Council's New Leisure Arm- Active Torridge - commence key appointments in personnel and staffing structure

Active Torridge was established by Torridge Councillors in the autumn of last year as a new body that will take over the running and expansion of leisure services in the district from its previous contractor 1610. On the heel of appointments to the board of directors Matthew Wright has also joined to lead the senior management team as Head of Leisure Operations for the fledgling organisation.

Matthew brings with him over 16 years of experience within the leisure industry in a variety of senior roles, including having previously managed a number of large leisure centres in Exeter and North Devon. While his future role will be to lead the new organisation when Active Torridge takes over from 1610 in April 2022, his current focus will be as the project manager overseeing the transition process.

The team under Matthew's direction are already assessing the condition of buildings and plant, and obtaining quotes for new equipment. Corporate colour schemes and logo's that will be incorporated into the fabric of the buildings and staff uniforms are also being finalised. Existing 1610 staff will be given the opportunity to transfer to the new organisation and join the journey. The team will also be embarking on work to consider the future offer at the various sites operating under the Active Torridge umbrella and how services will be delivered.

Head of Leisure Operations at Active Torridge - Matthew Wright said:

"Having grown up as a regular user of Torridge's leisure facilities, I am excited to have started my new role and have the opportunity to shape the future of leisure provision in the district. The strategic aims of Active Torridge genuinely resonate with me, and I believe my successful background within both sport development and commercially run community leisure will allow me to ensure the future success, accessibility and sustainability of the leisure services for the local communities that rely on them. I'm looking forward to the challenge of delivering a first class service for our residents"

Councillor Cheryl Cottle-Hunkin - Lead Member for Community Culture and Leisure said:

"I'm really pleased to welcome Matthew to his new role and think his experience and track record will make a really positive contribution to our ambitions for leisure across the district. Good progress is being made on all aspects of the transition and we hope to continue to share our plans with users and the wider public as details are finalised. While there's a lot to do we now have a growing team in place to help deliver all of this and make a positive difference to people's health and wellbeing."

26 January 2022