Council agrees to lead new regional sports partnership

Nicholas Thomas – Local democracy reporter

A council has agreed to lead a new regional sports partnership designed to improve oversight and strategic development.

The Newport City Council joins Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly, Monmouthshire, and Torfaen to form the Active Gwent Sports Partnership.

The new organisation is a Sport Wales initiative to move towards a regional model of governance and delivery, and overall aims to support a Wales-wide national vision for sport.

‘Fair’

Sport Wales funding to local authorities will be pooled on a regional basis, and the new partnership will also include representation from other stakeholders, alongside council members.

This is to “make sure the group has the right mix of skills and represents different views, so they can create a fair and effective plan for the region”, the council explained in a report.

Newport will act as the host authority for the next five years, and will “provide staff, handle paperwork, and manage the partnership’s finances”.

Taking the role of the lead authority in the Gwent partnership does not mean the city council will be involved in setting the region’s strategy or budget, however.

‘Demand’

The council said that according to Sport Wales, “collaborative partnership is essential to each regional model and one size does not fit all, with local nuance of need and demand evident”.

The partnership model will also allow individual councils to “retain the ability to operate independently but also collaborate on shared regional objectives, and share resources, best practice and learning”.

Regional sports partnerships are already established among councils in the north of Wales, those in the west of the nation, and around Cardiff.

The council’s decision to lead the partnership will take effect on October 15, when a call-in deadline expires.