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Haverhill Leisure Centre has been awarded the prestigious Quest Award for management of the centre, within the ‘highly commended’ category.

The centre was awarded a score of 83 per cent, one of the highest ever first assessments for a centre nationally.

Quest is a quality assurance scheme, promoted by Sport England, specifically designed for managing sports and leisure facilities.

It is an independently assessed scheme that reviews how effective and efficient an organisation is and provides guidance on how to continue to make improvements.

Following a 'mystery customer' visit, the centre was assessed over a two-day period by an independent external assessor - the facilities were inspected and members of staff from all levels of the organisation were interviewed.

Now the centre has achieved the award, work will continue on achieving a higher standard during re-assessments over the coming years.

Alison Bowyer of Haverhill Leisure Centre said: “This is a fantastic achievement for Haverhill Leisure Centre and our staff should be very proud that on our first assessment by Quest we have one of the highest ever assessments in the UK.

"We continue to improve our service to customers and develop high quality fitness products for residents in Haverhill.”

The centre scored particularly well for innovation and customer service.

Regional Quest manager David Constantine said: “Haverhill Leisure Centre scored exceptionally strongly on their first assessment with particular evidence of a high commitment to innovation and customer service.”

Haverhill now joins Bury St Edmunds Leisure Centre, also run by Abbeycroft, in the ‘highly commended’ category. Bury St Edmunds was also awarded a score of 83 per cenmt when it was assessed last year.

Warren Smyth, chief executive of Abbeycroft Leisure which runs the centre, said: “Abbeycroft Leisure is extremely proud that both our Leisure Centres have achieved highly commended statuses in their first assessment.

“Abbeycroft Leisure is committed to providing high quality services to St Edmundsbury Borough Council and the local community and Quest is an excellent way of measuring our progress.

"This continuous improvement tool looks at every aspect of our organisation and is a fantastic way of getting a snapshot of how we are developing."