburgh Leisure Appoints New Chief Executive
Edinburgh-based physical activity charity, Edinburgh Leisure, has announced the appointment of a new Chief Executive.
read more...


Withington Baths Receives Sports England Grant to Accelerate its Carbon Footprint Reduction Efforts
Love Withington Baths, the non-profit organisation that operates Withington Baths and co-working space Withington Works, has announced exciting plans to significantly reduce its carbon footprint and enhance energy efficiency thanks to a £105K grant secured from Sport England under the Government’s Swimming Pool Support Fund.
read more...


GLL Celebrate £140k Arts Council Funding
VR headsets, IT hublets and improved seating, shelving and flooring are on their way to Lye Library, Dudley thanks to funding from the Arts Council.
read more...


Much-Loved Library to Receive Grant Funding of Nearly £400,000
One of Redbridge's most popular libraries will benefit from a significant modernisation programme after being awarded nearly £400,000 in grant funding.
read more...


Horizon Leisure Scoops Prize at Portsmouth Business Awards
Horizon Leisure, which operates Havant leisure Centre and Waterlooville Leisure Centre, was crowned Community Business of the Year at the Portsmouth Business Awards earlier this year.
read more...


Portsmouth Tennis Centre celebrated for bringing tennis to all
Portsmouth Tennis Centre has been recognised by the LTA Tennis Awards for bringing tennis to under-represented groups and communities throughout the city.
read more...


Wellness Hub Breaks Down Barriers to Tackle Health Inequalities in North East Lincolnshire
A new report on Lincs Inspire’s Wellness Hub has revealed the difference it is making to community health.
read more...


Grant from Parkinson’s UK Gives Green Light to New Cycle Classes
Everybody Health & Leisure has launched a dedicated group cycling classes for people living with Parkinson's Disease.
read more...


Doncaster Culture and Leisure Trust score partnership with Club Doncaster
Doncaster Culture and Leisure Trust (DCLT) and Club Doncaster have agreed a partnership that will see DCLT as an official sponsor of the Dons RLFC and sponsor of two Belles players.
read more...


BPL Achieves Swim England’s Water Wellbeing Accreditation
AWARD winning community leisure trust BPL has achieved Swim England’s Water Wellbeing accreditation.
read more...


Edinburgh Leisure Scale New Heights Following £100,000 Boost
Edinburgh Leisure’s flagship climbing arena at Ratho has benefitted from a major funding investment from sportscotland’s Sport Facilities Fund.
read more...


78-year-old George’s marvellous weightlifting medicine
Almost an octogenarian, George Travis is still hammering out kettle bell classes as an Active Tameside fitness instructor.
read more...


Cefn Hengoed Leisure Centre Gets Massive Makeover
A Swansea leisure centre has been totally revamped with a £7.5 million investment.
read more...


GLL Starts 10-year Deal to Operate Newham Leisure Centres
The UK’s leading leisure and cultural charitable staff-owned trust, which runs services under the Better brand, has begun a new 10-year partnership with Newham Council that promises to increase physical activity levels and improve the customer experience for residents in one of London’s fastest growing boroughs. 
read more...


more Community Leisure UK member news >>
Business partner news
● Download Gallagher's 2024 brochure
Gallagher already helps protect more than 8,500 charitable organisations in the UK, including a number of Community Leisure UK members. ...more
Latest industry news from leisureopportunities.co.uk
Global summit will bring together industry leaders in health, fitness and wellness
Global publishing outfit, Leisure Media, has announced details of its new annual conference for decision- makers across the health, fitness and wellness markets. The event – the HCM Summit – will be held at the QEII Conference Centre in Westminster, London on 24 October 2024, with pre-summit events the day before.
read more...
09 Apr 2024
Oxygen Consulting deep dives into padel with forthcoming report
Oxygen Consulting is about to launch its first UK Padel Report, which investigates this fast-growing sport.
read more...


05 Apr 2024
Ronaldo crashes the app store with launch of new wellness, fitness and health app, Erakulis
Portugese footballer, Cristiano Ronaldo, has launched a health and wellness app that harmonises advice on fitness, nutrition and mental wellness in one seamless experience.
read more...


04 Apr 2024
New research shows BMI fails as a measure of childhood obesity, leading to flawed policy
Waist circumference-to-height ratio is a more reliable measure of obesity in children and adolescents than BMI according to a new study, published in Pediatric Research.
read more...


