M/Jun 2024 . £8 www.paf-media.co.uk Padel power The world’s fastest growing sport comes to the UK Also in this issue: Interview with Mark Bjornsgaard Founder of Deep Green on slashing carbon emissions and heating pools Bridging the fitness, gender and ethnic diversity gap How a local charity is improving the health of the community
paf-media.co.uk 3 leader The growth of UK padel We look at the growth of the fastest growing sport in the UK. (p 14-16) Editor Helen Adkins Sales director Julian Walter Production Nicola Cann Design Sandra Cid Managing director Toby Filby Publishers Stable Publishing Limited SBC House, Restmor Way, Wallington, Surrey SM6 7AH, England. t. 020 8288 1080 f. 020 8288 1099 e. info@stable-media.co.uk www.paf-media.co.uk The publishers do not necessarily agree with views expressed by contributors and cannot accept responsibility for claims made by manufacturers and authors, nor do they accept any responsibility for any errors in the subject matter of this publication. A crucial crossroads for the industry AS the upcoming general election looms large on the horizon, the health and physical activity industry finds itself at a crucial crossroads. With health and wellness becoming increasingly prioritised in public discourse, the next government will undoubtedly play a pivotal role in shaping the future of our nation's fitness infrastructure. From gyms and leisure centres to sports complexes and community health hubs, these spaces play a vital role in promoting physical activity, enhancing public health and fostering community cohesion. Yet, despite their importance, the UK lags behind in physical activity levels (currently 11th in Europe), and faces tough challenges such as rising obesity rates, sedentary lifestyles and increasing levels of ill-health. Charitable initiatives like the Sähëlï Hub (p 24) are a wonderful example of how community spaces are making strides in narrowing the gender and ethnic diversity gap in physical activity, and underscore the potential for our industry to drive positive change. The same can be said of ukactive’s Opening School Facilities initiative (p 12), which has reached more than 168,000 children and young people, and more than 50,000 local residents, during its second year alone, giving local people the opportunity to access a wide range of physical activities on school premises. There is, however, more work to be done and addressing the health challenges we currently face will be paramount for any new government. This includes investing in new facilities, promoting inclusivity and accessibility, and encouraging healthier lifestyle behaviours among the population, all crucial as we navigate the challenges of recent years. Ultimately, the health and fitness industry has the potential to play a transformative role in improving the health and wellbeing of our nation. By working together with policymakers, industry stakeholders and community leaders, we can create a future where everyone has access to the resources they need to lead happy, healthy and fitter lives. Helen Adkins Editor helen.adkins@stable-media.co.uk SUPPORTED BY
paf-media.co.uk 5 contents paf-media.co.uk 07 News Sport England launches its first-ever environmental sustainability strategy, which includes new investment to help the sector respond to climate change. Ukactive and partners’ Opening School Facilities (OSF) initiative has reached more than 168,000 children and young people, and more than 50,000 local residents, in its second year. 14 The rise of Padel In recent years, a new sport has been making waves across the United Kingdom, capturing the attention of both seasoned athletes, recreational players and entrepreneurs. We find out more. 18 Q&A with Mark Bjornsgaard We talk to the founder of London-based tech disruptor Deep Green about recapturing computer heat for social good and the £200m investment from Octopus Energy to scale-up its technology. 23 Project: Wood Wharf project Third Space, one of London's premier fitness and health club, has launched its latest venture in Wood Wharf. We look at what’s on offer. 25 Birmingham’s fitness charity Sähëlï Hub This Birmingham charity is dedicated to narrowing the gender and ethnic diversity gap in physical activity, and aimed at extending the lives of people with some of the UK’s poorest health outcomes. 27 Event preview: Paf forum 2024 The paf forum 2024 promises a stellar line-up of speakers and a focus on the future of physical activity, including the impact of AI, sustainability, mental health spaces and 2024 trends. 29 LinkLocker and eLocker partnership LinkLockers’ new partnership with eLocker hails a cutting-edge smart locker solution to its customer base. 33 Condensing pressure jet boilers For leisure facilities, especially those with swimming pools, Charlie Mowbray, senior product manager for Ideal Heating – Commercial suggests a condensing pressure jet boiler for minimal emissions. inside this issue
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THE Royal Life Saving Society UK’s (RLSS UK) National Pool Lifeguard Qualification (NPLQ) has been approved for Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) tariff points from May 2024, to enhance the appeal of lifeguarding among students and alleviate lifeguard shortages across the UK and Ireland. Lifeguard shortages remain a critical issue in the health and fitness industry. According to CIMSPA’s 2023 Workforce Insights Report, lifeguarding ranks among the most soughtafter skills by employers, with 40% of job postings for sports and leisure assistants in 2022 requiring lifeguarding expertise. Statistics from RLSS UK’s 2023 Lifeguard Survey demonstrate the popularity of lifeguarding among students, with two-thirds of the 2,456 current lifeguards surveyed enrolled in full or part-time education. An overwhelming 96% of lifeguards intending to go to college or university in the next two years are interested in continuing their lifeguarding