Founded in 2004 by Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council (SBC), Tees Active is a leading charitable trust providing sport, leisure and wellbeing services to the communities of Stockton-on-Tees. It delivers these services principally through six purpose-built venues:
- Billingham Forum
- Splash
- Ingleby Barwick (IB) Leisure Centre
- Thornaby Pavilion
- Thornaby Pool
- Tees Barrage International White Water Rafting Centre
Each serves as a vibrant and welcoming hub of opportunity and wellbeing in the areas of the borough where they are situated.
At the core of Tees Active’s mission is a simple but powerful commitment: to create access for all. The organisation believes that everyone, regardless of age, ability, background or circumstance, should have the opportunity to live an active, healthy and fulfilling life. This dedication to inclusion shapes every aspect of its operations, from the design of its facilities to the training of its staff and delivery of programmes.
Within the last three months, Tees Active has strengthened its commitment to creating access for all through a range of new partnerships and innovations enabled by the recent Sport England Place Partnership Project. Working alongside Catalyst, SBC, and Tees Valley Sport, Tees Active has successfully developed 360° virtual accessibility tours of three of the most frequently used venues in the Borough – Splash, Billingham Forum and IB Leisure. These interactive tours aim to allow members of the public to explore the facilities online and discover detailed information about accessibility features, layouts, and support aids available at each site, ensuring prospective members can plan their visits with confidence and understand whether the services meet their needs.
“The videos are accessible to all members of the public who may be nervous about taking their first steps on their physical activity journey. The launch of the videos is the start of the project, and we expect the content to be constantly developing over time.” – Drew Brockbank, Marketing and Design Officer, Tees Active
“This virtual tour could make me cry. It’s something that is so simple but so important for many people. I cannot tell you the number of times I’ve rang places to be told it’s accessible, spend the time to get there and find out it isn’t … Having a resource like this means I, and many other disabled people, can be independent and make our own decisions” – Anonymous Service User
You can find out more information and view the accessibility tours HERE. Also on this page is a short survey, and we would greatly appreciate any feedback so we can keep improving in the future.