Craven District Council’s Sports Development service has been placed in the top seven of such schemes in the country.

The service recently went through a Quest re-accreditation, a quality assurance scheme for the sports sector. It scored 85% giving it an “Excellent” rating based on the Quest standards. This moves the service up from its previous rating of “Highly Commended” in 2006.

It is a real achievement to be ranked in the top seven in the country for sports development

Ken Hart - Lead Member for Culture and Sport

This is the 4th year that the sports development service has been Quest accredited and sees an 8% rise in performance since the last assessment.

The service is run single-handedly by Bruce Dinsmore, sports development officer. He works across the District with over 100 sports clubs and facilities to raise participation and improve the quality of sports provision. There is a range of services to support this work from Grant Aid to funding advice, training courses to project development. Bruce has also led on the production of the 5 year “Craven on the Move” sports strategy and the Active Craven network which supports delivery of the strategy.

The Quest assessor praised the service for its management and political support, as well as making useful recommendations on how the service can continue to improve and develop.

Councillor Ken Hart (Independent), Lead Member for Culture and Sport, said: “It is a real achievement to be ranked in the top seven in the country for sports development and Bruce must be applauded for all his hard work and dedication. Without him Craven wouldn’t be able to offer this fantastic service which has had a positive impact on the health of and exercise taken by residents across the district.”

For further information contact Bruce Dinsmore, sports development officer on 01756 706391 or email: bdinsmore@cravendc.gov.uk.