duties alongside their studies. ‘The enduring appeal of lifeguarding among 16 to 21-year-olds presents a huge opportunity for pool operators struggling with ongoing recruitment and retention challenges. Lifeguarding is already a popular choice for students going on to further and higher education. Gaining UCAS points with the NPLQ will make it even more appealing to students and hopefully help address lifeguard shortages nationwide,’ says Jo Talbot, commercial director from RLSS UK. Elevated to a Level 3 qualification and officially registered with UCAS, the NPLQ now carries eight UCAS Tariff points valid from May 2024. Several other RLSS UK Level 3 qualifications are also on the UCAS Register, including First Aid at Work, sometimes combined with the NPLQ and offered by pool operators, carrying even more UCAS Tariff points. www.rlss.org.uk/national-poollifeguard-qualification University UCAS points to be given for lifeguard qualification paf-media.co.uk 7 news COUNCILLORS and officers from Hyndburn Borough Council met with Alliance Leisure and members of the ISG construction team to celebrate the start of works on the new, state-of-the -art leisure and sports complex on Wilson Playing Fields in Clayton-le-Moors. Funded by Hyndburn Borough Council as part of the borough’s leisure transformation plans, and developed by Alliance Leisure through the UK Leisure Framework, facilities will include a four-lane, 25 metre swimming pool, a fitness suite, a sauna, steam room and a group exercise studio, as well as a café and changing facilities. In addition to the many social, health and wellbeing benefits Wilson’s Sports Village will deliver to the community, the new building will also optimise energy efficiencies. Air source heat pumps, solar panels and the utilisation of the very latest low and zero carbon technologies will support the council’s carbon reduction strategy and ambitions. Tom Gardner, business development manager at Alliance Leisure, said: ‘We have assembled a brilliant team with vast experience in leisure development to deliver this project. Partners include principal contractor ISG, with lead design delivery by Pozzoni architects. Bradshaw, Gass & Hope will contribute the structural design requirements and CGP MEP the MEP design. Together we will build a facility that provides an energy efficient sporting hub for the community to enjoy for many generations.’ Works are being delivered through the UK Leisure Framework, owned by Denbighshire Leisure Limited (DLL), in full consultation with Hyndburn Borough Council, supported by Hyndburn Leisure and Sport England. Wilson’s Sports Village is expected to fully open in the spring of 2025. www.allianceleisure.co.uk www.hyndburnbc.gov.uk Construction begins on £12m Clayton-Le-Moors sports village Cllr Marlene Haworth, leader of the council (with the spade), along with other representatives from the council and the project team at the official ground breaking ceremony Image: ©Alliance
World’s largest Pilates brand announces third UK studio CLUB Pilates plans to open Wapping studio this summer, following the successful launch of first two UK studios in London’s Bankside and Fulham Broadway. As the largest global network of Pilates studios that offer low-impact, full-body Reformer-based workouts, the announcement follows news that Club Pilates now has 1,000 studios. As the brand pushes on with a significant franchise rollout in the UK, the long-term ambition is to launch between 50 and 75 UK Club Pilates studios over the next three to five years. The Wapping studio, on Gauging Square, will be owned and operated by fitness and wellness firm Deblankson Fitness Group, led by founder Richard Uku, who owns the Master Franchise License for Club Pilates in the UK. Richard said: ‘Despite Pilates and particularly Reformer Pilates booming in London and across the UK, there are not many Pilates studios in the area, so we’re looking forward to serving the local community with a unique and engaging workout experience that’s a fantastic alternative to traditional gym workouts.’ The Wapping location was chosen due to the area’s wider business network, where partnerships may be tapped with synergetic businesses to grow the studio’s customer base from the off. The concept, which was founded in 2007, has revolutionised the global fitness landscape by offering full-body Reformer-based workouts that innovatively integrate a mix of cardio, strength and interval style training, suitable for all ages and fitness levels. The brand distinguishes itself by enhancing the 50-minute class experience with 11 different pieces of equipment, including the EXO Chair, Bosu Ball, Triggerpoint, TRX, Barre and more. Notably, Club Pilates is also the first Pilates organisation to introduce a proprietary 500-hour teacher training programme. The UK rollout is expected to create up to 900 new jobs nationwide across key territories such as London, Manchester, Leeds, Glasgow and Belfast. www.clubpilates.uk www.clubpilates.uk/franchise 8 paf-media.co.uk news
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10 paf-media.co.uk news Crosby Leisure Centre empowers children with autism through aquatic activities CROSBY Leisure Centre in Merseyside, operated by Parkwood Leisure, has introduced a scheme in partnership with Aiming High Short Breaks to give children with autism access to weekly swim and splash sessions. With access to weekly public swim sessions and monthly Atlantis Splash sessions with the pool inflatables, children with autism have been able to enjoy water-based activities in a supportive environment in order to develop their swimming skills. It has also improved the children’s confidence to explore new activities and develop their social skills. Lee Carnwell, contract manager for Parkwood Leisure, said: ‘We are delighted with the positive impact the scheme is having on these children. It is amazing that this initiative is not only promoting physical activity and improving mental wellbeing but helping to alleviate feelings of anxiety and social isolation often felt by children with autism.’ John Doran, assistant manager of Sefton Councils’ Aiming High team, commented: ‘The Atlantis sessions have been a fantastic addition to the Aiming High programme for many reasons. It has given many of our children, who have been reluctant to join in on swimming and water sessions, the confidence to get involved.’ ‘The distraction of having so much fun on the inflatable has helped their confidence grow and has diminished the anxiety that a lot of disabled children have over trying new venues and activities. It has also given them a pathway to access public swim sessions to help with their swimming skills and social skills. The scheme launched in January 2024 with funding from Equitix Ltd, Waterfront and Parkwood Leisure. Investment for Sport England’s climate change campaign SPORT England has launched its firstever environmental sustainability strategy called Every Move, which includes new investment to help the sport and physical activity sector respond to climate change. The package, worth more than £45 million of new National Lottery funding, builds on the already announced £80 million joint investment by Sport England and the government in the Swimming Pool Support Fund, to make hundreds of swimming pools across the country more environmentally and financially sustainable. The money will be used to help more people get active in nature, restore flooded sports pitches and help sports clubs become sustainable. The announcement comes after new research revealed that three in five adults and children (60%) say extreme weather has had a negative impact on their ability to be active, with one in four of the children negatively affected, citing the cancellation of PE and games lessons. Chair Chris Boardman, said: ‘There is no doubt that our changing climate is already impacting our opportunities, motivation and ability to be active. Extreme weather is increasingly making it difficult for us to live healthy, active lives by creating a ‘doom loop’ where people become less motivated and more fearful of injury, with sporting opportunities increasingly cancelled and disrupted. ‘Without change now, the government’s target to get 3.5 million more people active by 2030 is very much in jeopardy – and our children will be the ones to suffer most. The FA has estimated that 120,000 football games will be lost each year. A third of community pitches are already unplayable for two months of the year due to flooding – and it’s only going to get worse. ‘If places to play are unavailable, people will go and do something other than sport and physical activity, leading to small clubs going under and vital community organisations disbanding.’ www.sportengland.org/guidance-andsupport/sustainability
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12 paf-media.co.uk news Ukactive’s Opening School Facilities programme a success UKACTIVE and partners’ Opening School Facilities (OSF) initiative has reached more than 168,000 children and young people, and more than 50,000 local residents, during its second year. The three-year programme, which will have received up to £57m from the Department for Education by the end of March 2025, was launched in early 2023 to provide funding for schools to open up their facilities outside of the school day, giving pupils and people from the local community more opportunities to move and helping them to access a wider range of physical activities. The programme is overseen by the Active Partnerships National Organisation (APNO), which works closely with three national partners – ukactive, Street Games and the Youth Sport Trust. The participating schools have been selected based on the level of inactivity in the area and they are then supported at a local level by the network of 43 Active Partnerships that covers the whole of England. Figures released on 22 May showed that, between 1 April 2023 and 31 March 2024, a total of 1,467 schools delivered more than 90,000 sport and physical activity sessions for pupils and members of the local community. The partners have ambitions to increase community use further during the third and final year of the programme, ensuring that more local people are aware of and able to use their local school’s facilities as a hub for sport, physical activity and movement. Ukactive is the qualitative evaluation partner for the OSF programme, running from October 2022 to March 2025. During the past year, the ukactive Research Institute held focus groups with 124 young people across primary and secondary school age groups and 35 adults that were connected to the programme (from teachers and staff to activity providers and parents). The evaluation aims to provide a deeper insight into the impact, particularly giving a voice to the young people involved, and to understand some of the more holistic outcomes that physical activity delivers within the programme, such as social interaction, curriculum engagement, and improved wellbeing and life experiences of pupils and staff. The qualitative feedback will be shared with ukactive’s membership to show the role the physical activity sector can play in local communities, with a place-based approach that connects schools with gyms, pools and leisure centres to improve opportunities for children and young people. Popular activities that have been delivered in schools by the teachers, community providers and local clubs have included multi-sport, dance, basketball and table tennis, with swimming and water safety also proving popular. The Active Partnerships network plays a key role in helping tackle the barriers that some groups of people and communities face when it comes to moving more and being active, so OSF funding has been prioritised to projects that encourage women and girls to be more active, those that help disadvantaged and culturally diverse communities, and those supporting people with special educational needs, disabilities or long-term health conditions. Funding is due to end at the end of March 2025. To find out more about Opening School Facilities, visit www.activepartnerships.org
