Castle Point Council's sports centres are used by more people than those of any other Essex borough council.

The news comes after councillors met to thrash out ways of improving council services.

Council leader Dave Wells said: "We had a survey carried out and it turned out that our leisure services are more widely used than the leisure services run by any other borough council in the county.

"This is very good news and it means we must be doing something right."

However, council members are not sitting on their laurels just yet. Government inspectors plan to visit the borough in June to check up on whether the council is providing value for money for its residents.

Mr Wells is hoping the council's new improvement plan for leisure services, which was recently agreed to by members, will show the inspectors that councillors are doing everything they can to offer the public the best facilities possible.

He said: "The important thing is to run the council like a business."

Published Thursday, May 1, 2003

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