Meet The Team
Kim Arrenberg
Kim worked as a solicitor, both inhouse (with a large local authority) and in private practice, until he retired from full time practice in 2016. During his time in private practice he primarily worked with local and public bodies and for organisations (trusts and commercial bodies) contracting with local authorities. He was a director and company secretary of a number of community based charities including those working in the arts and leisure sectors.
Since retirement he has been invited to become a director/trustee of a number of non-profit making organisations including
- A Community Interest Company (CIC) that, under his chairmanship, has progressed from a start up to an organisation with an annual turnover exceeding £25m and a measured social value in excess of £40m, and that now manages in excess of 30 local authority owned facilities on a non-profit making basis with a community interest aimed at improving access opportunities to sport, leisure and recreation for the disabled.
- An Opera/Ballet company whose charitable objects were to provide opportunities for aspiring performers and production professionals to gain experience in the field of performing arts they had chosen for their career. Under his chairmanship the company attracted finance from the Arts Council and other organisations to underpin performances and to provide theatre workshops and education outreach projects in schools. It also attracted £250k of private sector finance as part of its project management of a Chelsea Show Garden which showcased dance and music – the first Chelsea Flower Show garden that was featured on BBC radio 3!
- A young opera company that seeks to take performances to venues where opera is not normally performed in order to increase public interest and appreciation in the arts and which has been awarded significant grant aid and other support from the Heritage Lottery Fund, the National Lottery, the Arts Council and other bodies
- A Community Interest Company that promoted the preservation of heritage artifacts from the age of Kent coal mining and which contributed to a project which has established a mining heritage museum
David Swinburn
David has had a significant career in the management and business development of leisure and other recreational facilities. He has been responsible for delivering services, primarily to local authority and other public bodies, at facility level (in the day to day management of leisure centres) and at a regional level. He has worked with commercial organisations that manage local authority facilities and has extensive experience in managing public private partnerships that have delivered new and improved leisure and education facilities and has project managed facility improvement schemes of both a complex and more straightforward nature. As the Head of Leisure for one London Authority, David was responsible for the organisation of an annual town show and the town carnival. He was also instrumental in converting the Barking Assembly Halls into the Broadway Theatre by repurposing the venue and introducing a new theatre programme.
Like Kim, David having now retired from his previous commercial work, is a member of a Community Interest Company that manages a significant number of local authority leisure and recreation facilities. David is able to bring to that CIC his extensive management experience and a motivation to improve access to those facilities and to recreation more generally – qualities he now brings to Active Communities Together.
David is a regular participant in sports (particularly cricket). He has a strong empathy in supporting people with disability having helped his partner with the organisation of many sporting events for people with learning disability during her career with Mencap and now regularly volunteers to help people who have mobility issues.
Peter Mills
Joining the sport and leisure industry from school in 1976, Peter spent 14 years in centre management, including General Manager of the award winning Oasis Leisure Centre in Swindon and 25 years as founder and Managing Director of industry specialist management consultants Quality Leisure Management Ltd. At QLM Ltd he was retained as health and safety advisor to over 100 leisure organisations.
After selling QLM, in 2017 Peter joined Parkwood Leisure as Health, Safety and Compliance Manager. He retired from the company at the end of 2022.
Peter was recognised as one of the leading operations and health and safety experts in the UK sport and leisure management sector. He has authored many industry good practice publications including the CIMSPA Risk Assessment Manual and Best Practice Operating Procedures, 8 ISRM/CIMSPA training videos (on health and safety, lifeguarding and customer service) and the Life Changing Event series of training videos for RLSS/IQL.
Peter provided expert witness testimony on over 100 civil or criminal leisure cases for the Health and Safety Executive, local authority enforcement, solicitors and insurance companies. This includes giving evidence in court.
Peter was the lead consultant on the development of Quest (The UK Quality Scheme for Sport and Leisure) and managed the scheme in the initial launch phase. He has extensive experience of developing and implementing quality management systems
Peter was National President of the Institute of Sport & Recreation Management (1999 – 2000) and received the IOSH Certificate of Merit, awarded in 2002 “for outstanding contribution towards the improvement of safety or health in the public sector.”
