CHIEF EXECUTIVE JO CHERRETT

Dear All,

The first Interest Staff Newsletter of 2023 is here, and we have a lot of exciting business to share! By now I hope you’ve all had chance to read the Staff Awards Newsletter issued earlier in the year. I, for one, thoroughly enjoyed the awards that took place in January, celebrating the wonderful achievements of over 150 of our people. Congratulations again, to all nominees and winners, I hope you all had the chance to read the wonderful comments your fellow colleagues said about you! If you haven’t had the chance to read it yet you can do so here: https://issuu.com/traffordleisure/docs/staff_awards_ newsletter_ - Try and see if you can spot yourself and your team in the photographs on the back page!

Its official...Stretford Leisure Centre is our next centre progressing with Trafford Council for refurbishment. I’m sure many of you agree, that seeing move Urmston and the start of move Altrincham has been very exciting and the excitement continues into the new project for Stretford. Take a look at the latest update for move Altrincham: https://twmove.co.uk/move-altrincham-staff-updates/

Alongside the Stretford Leisure Centre Investment, we have had the excellent news that Partington Sports Village has been granted £18 million investment. This is huge for Partington and the surrounding areas, and we are so thrilled to be involved in that journey. The investment for both these projects will make incredible differences in our Trafford community and I know that the next few years will be filled with hard work from everyone at Trafford Leisure and Trafford Council to create wonderful spaces to be enjoyed by all.

We all know it’s been a tough time recently following the global pandemic and cost of living crisis, which is why I am really proud to tell you that Trafford Leisure will become a real living wage employer in the coming months. Implementing the Real Living Wage will support and benefit those within our business on the lowest pay. The majority of our staff are living within the borough, so in taking this step it will also have a positive benefit on our local economy and support Trafford Council’s strategic aim to reduce poverty.

What Else is New

Recently, I have taken part in the Poverty Truth Trafford project. This is a network of community commissioners, people with direct experience of what it's like to live in poverty, and civic commissioners, those with the power to make decisions that have an impact on those who live in poverty. I have been involved as one of the 20 civic commissioners. The project has enabled the community commissioners to discuss their real-life experiences with the civic commissioners in order to successfully tackle poverty in the local community. My intention is to take these experiences into account when making decisions that have an influence on poverty in the local community. By working together, the Poverty Truth network enables for a deeper, more meaningful understanding of what it is like living in poverty. This contributes to impactful decisions for those suffering in the local communities. The final report sums up the last 12 months of this project, and if you would like to read how the commissioners got on, please follow this link: https://stretfordpublichall. org.uk/ptc-final-report-march-2023/

In other news have you seen that our local football team Altrincham FC almost made it to Wembley. In the first year of turning professional! With a tough game beating York City 2-1 landing them in the Isuzu FA Trophy semi-finals it was nearly Altrincham’s year. Unfortunately, they were knocked out 3-2 on penalties by a tough match against Halifax Town that was 1-1 after 90 minutes. We wish them well on the rest of the season for the National League and hope to see them at Wembley one day!

On Saturday 1st April I visited Partington Sports Village to see first-hand the session taking place by one of our hirers – Cerebral Palsy United. https:// www.cpunited.co.uk/. They have over 100 children and adults attending football every Saturday between 9am and 2pm, it is a fabulous session and with the help and insight of Michelle the passionate lead in place we will look to learn and grow other disability sessions if we are successful with the second pitch at Partington. We should hear in the next month or so whether the bid has been successful.

Finally, I hope everyone enjoyed the bank holiday weekend, whether you were celebrating Ramadan, Easter, or just the lovely sunshine! As a reminder, please SAVE THE DATE: Saturday 29th July Staff BBQ and Rounders. I hope to see as many of you there as possible, I promise not to be too competitive.