The City of Wolverhampton Council (CWC) owns and operates The Towers Outdoor Residential Pursuits Centre (Towers) near Betws-y-Coed in North Wales. The Towers offers outdoor education activity to school pupils from Wolverhampton and other schools, outside of the Wolverhampton area, to support learning and personal development as outlined in the National Curriculum. The Centre is currently operating at an annual loss in the region of £200k which CWC effectively subsidises. The Council has recognised that it cannot continue to operate the Towers on this basis and committed to a detailed review and future options appraisal to minimise the subsidy element and provide the most appropriate outdoor education offer to the children and schools of Wolverhampton. CIPFA C.Co Ltd was been commissioned to undertake this work.
To determine the most appropriate solution for the Council, and indeed the Towers Outdoor Education Centre, C.Co undertook a combination of engagement with other providers; consultation with customers and non-customers alike; benchmarking against other providers; consultation with employees and other key stakeholders such as the Friends of Towers Group. A pragmatic solution and recommendation was presented back to the Council.
Our experience of change and transformation projects, linked to the commercial agenda, enabled us to develop a Council-led solution that will deliver efficiencies, cashable savings, whilst enable the service to focus on the development of new business and income opportunities, not least the development of a standalone self-catering unit; and will exploit local, North Wales partnerships to support the Towers moving forward. These new opportunities will not detract from core business and if successful will cross-subsidise the core offer to the children and schools of Wolverhampton.
C.Co’s recommendations provide clear focus for the future direction of the Programme and reinvigorated the Partnership. As always it has been constructive and productive to work with C.Co who provide clear momentum to their work.
Cheshire & Warrington Public Sector Transformation – Director of Sub-Regional Transformation
The onsite team proved a good fit for the council. they were helpful and thought provoking, gave a clear challenge in a manner which didn’t feel anything other than a desire to help us improve
DERBYSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL
Working with C.Co on a recent project has been a very positive experience with outcomes that will provide a real benefit to our organization. Their public sector experience meant that issues were quickly understood and the project could hit the ground running and move along seamlessly.
Head of Commercial, Economy & Resources Finance, ROCHDALE BOROUGH COUNCIL
We found working with C.Co to be really valuable in re-energising our LATC project, bringing challenge and experience along with a sense of momentum that will allow us to take forward the recommendations and deliver a successful project.
Operational Manager – Performance & Policy, VALE OF GLAMORGAN
C.Co proved to be one of the most professional companies we have engaged with in a long time. Their professional approach, understanding of the business at all levels, coupled with a proactive style, helped engage staff and bring about the right recommendations for the future.
Head of ICT, CITY OF WOLVERHAMPTON COUNCIL