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IN the last few years, the UK has witnessed a remarkable surge in the popularity of padel, a sport that blends elements of tennis and squash. From humble beginnings to a growing presence across the nation, the sport has captured the interest of investors and start-ups, as well as high-profile sports enthusiasts and players from Stormzy, David Beckham and Pep Guardiola to Rafa Nadal, Andy Murray and Serena Williams. Originating in Mexico in the late 1960s, padel quickly gained popularity In Europe – it doesn’t require specialised equipment or training, and is easy to pick up and play, making it accessible to people of all ages, backgrounds and fitness levels. In Spain, where there are now over 30,000 courts, it’s the number one participation sport with the highest levels of female uptake in the country. Yet, in the UK, padel has come relatively late to the party. The first padel courts were built by David Lloyd Leisure in 2011, with the first indoor padel club opening in Canary Wharf in London in 2012. By 2019, there were only 40 public courts in the UK, although things started to rapidly change. According to the LTA Padel, there are now over 450 padel courts across the country, with more in the pipeline. Numerous clubs and organisations are emerging in the UK's padel scene. The Padel Club has revealed its expansion into Trafford City, marking the beginning of its growth strategy. Meanwhile, Surge Padel offers indoor courts across Harrogate, Leeds and Bristol, while Rocket Padel operates facilities in Ilford, Bristol and Battersea. Additionally, the Stratford Padel Club boasts nine indoor courts and a community of over 20,000 registered players, and pride themselves on prioritising player engagement and development, while catering to all skill levels. Mark Hewlett is the operator of Soul Padel, a start-up that has recently secured a six-figure investment to enable it to open a series of community-focused centres across the north west of England. At present, Soul Padel has 27 sites under review, with nine under offer. ‘The sport is at a nascent stage in its growth in the UK and is recognised as the fastest growing sport in the world,’ he says. ‘Padel offers a diversified investment 14 paf-media.co.uk feature The growth of UK padel In recent years, a new sport has been quietly making waves in the UK. Padel, a combination of tennis and squash, is steadily gaining popularity, captivating enthusiasts and drawing in new players. Helen Adkins examines its growth in the UK Mark Hewlett, founder of Soul Padel
opportunity into the rapidly expanding “competitive socialising” sector.’ Passionate about sports, the former retail and healthcare executive realised the potential of padel in the UK following six months of deep research. He cites the sociable aspect of the sport as one of the key reasons for his interest, with a mission to become a community-based padel operator, working with private landlords, local authorities and educational facilities where there is already land zoned for sport, recreation and leisure. ‘What we want to do is work with schools and create school development programmes to bring kids through and educate them in how to play. When you go to Spain and Portugal, padel clubs are the centre of many communities. It's a place to socialise, somewhere to get a drink, relax and have a chat with the friends that you've played with. We want to bring that vibrancy and environment into the Sole Padel concept, so it won't just be a place to go and play padel, but a place to dwell and enjoy yourself.’ Hewlett believes it’s vital to embed the sport at a community level, to get grassroots participation, high levels of female participation and young people onboard. The benefits of padel, he believes, are in its accessibility. The barrier to entry from a cost point of view is quite low because racquets can be hired at most clubs and a lot of clubs offer ‘pay to play’ rather than membership deals. ‘It's a bit more democratised than some of the more traditional sports, where you see hierarchy paf-media.co.uk 15 feature The mechanics of padel Padel is played on a smaller court than tennis (10 metres x 20 metres), enclosed by tempered-glass walls. The enclosed court adds an element of strategy, as players utilise the walls to keep rallies alive and out manoeuvre their opponents – with no overarm serving, it’s considered a game of tactics over power. It can be played in singles or doubles, with players using solid paddles to hit a punctureresistant ball that is pressurised for less bounce. Racquets differ according to player level, with different shapes to match type of play. The game can be played both indoors and outdoors, on a surface made of tarmac, concrete or sand-filled artificial grass. Fitting a padel court is fairly straightforward, according to flooring experts Sprung, whose Dynamic Turf is designed for outdoor use and features drainage holes for water permeability. Padel tiles are also available from Sprung, made from a high-performance polypropylene co-polymer, with an inbuilt drainage system. The installation process uses a soft connection interlocking system with flexible buckles, and the floor requires a suitable substrate with a suitable weed membrane. www.gym-flooring.com ‘What we want to do is work with schools and create school development programmes to bring kids through and educate them in how to play’