28 Mar 2024
4Global and UK Active launch private sector health club benchmarking
The first annual Private Sector Benchmarking report was released today (27 March). A collaboration between UK Active and 4Global, the aim of the research is to provide accurate insight into the state of UK-based private sector health clubs.
read more...


27 Mar 2024
Egym snaps up Hussle as it moves to dominate the corporate wellness market with its Wellpass product
Egym, has signalled its intention to become a dominant force in the corporate wellness sector with the acquisition of UK-based aggregator, Hussle.
read more...


26 Mar 2024
Total Fitness turns a profit as it beats pre-COVID membership
Total Fitness has released results for its most recent financial year (to June 23), which saw a return to pre-COVID membership levels following a year-on-year uplift in membership numbers of 5 per cent.
read more...


25 Mar 2024
Entrepreneurs share secrets of building a fitness business at PerformX
Enjoy building your business because the journey can be as good or better than the destination was one takeaway of the industry titans’ panel on empire building, comprised of three industry entrepreneurs.
read more...


22 Mar 2024
Myzone removes the hardware barrier with launch of MZ-Open, making its system available on smart watches
Myzone is now available on smart watches, allowing Android and AppleWatch wearers to record workouts without an additional device, and taking the tech company into the multi-billion dollar smart watch market.
read more...


more industry news >>
General Meetings
CLUK General Meeting
15 May 2024: Glasgow
Special Interest Groups
Social Value
16 April 2024
Volunteering
24 April 2024
Finance
2 May 2024
For more information about Special Interest Group and regional / national members meetings, please contact [email protected]
Job vacancies
Leisure Centre Duty Manager
Salary: £24,687.57pa + pension + health care + benefits
Location: Uppingham, Oakham, UK
Company: Uppingham School
Read more and apply
Leisure Supervisor (Development)
Salary: £32,982 - £37,099pa + excellent pension and benefits
Location: London, UK
Company: City University of London
Read more and apply
Duty Manager
Salary: £30,000pa + local Govt pension + attractive benefits package
Location: Kirkwall, UK
Company: The Pickaquoy Centre
Read more and apply
Team Leader (Harrow School Fitness Club)
Salary: £13.71 per hour
Location: Harrow on the Hill, Harrow, UK
Company: Harrow School
Read more and apply
Centre Manager (Leisure)
Salary: £40,221 - £42,403pa + pension + benefits
Location: Exeter, UK
Company: Exeter City Council
Read more and apply
Director of Operations
Salary: £61,000 - £64,000 + exceptional pension + excellent benefits
Location: Luton, UK
Company: Active Luton
Read more and apply
Membership Manager
Salary: £29,605 - £32,982pa + pension + benefits
Location: Coventry, UK
Company: University of Warwick
Read more and apply
Chief Executive Officer, Mount Batten Centre
Salary: c£65,000pa + pension + benefits
Location: Plymouth, UK
Company: Mount Batten Group
Read more and apply
more job vacancies >>
Diary dates
10-12 May 2024
Asia Pool & Spa Expo
Guangzhou, China
more
23-24 May 2024
European Health Prevention Day
Wiesbaden, Germany
more
30 May - 02 Jun 2024
Rimini Wellness
Rimini, Italy
more
08-08 Jun 2024
Global Wellness Day
Various
more
11-13 Jun 2024
World Festival
Singapore, Singapore
more
12-13 Jun 2024
Elevate
London, United Kingdom
more
03-05 Sep 2024
ASEAN Patio Pool Spa Expo
Bangkok, Thailand
more
19-19 Sep 2024
Destination Deluxe Awards & Wellness Day 2024
Bangkok 10120, Thailand
more
01-04 Oct 2024
Synergy - The Retreat Show
Kabupaten Badung, Indonesia
more
22-25 Oct 2024
Interbad
Germany
more
more diary dates >>
Business partners
Contact Community Leisure UK


Kirsty Cumming, Chief Executive

Tel: 020 7250 8263
[email protected]
Submit news


The Community Leisure UK ezine is published in association with leisureopportunities.co.uk

Please email news and images for consideration to [email protected]
Your subscription


To add a colleague to this mailing list click here

This e-zine is produced and distributed on behalf of Community Leisure UK by Leisure Media, publisher of Leisure Opportunities, HCM and Sports Management