Peter is also a member of a Community Interest Company that manages a significant number of local authority leisure and recreation facilities.
Outside of work, Peter is Secretary of the Gloucestershire Branch of the Motor Neurone Disease Association. He enjoys walking and is a keen walking footballer. With his wife Mary they enjoy rock concerts, particularly Bruce Springsteen. They make the 200 mile round trip every two weeks to suffer the trials and tribulations of his ‘hometown’ club Derby County!
Ian Cooper
Ian has over 35 years executive level experience in both the public and private leisure sectors in the UK and overseas. In public sector cultural services he has worked in all local government formats at Director level. As a Culture and Sport Management Consultant Ian has extensive management consultancy experience through working in major companies and his own consultancy. This experience includes preparing over 20 major strategic cultural leisure and sports plans and over 100 consultancy studies for blue chip companies including: facility feasibility, site options appraisals, business planning, facility design manageability and management restructuring
His unique and lengthy involvement in the World Leisure Organisation at Board Director level has provided experience of managing ten world congresses. He holds the post of Programme Manager Honours and Awards which includes chairing the prestigious World Leisure International Innovation Prize Committee. Ian is also a Senior Fellow in the World Leisure Academy.
Ian has significant experience as a member and director of non-profit organisations having served in this capacity for one community benefit society for over 20 years that at its peak was responsible for the management of over 25 leisure facilities. Ian also currently serves as a director of an active community benefit society operating three leisure facilities which were procured and built under the government backed private finance initiative.
Ian has been an international volleyball player and manager with the Great Britain and England teams. He is the British Volleyball Federation and Volleyball England Match and Player Records Archivist.
Colin Barlow
Colin has many years experience in education (secondary, further and prison service), local government leisure / cultural services, parks / countryside services, entertainment / museums and tourism services.
His experience in local government covers Chief Officer / Departmental Director positions in both Wales and the Home Counties, together with a spell as Town Clerk in Henley-on-Thames.
His experience also includes work with formative leisure trusts as an MD and more latterly as a specialist leisure and cultural services consultant, he has undertaken both interim and project management roles for large local authority cultural service departments. Colin also has extensive experience in working with and supporting Town Councils.
Colin also has significant experience as a director and secretary of non-profit organisations having served in this capacity for one community benefit society for over 20 years that at its peak was responsible for the management of over 25 leisure facilities. Colin also currently serves as a director and secretary of three active community benefit societies operating five leisure facilities which were procured and built under the government backed private finance initiative.
Chris Reeves
The Board Members have engaged the services of Chris Reeves to act as the Society’s Representative to oversee and manage the day-to-day activities of the society.
Chris graduated from Manchester University with a BA (Hons) in Sport and Recreation Management and has worked within the leisure industry for nearly 40 years.
Chris spent the initial years of his career in the public sector with Harrow Council and St Albans District Council prior to transferring to the private sector as part of the management team of newly created ‘management buyout’ company St Albans Leisure Limited, which later became the Relaxion Group and then Leisure Connection.
Chris held many senior positions within Leisure Connection including those of Business Development Director, Operations Director and Commercial Director and was appointed to the Board in 1998.
In early 2007 Chris set up his own independent consultancy business, Leisure Management Services Ltd (LMS), to provide specialist consultancy support and advice to organisations working within the local authority leisure sector. Since this time LMS has grown significantly and Chris has undertaken many successful projects on behalf of public sector, private sector and voluntary sector based clients.
Chris has extensive experience working with non-profit making organisations having previously served as CEO for a successful community benefit society for over 12 years. Chris also served as a voluntary Trustee for Community Swimming Limited (CSL), for over four years which was a national charity backed by the Amateur Swimming Association (ASA). CSL provided opportunities for children and adults to learn to swim. Chris advised the ASA in the initial setting up of this charity