and barriers to access,’ he says. Hewlett plans to build indoor courts, despite many courts in the UK being built outside. ‘We don't believe outdoor courts are a sustainable model for the future,’ he explains, ‘for obvious reasons – the weather being one of them.’ At these sites he wants to develop clubs with a clubhouse and other facilities, where a coaching and development programme can be set up, from juniors to seniors, and teams can compete in interclub competitions. ‘I want to create a community of people who are engaged with the club and your brand, who are then going out and connecting with other padel clubs,’ he says. Challenges But padel's expansion hasn't always been smooth sailing. In Sweden, the surge in padel court construction came during the pandemic, as people sought out Covid-safe activities permissible under social distancing guidelines. Thousands of courts sprung up and, at its peak, Sweden boasted 700,000 padel players among its 10 million population. Then, as lockdown measures relaxed and workplaces resumed normal operations, people found less time for the sport, resulting in dwindling court bookings and challenges in maintaining player engagement. By 2022, the Swedish giant We Are Padel announced it was applying for a corporate restructure and looking to close half of its 80 venues. We Are Padel’s CEO Christoffer Lilja resigned from his post and founder Pontus Gustafsson cited ‘profitability challenges in a highly competitive market.’ The UK has many lessons to learn from Sweden’s over-saturated padel market, according to Stockholm-based Slazenger AB CEO Niclas Rodin. The UK’s padel industry is growing at a similarly fast pace, and Rodin says padel investors in the UK must ‘look and learn from Sweden’ to ensure venues’ profitability is sustainable. Hewlett is confident, however, that this won’t be the case in the UK: ‘The growth in the UK is happening at a much slower rate, which I think is more sustainable than the kind of rapid growth the Scandinavian market experienced. I think growth has plateaued slightly here, so it’s the time to find a level in the UK where it will be successful and sustainable.’ ‘The sport’s awareness is growing in the UK, but there’s still a long way to go,’ he continues. ‘I’d say it’ll be another ten years before padel is recognised as a mainstream sport in this country. My aspiration is to bring the sport to a broader audience and hopefully get padel to a point where it's a mass participation sport in the UK. But there are challenges.’ Securing suitable properties and their affordability can pose significant stumbling blocks, as the planning and development process in the UK is often hindered by lengthy planning permission. Some operators have even encountered obstacles when attempting to convert tennis courts into padel courts, further illustrating the complexities involved in navigating regulatory requirements. Despite these challenges, however, ongoing investments in infrastructure and grassroots development are expected to contribute to a steady increase in the number of padel enthusiasts in the coming years. The enthusiasm among players, investment from various stakeholders and strategic vision of entrepreneurs like Hewlett highlight a promising trajectory for padel in the UK. Through concerted efforts to address obstacles and leverage the sport's appeal, the future of padel in the UK seems optimistic, with continued growth and integration into the nation's sporting landscape on the horizon. www.soulpadel.co.uk www.lta.org.uk/play/ways-toplay/padel 16 paf-media.co.uk feature ‘The UK’s padel industry is growing at a similarly fast pace, and Rodin says padel investors in the UK must ‘look and learn from Sweden’ to ensure venues’ profitability is sustainable’
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Utilising the heat generated by data servers, which in turn receives free cooling, is an innovative solution for the leisure industry. How did you come up with the idea? Well, we didn't – at least I didn’t. It was actually Microsoft who wrote a white paper called The Data Furnace – Heating Up with Cloud Computing in in 20111. They coined the phrase ‘data furnace’ and asked how one could capture the heat that's given off from computers. Then, eight years ago, we were working with British Gas on another business and we were literally sitting in a pub with one of our technical crew – a proper physics genius – who told us about this technology where you can immerse computers in oil and capture the heat from them. That’s how it started – he’d actually read the white paper. Can you explain, for someone who is not tech savvy, how the system works? So, normal data centres are usually located in an office block. You might have a data centre that's just in a cupboard or it’s just a rack of computers – most of the world’s data centres are like that. Then there are data centres that are in unfathomably large buildings – the Microsoft, Amazon and Google data centres – full of millions of computers and using up to 100 megawatts of power, which is the equivalent of heating thousands of homes. In this country, 2% of our electricity supply goes to powering data centres, while in Ireland, for instance, it’s 14% because they have tax breaks and have allowed those big companies to build data centres there. These data centres have computers that are brilliant at turning electricity into heat. Around 97% of the electricity that goes into a computer comes out as heat and all these big data centres just throw that heat into the atmosphere. For instance, for every query you put into chat GPT, it takes a pint of water to cool it. So, data centres are consuming electricity and water, and are basically an environmental disaster, which is why Microsoft writes its white paper 14 years ago and thinks, maybe we should do something about this. Enter people like us. We also build data centres, but they are way smaller and not in massive barns in the middle of nowhere. Ours are the size of a shipping container, but we’re taking all the heat those computers generate and, instead of spewing it into the atmosphere, we’re capturing it and giving it to a leisure centre to heat their pool, for free. How are those big data centres going to be persuaded to use the heat instead of releasing it into the atmosphere? If you're Google, Amazon or Microsoft, you've won the cloud computing game. So when you book your flights on EasyJet or you do your banking, that all UK-based Deep Green is a data centre company that repurposes the heat generated by computers for swimming pools. Following the recent investment of £200 million from Octopus Energy, Helen Adkins talked to the founder Mark Bjornsgaard about the system, the challenges and his plans for the future 18 paf-media.co.uk interview Mark Bjornsgaard
