Live Life Aberdeenshire drew more than 3.2million visits in 2025/26
A very successful year for Aberdeenshire Council’s Live Life Aberdeenshire (LLA) sports, leisure, and cultural services saw more than 3.2million visits to its venues over the course of the past year.
The figure was noted in the service’s annual report for 2025-26, which also highlighted that service delivery costs reduced by £320,000, while income rose by £840,000 over the year.
The report was warmly welcomed by the council’s Communities Committee, which discussed LLA’s achievements at the group’s June meeting.
Councillors were told that attendances had risen, that the cost per visit to venues has fallen, and the estimated social value to the public was nearly £17m, representing a 14% rise.
LLA has drawn more than 15,000 members, including 5,000 who access services via the free Live Life Essentials membership, with an increase of up to 100 new members each month.
Health and wellbeing is an increasing focus for LLA, working closely with the Aberdeenshire Health & Social Care partnership around referrals and providing services including health checks and classes around weight and pain management.
A total of around £3.2million was invested in services across the year, including upgrades to gyms in Banchory, Turriff, Inverbervie, and Inverurie, and to the Deveron Community and Sports Centre café.
Repairs and improvements were also made at Fraserburgh Community and Sports Centre and at Ellon Swimming Pool.
A move to LED lighting at number of venues has also led to carbon reductions across the service. The new Turriff Pavilion also includes solar panels installed as part of efforts to achieve net zero standards.
Almost 458,000 swimming lessons were delivered last year, with the service’s Learn to Swim programme remaining the largest in Scotland and involving more than 9,000 participants. The waiting list for lessons has also reduced.
The library service supported 1,500 more users last year, with physical visits up for the first time in two years, boosted by co-location with other community services. Bookbug sessions remain very popular, with more than 18,800 children attending.
Digital services are increasingly popular, with more than one million online interactions, including around 12,500 downloads of e-books and audiobooks each month.
The Museum service’s Cultural Tides programme ran six heritage group workshops, involving more than 100 people and the service assed the condition of more than 1,000 objects and digitised 50 artefacts for 3D and virtual display.
A successful ‘My Time Aberdeenshire’ pilot provided creative workshops and digital skills training for unpaid carers aged 50 and over.
The Youth Music Initiative, meanwhile, delivered 19 projects to 9,600 children and young people up to the age of 25, as well as preschool activities.
Specialist venues remain popular, with the Sir Arthur Grant Outdoor Centre near Monymusk welcoming 58 community groups and more than 1,000 people in its first year since being refurbished.
The Huntly Nordic Ski Centre’s Pavement to Piste programme, meanwhile, delivered cross-country skiing opportunities to schools predominantly in the Marr area, and activities continue for Macduff Aquarium as the building is extended in the form of pool ramble events and school activities.
And a total of 15 community sports hubs were operated, supporting 100 clubs and organisation and involving £35,000 of investment in community sports projects.
Speaking after the meeting, Communities Committee Chair Cllr Anne Stirling said: “This really is an exceptional report and the improvements that have been achieved are a testament to the hard work of staff and volunteers.
“Teams are working really hard to engage with our communities, particularly those in more rural areas, and the benefits of that effort are clear to see. We look forward to further achievements over the months ahead.”
Live Life Aberdeenshire is currently delivering a wide range of activities as part of its Summer of Play programme. Full details can be found at: www.livelifeaberdeenshire.org.uk/summer-programme/