Madeley Partnership Update 9th January 2023

Over the past 3 years Taste for Life (a trading division of Everybody Health and Leisure (Everybody)), have provided a café, catering and events service at the Madeley Centre in partnership with Madeley Rural Community Charity (MRCC).

This time last year MRCC and Everybody agreed that Everybody would extend its support and undertake a full management service for the Centre from February 2022 with the arrangement being reviewed at the end of 2022. That review has now taken place and MRCC and Everybody have mutually decided that, given the slow financial recovery of events and room hire, the current model of fully outsourcing the management of the Centre is not financially viable and as such the operating model from the 1^st April 2023 will revert back to MRCC operating the Centre directly with a Centre Manager in situ. This will involve MRCC taking on full management of the Café.

Everybody and MRCC will work together to ensure that there will be no disruption to service for our customers.

Everybody Health and Leisure, CEO Thomas Barton, stated; “we have been pleased to support the Madeley Centre over the past few years, and in particular this last year, working together in ensuring optimum operational management and exploring future opportunities for the Centre.  This exploration work has led us to jointly decide that the community can best be served if the Centre is managed on a day to day basis by local trustees and staff. We will continue to support the MRCC from afar and wish the Madeley Centre every success for the future.”

Mike Brereton, Chairman of Madeley Rural Community Charity explained “on behalf of the MRCC trustees I would like to thank Everybody Health and Leisure for their support over the last year. They stepped in, reviewed our operating procedures and have ensured during the year that we have become fully compliant with the legal and safety requirements needed for the proper operation of the Madeley Centre. We feel that, for the future, the Centre will be best served through staff who are directly managed by the MRCC trustees. We are grateful to Everybody Health and Leisure for their support in ensuring that the transition to the new arrangements will take place seamlessly from April. We look forward to continuing to provide a vibrant community facility for Madeley and our surrounding villages.”

Everybody Sport and Recreation provide enhanced health and wellbeing opportunities for the people in and around Madeley

Everybody currently operates the Taste for Life café which is an integral part of the Madeley Centre and its users. Everybody is really excited to be a part of the local community, and to work together to build on the great foundations that are already in place. Everybody’s plan is to increase footfall of this well used site and to provide more community use and are keen to work with current and new users to do this.

Mike Brereton chair at the Madeley Rural Community Charity shares

 “For the Centre to realise its full potential it needs management with the knowledge and ability to discharge satisfactorily responsibilities in areas which include: finance, employment law, health and safety, marketing, data and other regulatory compliance, facilities management.”

 He continues

The Trustees are outsourcing management to Everybody Sport and Recreation an experienced and highly professional health and wellbeing charity rather than directly employing part-time management staff. The Trustees remain in total control of the use and future of the Centre.

It will take some time for Everybody to increase the income of the Centre and the Trustees expect to incur a loss in the first year of Everybody’s management. However, it is anticipated that by the end of the proposed three year period increased income will result in the Centre being profitable. It is the extra reserves which the Centre has built up over the period of the pandemic which enable this opportunity to be grasped. The Trustees see this as an exciting chance to provide the Centre with all the professional skills needed for the Centre to achieve its full potential as a thriving community and leisure centre.”

Everybody has extended the opening hours of the facility to Monday to Friday 9am – 9pm, and Sunday 9-5pm, with a member of staff on site at all times.

Thomas Barton, Executive Director of Everybody, says :-

“Through the challenging times of the last two years of working within the Madeley Centre, we have found that our values and ethos are very much aligned. A position of already being part of the community in Madeley with our Taste for Life Cafe, and our experience of operating similar community centres, has enabled us to recognise what a vibrant and well used centre it is and how we can work more closely together to ensure that we can build on the already strong foundations with enhanced health and wellbeing opportunities for the people in and around Madeley.” 

Mike Brereton chair at the Madeley Rural Community Charity shares:-

“The Trustees are in no doubt that this is the right way forward for the Centre and brings closer the possibility of the Centre achieving its full potential for the benefit of the whole of the village.”

For news about the Madeley Centre, please visit their website: https://www.madeleycentre.co.uk/ or follow them on Facebook: @madeleystaffordshire