happens in those big barns. So if you're those companies, you think brilliant, the world's amazing. The trouble is, the world's changing very fast, so there's a whole new wave of businesses who are going to leapfrog the Googles and Amazons and get data centres like us, because it's better for the environment, it's cheaper and it's faster. There are also some really big players who have realised that, while the data centre industry has got the right infrastructure for now, it’s got the wrong infrastructure for the future. The important thing is, this is going to become legislation very soon. By 2025 in Germany, you're not going to be allowed to build a data centre unless you recapture the heat – same with France and the Scandis (who are really good at this stuff). The Scottish government will also soon be announcing that you're not going to allow to build a data centre unless you're reusing the heat – although given all the press we’re seeing around the Scottish government failing on their sustainability targets, it is a moot point. The bad thing for the Scottish government is that everyone thinks Scotland is now the new Ireland. Basically, data centres have sprawled over Ireland and they've sucked up all the electricity and can't build any more. So now the big data centre operators are looking to Scotland and thinking, oh brilliant, we're just going to go and build in Scotland. It was also reported in the Financial Times that Iceland have built all these data centres and now, because you can't turn the data centres off, the people in the fishing villages are having to go back to diesel generators because there's not enough electricity. So what does the investment from Octopus mean for Deep Green? Everything. It's a massive amount of money. Octopus were one of five companies that offered us investment. They called us on the same day we were on TV and Radio 4. Their brand is amazing, they understand energy and they are very rich. We’ve only financed the heating of one pool so far, in Exmouth Leisure Centre. That cost two million pounds and was pretty much everything we had in the bank. So, nobody could really do this on their own, but now we’ve got the investment, we are going to move very fast. You know, there’s no technology risk because people have been building data centres for 30 years, and there's no engineering risk because it's just a heat exchange. Our actual technology is super simple, so the whole game is basically about the capital deployment. That's why we went with Octopus, because it's an infrastructure fund and they've got billions, and we need billions. And we are better off going into places like leisure centres compared to a normal data centre, because in a normal data centre, for every pound it spends powering the computer, it spends another 50p cooling it down. With this system, we don't have that cooling cost. So the pools are actually doing us a favour. We've obviously framed it like we're being really magnanimous and that we're giving this free heat away, but the truth is that it’s the other way round. How many pools have applied to Deep Green and how do you prioritise? Is there a set of criteria that must be met? We have to make sure that the legal and technical work with the council is in order, as well as with the operator, and that the pool is ‘The trouble is, the world's changing very fast so there's a whole new wave of businesses who are going to leapfrog the Googles and Amazons and get data centres like us, because it's better for the environment, it's cheaper and it's faster’ paf-media.co.uk 19 interview Deep Green’s Exmouth Leisure Centre installation
20 paf-media.co.uk interview the right size and has enough power for the data centre. All in all, there's a really long spreadsheet of all the variables that we kind of score a pool against, which includes whether there is enough fibre optics and whether we could put solar panels on the roof. Then it’s up to the council and the pool about how keen they are and how much they want us to land. There are about four and a half thousand swimming pools in the UK and we’ve spoken to about 30% of those, but there are only about five operators. The question then becomes how quickly the council can move. Some are super keen and efficient, so we're prioritising the councils who are good at turning around the legals. After that, it takes three months of planning and three months to build. There’s no cost to them and, apart from the legals, they don’t have to do anything. And we make money running the data centre. We have around 900 pools in the pipeline at the moment, and we’re certainly trying to prioritise all the pools that might be in distress and about to close. They will get to the top of the queue. So where do you think you’ll be in 10 years’ time? We hope that we'll be heating all of the pools of the UK for free by then, as well as delivering millions of pounds worth of free heat into community assets, so councils spend that money wisely somewhere else. That's our mission. www.deepgreen.energy/host-a-datacentre References 1. www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/publication/thedata-furnace-heating-up-with-cloud-computing ‘So the pools are actually doing us a favour. We've obviously framed it like we're being really magnanimous and that we're giving this free heat away, but the truth is that it’s the other way round.’
