Staff at Hood Park Leisure Centre in Ashby are celebrating after achieving the top banding score for customer service – putting the facility in an elite set of centres nationally.

Hood Park, run by Everyone Active and managed in partnership with North West Leicestershire District Council, was rated 'excellent' following a Quest Prime Assessment.

Quest is a continuous improvement tool for leisure facilities and sports development teams, and is managed by Right Directions in partnership with Leisure-net Solutions, on behalf of Sport England.

In securing an 'excellent' banding score, Hood Park earned a spot in the top two per cent of centres that have undertaken the Prime Assessment module, within 700 centres that are registered to the award.

Hood Park, a popular venue with the public due to its two indoor swimming pools, outdoor lido and state-of-the-art gym, scored highly in many areas within the mystery visit and formal assessment elements.

These included Covid-related protocols and management, cleanliness, customer and community engagement, swimming lessons, staff professionalism, social media delivery and environmental management.

Everyone Active's contract manager, Duncan Gibb, said: "We are delighted with the outcome and believe it is nothing more than the centre and its team deserve.

"The centre has evolved significantly over the past two years despite the impact of the pandemic, with significant levels of investment sitting at the core of that.

"The Quest scheme, however, is very customer focused and as such, high-end facilities alone will not result in an 'excellent' banding being secured.

"This is only achieved through a strong team of staff consistently delivering high standards of customer service to the local community."

Councillor Andrew Woodman, Portfolio Holder for Community Services at North West Leicestershire District Council, said: "It's great to hear that Hood Park Leisure Centre has been recognised for its efforts to provide high-quality services in a Covid-safe environment.

"The investment that has been put into Hood Park has paid off and, with the brand new Whitwick and Coalville Leisure Centre being constructed just off the A511, we can be incredibly proud of how bright the future is for health and wellbeing in North West Leicestershire."