Presentation and Vibrancy

5.

Ordinary Meeting - 29 June 2016

PRESENTATION AND VIBRANCY

5.1

COMMERCIAL FITNESS OPERATOR POLICY

Document Information
Authors

Patrick Jess, Manager Active and Healthy Communities

Alicia OBrien, Planning and Policy Officer

Responsible
Director

Michael Smyth, Acting Director Community Wellbeing

Summary/Purpose
To seek Council endorsement of the Commercial Fitness Operator Policy and
implementation of a twelve month trial period.
Policy Context
Council Plan Reference:
Council Plan 2013 2017 (2015-2016 Update)
Theme 3 - Presentation and Vibrancy
3.1 Greater Bendigo has attractive and accessible parks, public places and
streetscapes that are widely used, and enable people to be healthy and active
3.1.2 Implement community strategies, policies and projects that support active
healthy living, including updating the planning framework and applying the
results of the Active Living Census.
Strategy Reference:
Greater Bendigo Public Health and Wellbeing Plan 2013-2017
The Greater Bendigo Public Health and Wellbeing Plan (2013 2017) identified the
strategic direction: Our community's health and wellbeing improves over time.
Actions to achieve this strategic direction include:

Physical Activity - Provide community-based sport and recreation programs, projects

and services to encourage and promote better health and wellbeing outcomes for the
community by:
Updating Facilitating Healthy and Active Lifestyles Framework;
Use local health indicator data and the results of the Healthy Living Survey, for future
planning.
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Regional Strategic Plan Reference:

Loddon Mallee Regional Strategic Plan 2015-18
Theme 3 - Enhance the wellbeing and economic participation of our people
3.2 Improve community health and wellbeing through strategies that promote
good health.
Theme 4 - Protect and enhance the liveability and appeal of our region
4.8 Support thriving arts, culture, sports, recreation and major events.
Background Information
In 2012 Council endorsed the City of Greater Bendigo Sport and Leisure Framework for
Facilitating Active and Healthy Lifestyles. The framework was developed to guide
Council and its staff in the provision of community sport and leisure opportunities of the
future.
A key action within the framework was to better understand local needs by way of a
population survey. In 2014 the Active Living Census was undertaken and completed by
17,437 people, making this the largest response to any survey ever conducted by the
City. The Census holds important information about a range of health indicators for
Greater Bendigo residents, including activity levels and participation in organised sport
and leisure opportunities.
Another key action was the development and implementation of a suite of policies to
outline Councils position on a range of matters to do with the provision of sport and
leisure opportunities across the municipality.
A rise of outdoor fitness activities in recent years has triggered the development of the
Commercial Fitness Operator Policy (Attachment 1) as a priority as part of this suite of
policies. The City of Greater Bendigo (the City) does not currently have a formally
adopted system in place to manage operators conducting fitness activities on public land.
During 2015/16 the City has undertaken a process to develop a draft Commercial Fitness
Operator Policy, in consultation with the community, including the general public, fitness
operators, Fitness Australia and internal stakeholders.
There is a desire and need for a regulation system from both commercial fitness
operators and the general public. The rise in outdoor fitness activity is a positive health
and wellbeing outcome, however this should be balanced with the competing demands
of all users of public open space. The policy aims to manage these activities in a manner
that balances industry needs, provides protection of natural assets and maintains
community access and amenity.

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Report
A key component in achieving Councils vision of Working together to be Australias most
liveable regional city is facilitating a range of opportunities for the community to be
physically active, to improve health and wellbeing outcomes.
Greater Bendigo is rated amongst the worst in the state of Victoria when it comes to
physical activity rates. It has a high rate of inactive adult residents, with 8.3% of adults
reporting they did not undertake any physical activity in the previous week. The Victorian
Population Health Survey (VPHS) 2011-12 shows that only 4 Victorian municipalities
have a higher rate of inactive residents than Greater Bendigo.
The City is committed to improving the health of residents and accordingly, is developing
targets for improving health in the municipality, including two relating to physical activity.
Local physical activity targets relate to:
Reducing the rate of sedentary / inactive residents
Increasing the rate of residents meeting NHMRC physical activity guidelines
These targets enable progress towards health-related goals to be tracked, and they also
demonstrate the Citys commitment to community health.
The National Health and Medical Research Council have recently updated their
guidelines on recommended levels of physical activity to include not only cardiovascular
activity, but also strength training activities. Of the leisure activities most commonly
undertaken by females, fitness / gym and personal training activities are one of very few
that offer this recommended strength training component. Therefore the provision of
outdoor fitness activities is seen as an important way for people, particularly women, to
meet the guidelines around physical activity.
In Greater Bendigo, participation rates are high in commercial fitness activities such as
fitness/gym and personal training. Fitness operators cater for a variety of residents,
particularly females aged 1849, with one in four young women participating in
fitness/gym, and three times the rate of females as males undertaking personal training
activities.
The Active Living Census results, along with community feedback and fitness industry
trends led to the development of the policy. According to Fitness Australia, Australias
peak health and fitness industry association, one of the most significant recent growth
areas in the Australian Fitness Industry has been the emergence of services offered in
an outdoor setting.
This policy aims to manage a range of activities in a manner that balances industry
needs, provides protection of natural assets and maintains community access and
amenity.
The policy establishes a user agreement system and outlines the conditions of use of the
Citys passive reserves and sporting grounds. The policy applies to all commercial
operators who use public land under the operational control of the City for the provision
of fitness activities for financial gain.