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LOCATED within the vibrant 23-acre Wood Wharf District in Canary Wharf, Third Space has opened its latest fitness and health club. Designed to foster wellness and relaxation, Wood Wharf Club boasts a futuristic ambiance, flooded with natural light. The club features a state-of-the-art sauna, a steam room and a hydropool, in addition to an experience shower, a cafe and a residents' lounge. Building on the success seen in Wimbledon and Mayfair, the Wood Wharf Club introduces Tower Reformer classes, incorporating a trapeze-like element to offer a dynamic yet low-impact workout experience. Mind and body wellness are further emphasised with a dedicated Hot Yoga studio and a 20m swimming pool, as well as an open-plan, multi-functional gym floor equipped with Eleiko free weights, elite lifting racks, sled tracks, cardio equipment, Watt Bikes and stretch areas. Designed by London-based architecture firm Studio RHE, the club offers originality while staying true to the club's philosophy of providing outstanding fitness spaces. The launch sets the stage for the unveiling of additional clubs in Battersea and Clapham Junction in the summer of 2024. Third Space has also introduced Wharf membership, which allows existing members to have dual access to both locations, giving access to an expanded timetable of 120 classes weekly. Colin Waggett, CEO of Third Space said: ‘The opening of Wood Wharf allows us to elevate the experience of our longstanding Wharf members, offering them a unique balance of scale and intimacy, which serves their increasingly holistic and multi-faceted approach to fitness. At the same time, the new club creates fresh capacity for us to welcome new members to the Third Space community, to experience the outstanding spaces which will inspire them to reach their personal best. ‘The Mind and Body spaces in Wood Wharf, in particular, will truly elevate the Wharf experience. We know that our members have an increasing desire for lower-impact, restorative ways to move their bodies, and the dedicated Reformer Pilates and Hot Yoga studios at Wood Wharf will help our members to escape the noise of the city and immerse themselves in a luxury fitness oasis.’ www.thirdspace.london paf-media.co.uk 23 project Third Space, renown as one of London's premier fitness and health club, has launched its latest venture in Wood Wharf. We find out more About Third Space Founded in 2001 with a first club on the Crown Estate in Soho, Third Space has grown to ten locations; Canary Wharf, City, Tower Bridge, Islington, Soho, Mayfair, Marylebone, Moorgate, Wimbledon and Wood Wharf. Ranging in size from 11,000 sq ft (Mayfair) to 100,000 sq ft (Canary Wharf), the clubs offer state-of-the-art fitness and training, centred around group classes, equipment and personal training. Facilities which vary from site to site including swimming pools, spas, medical centres, climbing walls and altitude chambers. Hot yoga studio The pool The multi-functional gym Pilates studio
24 paf-media.co.uk community Creating fitness for communities A charity dedicated to narrowing the gender and ethnic diversity gap in physical activity has launched a community wellbeing space, aimed at extending the lives of people with some of the UK’s poorest health outcomes. We find out more SINCE its inception in 1998 as part of Birmingham’s Balsall Heath Forum initiative, the Sähëlï Women’s Group (SWG) has been dedicated to addressing the health and wellness needs of the local community. Recognising the importance of culturally sensitive spaces for women to engage in health and fitness activities, as well as the prevalence of common health issues among Asian, Black and minority ethnic groups, SWG embarked on a journey to establish culturally sensitive health and fitness centres. In collaboration with The Digbeth Trust, SWG conducted a feasibility study that highlighted the need for a facility tailored to the needs of local Muslim women. Thus, the Sähëlï Hub was born, aiming to provide health and fitness sessions, aerobic classes and lifestyle information within a culturally appropriate setting. Naseem Akhtar, the founder of Sähëlï Hub, stresses the significance of addressing health inequalities prevalent in the community, particularly among South Asian populations: ‘When the men and women in our community get to their sixties, we start to worry because they have much lower life expectancy than their middle-class counterparts living just two to three streets away. South Asians have the highest level of diabetes in the city – diabetes is the most common health issue among Asian, Black and minority ethnic groups in the UK – and also suffer higher than average rates of cardiovascular disease because of diet, poverty, and because they are least likely to access standard health and fitness facilities.’ Diabetes prevention One of the key initiatives at Sähëlï Hub is the Culturally Appropriate Prevention of Diabetes (CAPD) programme, which supports residents in reducing their risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Through separate sessions for men and women, the programme promotes inclusivity and participation in healthpromoting activities. In 2004, SWG piloted women-only exercise classes, which were run by women, locally based, fully accessible and offering sessions at convenient time. Subsequent funding from Sport England's Active England fund (£218,252 for capital costs to extend the library into a fully functioning gym, and £159,00 for staff and running costs over 3 years) enabled the expansion of facilities, culminating in the launch of the Adventure Hub in 2006. This hub had a fully functioning health and fitness facility with over 20 pieces of exercise equipment, changing rooms and a wooden sprung floor for exercise classes. Since then, Sähëlï Hub has grown into a strategic partner working with The Active Well Being Society and its partners to ensure all women have more opportunities to take part in exercise, fitness and sport. In 2018, the charity pioneered social prescribing to provide a wider service for the women in Balsall Heath, Sparkhill and Sparkbrook, as well as Alum Rock Bordesley Green, Small Heath, Ward End, and now in Handsworth, Birchfield and Lozells. The charity supports 3,000 people a year by delivering free, culturally-appropriate physical activity programmes and social clubs in parks, GP surgeries and at two community centres. Since 2001, the hub has engaged with more than 8,000 participants. Of those, 92% are women, 94% are from Global Majority Backgrounds and 89% come from the poorest areas of Birmingham. ‘The men and women we work with ‘There’s still a misconception that Asian men and women don’t enjoy exercise, but by taking a different approach we’ve encouraged people to run half marathons, take up cycling, go quad biking and even wild swimming’
