In this week’s podcast we’re speaking to Stuart Haw, a PhD researcher looking at Community Asset Transfers in the sports sector. Community Asset Transfers are something you might already be familiar with, but equally, you might just be hearing about them for the first time.

CATs could be increasingly relevant to sport organisations as recent research suggests that the impact of COVID19 will mean many community facilities across Scotland will never re-open. According to a recent survey of public operators, current forecasts are that around 116 public sport, leisure and culture facilities across all regions of Scotland – including 18 leisure centres and eight swimming pools – are facing permanent closure as a result of the lockdown. A further 900 that could re-open may not do so for some time.

This threat to our facilities also presents an opportunity for sports organisations to take ownership of them through CATS, and we ask Stuart about what the process looks like for CATs, what kind of skill sets a club would need to undertake one and for some examples of best practice.

You can follow Stuart on Twitter @Haw_Stuart

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