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The main policy structure includes: purpose, policy statement, background, scope and
policy information. The policy has been populated based on community feedback,
research into other local government policies and policy recommendations from Fitness
Australia.
Purpose:
The purpose of this policy is to effectively manage the use of Public Land under the
care, control and management of Council for the purpose of conducting commercial
fitness operations.
Policy statement:
City of Greater Bendigo is committed to working to be Australias most liveable
regional city.
The City recognises that commercial operators offer activities that provide
economic, social and physical wellbeing benefits to the Greater Bendigo
Community.
The objective of this policy is to support suitable commercial fitness activities, whilst
ensuring balance with the rights of all community members to access public land.
Scope:
Commercial operators using public land under the operational control of the City for
the provision of fitness activities for financial gain.
Policy information:
Qualifications and Insurance:
Sets eligibility criteria
Locations:
Passive reserves and sporting grounds
Exclusion zones / restrictions
Activities:
Permissible activities
Excluded activities
Group sizes
User agreement system:
Applications in line with sporting club seasonal agreements process (summer /
winter)
No booking fees for implementation trial period of twelve months.
General conditions

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Priority/Importance:
Developing the draft policy is of high importance as it will contribute to achieving the
Council vision and enable the City to deliver upon actions from the Council Plan 2013
2017 (2015/16 update), specifically:
3.1.2

Implement community strategies, policies and projects that support active

healthy living, including updating the planning framework and applying the
results of the Active Living Census.

Implementation of the policy will assist the City to understand demands on our public
open space: where, when and who is using them. It will also provide clarity to the
community regarding the Citys management of commercial fitness operators.
Extensive consultation has occurred in the development of this policy and there is an
expectation from participants that Council will address the policy in the coming months
Timelines:
The policy establishes a user agreement system, which is in line with the Citys
summer/winter sporting club season agreement process. Fitness Operator applications
will be received on a seasonal basis and user agreements are valid for a 6 month period.
If the Policy and implementation trial is endorsed by Council, applications will be opened
as soon as practical via an online system and ready to align with the seasonal
application process.
The twelve month implementation trial will officially commence 1 October 2016 with the
start of the summer season.
The implementation trial will conclude 30 September 2017 with the conclusion of the
winter season. A policy review, including further community consultation, will occur
following this period, and a report prepared for Councils consideration
Risk Analysis:
Whilst there has been strong support from all stakeholders to develop and implement the
policy, there is still the risk that some fitness operators resisting an uptake of the new
process. The strong engagement process undertaken during the development of the
Draft Policy will help to mitigate this risk.
The twelve month implementation trial with no booking fees aims to achieve maximum
uptake of the new user agreement system, while giving the City the opportunity to review
and analyse the system to evaluate its effectiveness and identify any issues with the
proposal.

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Consultation/Communication
Internal Consultation:
The Policy has been developed with internal input through a range of forums. Internal
consultation dates back to the development of the Sport and Leisure Framework in 2012.
More recently, an internal consultation workshop occurred in February 2015 at which
general support was provided for the proposed direction of a user agreement system.
An internal consultation meeting in October 2015 was attended by officers from various
units across the organisation with a direct stake in the Draft Policy, including Engineering
and Public Space, Environmental Health and Local Laws, and Parks and Natural
Reserves. There was general support, with valuable input regarding the technical policy
components.
External Consultation:
Fitness Australia has been consulted in preparing the Policy to ensure its consistency
with their policy recommendations.
The community consultation process for this project includes engagement with Fitness
Operators via a number of workshops during 2015. These workshops were successful
with attendees identifying a clear and recognised need for the implementation of a
formalised system. A recent feedback forum held in November 2015 was attended by 11
Fitness Operators from 8 businesses. There was overall support of the proposed user
agreement system, with specific feedback including:

Agreement with qualifications and insurance requirements

To consider historical ties to locations when allocating users
Recommended maximum group size of 20
More detail required on permissible and excluded activities
Suggestions on proposed restrictions at key locations

Fitness Operators who were unable to attend the workshop were invited to provide
feedback, with 20 Operators in total engaged.
The community consultation process has also involved the collection of general
community feedback over the past few years. A number of community members have
raised concerns via email and phone regarding Fitness Operators accessing passive
reserves and the impact on community access and amenity. The clear need for a
management system has been put forward by community members
A summary of feedback from the Fitness Operator Forum held November 2015 can be
found in Attachment 2.
During the trial the City will gather feedback from members of the public to determine the
effect of the Policy and if any alterations to the Policy are required. A range of
consultation methods will be used including direct and online engagement, with the
opportunity for members of the public to put in submissions.

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Resource Implications
Administrative duties such as processing bookings and preparing user agreements will
be managed within existing staff resources of the Active and Healthy Communities Unit.
The 12 month trial period will allow time to monitor acceptance or otherwise of the policy
and to gain a clear understanding if any extra resources are required to deliver all
aspects of the policy.
Conclusion
To improve health and wellbeing outcomes the City aims to facilitate a range of sport and
leisure opportunities for enabling the community to be physically active.
The rise in outdoor fitness activity is a positive health and wellbeing outcome, however
this should be balanced with the competing demands of use of public open space.
The Commercial Fitness Operator Policy has been developed to manage these activities
in a manner that balances industry needs, provides protection of natural assets and
maintains community access and amenity.
The policy establishes a user agreement system and outlines the conditions of use of the
Citys passive reserves and sporting grounds.
This report seeks Councils endorsement of the policy and approval to implement the
policy for a trial period of 12months.
Attachments
1. Commercial Fitness Operator Policy
2. Fitness Operator Forum Feedback Summary
RECOMMENDATION
That Council:
1. Endorse the Commercial Fitness Operator Policy.
2. Approve an implementation trial period of twelve months with no booking fees,
commencing as soon as practical.
3. Consult with members of the public during the trial to determine the effect of the
Policy.
4. Receive a report on the outcomes of the trial period upon its completion.

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