paf-media.co.uk 25 community wouldn’t dream of using mainstream gyms, which are often not culturally appropriate for our community. Our new wellness space will allow people to take control of their health at a level they are comfortable with,’ says Akhtar. Innerva partnership The recent partnership with Innerva represents a significant milestone for Sähëlï Hub. Using Innerva machines, the charity has introduced a nine-piece power-assisted exercise circuit at the Alum Rock Community Centre. Free to use, the new power-assisted exercise circuit from Innerva will offer culturally-sensitive sessions in inner city Birmingham, helping the least active to manage their long-term health conditions. Owned by Clarion Housing Group, the centre sits at the heart of Alum Rock in Birmingham, a city where Clarion owns and manages thousands of homes. The centre acts as a meeting place for local residents, as well as a space for events and activities. Sähëlï Hub moved into the site in early 2023, providing the organisation with a home at the heart of the community. ‘We’re delighted to be working alongside a trusted partner like Innerva to positively impact the health and longevity of our community, says Akhtar. ‘There’s still a misconception that Asian men and women don’t enjoy exercise, but by taking a different approach we’ve encouraged people to run half marathons, take up cycling, go quad biking and even wild swimming.’ Liz Wright, sales manager at Innerva, said: ‘We prioritise building partnerships with individuals and organisations committed to making a meaningful impact. After hearing Naseem speak at an event, I was so impressed by her work and authenticity that I had to reach out – her work resonates so strongly with what we are trying to achieve at Innerva. I’m so pleased our initial conversation has evolved into this partnership and I’m excited to see it flourish.’ Matt Parsonage, head of Communities at Clarion Futures (the charitable foundation of Clarion Housing Group) said: ‘Getting active is vital for both physical and mental wellbeing and so we’re delighted to have worked with Sähëlï Hub and Innerva to bring this new wellness space to life. It will make such a difference for local people who may not be comfortable using a mainstream gym, providing a space to exercise, as well as meet new people, which is a big part of the work of Sähëlï Hub.’ As SWG continues its mission to bridge the gap in health and wellness services, partnerships like the one with Innerva are instrumental in realising their vision of a healthier community. Through collaboration and innovation, SWG is paving the way for inclusive and accessible health solutions that benefit individuals from all walks of life. www.info@innerva.com www.saheli.co.uk Naseem Akhtar (left) is the founder of Sähëlï Hub
Buyers Join us to expand your professional network and stay updated on the latest developments in the industry. georgie.smith@stable-events.co.uk Suppliers Meet with the decision makers delivering active projects in the physical activity facilities spectrum. julian@stable-events.co.uk 12th - 13th Sept 2024 The Belfry Hotel & Resort, Warwickshire The physical activity facilities forum provides the perfect environment for owners, operators, local authorities, architects, contractors across sports and leisure to meet with leading industry suppliers, in a relaxed, sociable environment to create lasting business relationships. Tel: 020 8288 1080 www.paf-forum.co.uk meet. connect. do business. Creating meaningful connections in business Pre-scheduled 1-2-1 meetings Select who you want to meet! Receive a bespoke meeting schedule prior to the forum, plus a printed directory with all attendee details. Gain industry knowledge Get exclusive entry to informative seminars, hosted by industry leading professionals discussing key topics in the industry. Extensive networking After a busy day of meetings, naturally extend your relationships over lunches, coffee breaks and networking drinks.
paf-media.co.uk 27 event preview paf 2024 The countdown is on to this year’s physical activity facilities forum, the ultimate meetings and networking event for the sports, health, fitness and wellness industry. SUPPORTED by event partner ukactive, as well as Leisure DB and the API, this mustattend event is for all those involved in the design, build, management and supply of sports, play, recreation and leisure facilities. Each year we bring together the operators, local authorities, project managers, architects, contractors and other senior level professionals looking to enhance their schemes and improve their supply chains. This September, the forum will be offering hours of networking, discussions and debate, focussing on the key issues for the industry, finding out how challenges are being met and the emerging trends. In addition to watching seminars, and discovering more about the latest innovations, products and services, you will get the opportunity to network and do business with your peers, as well as to meet new manufacturers and suppliers. Furthermore, the paf forum continues to attract leading industry professionals to its seminar programme, who share their knowledge and experience, giving delegates the opportunity to learn from best practice to advance their business. This year’s theme is: What is the future of physical activity? Our topics will include: • The impact of AI • The integration of health and wellbeing • Sustainability targets, where we ask how are they being achieved? • Developing spaces that consider mental health • Getting active outdoors • 2024 trends – padel, hybrid training and more. Register your interest at: www.paf-forum. co.uk/projectdelegates/registration-form or email georgie.smith@stable-events.co.uk Supplier delegates, please contact julian@stable-events.co.uk or call 020 8288 1080 Got something to share? We’re finalising our speaker line-up and would be pleased to receive a proposal from you! Send your presentation to our delegate relations manager georgie.smith@stableevents.co.uk for consideration. www.paf-forum.co.uk What: paf 2024 Where: The Belfry Hotel and Resort, Warwickshire When: 21 and 22 September 2024 A hole-in-one networking event! For the golfers in our community, on the day before the event (11th September), we are also offering you the opportunity to play a round of golf on the prestigious PGA course. What better way to do business than on the green.
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