Preston Council’s Sports Development Team has been awarded the highest rating in the country in a UK wide Quality Assurance Assessment (QUEST). The assessment monitors areas such as community engagement, customer relations and partnership working.
The Council’s sports development team has been involved in getting people actively engaged in physical activities around Preston and the team were also heavily involved in Preston’s successful bid to become the European City of Sport in 2012 . In future they will be responsible for organising and coordinating events as part of the programme.
Councillor Tom Burns, cabinet member for leisure, said: “This is a fantastic achievement and reflects the hard work and dedication that the team has put in.
“When we first started participating in the scheme in 2000, we scored a rating of 75%. In our recent assessment we scored a fantastic 98% which is the highest rating ever achieved by any council.
“Despite our relative size, to outperform every other council in the country, many of whom have much larger budgets, resources and more staff, is a testament to the hard work of the team.”
QUEST sports development unites are measured on factors like management, community engagement, research, marketing and partnerships.