Issue - meetings
Recommendations from the Executive Cabinet
Meeting: 13/06/2018 - Council (Item 19)
19 Recommendations from the Cabinet 
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To consider the recommendations from the meeting(s) of the Cabinet.
Minutes:
Bromsgrove Sport & Leisure Centre – Sports Hall Options Appraisal
The recommendation from Cabinet in respect of the Sports Hall was proposed by Councillor P. J. Whittaker, Portfolio Holder for Leisure, Cultural and Environmental Services and seconded by Councillor B. Cooper.
Councillor P. Whittaker advised Members that the Council had, today 13th June, received a nomination for the Sports Hall to be considered for listing as an Asset of Community Value. This application had been acknowledged and would be processed in the usual way. The listing of an asset as an “Asset of Community Value” operates to delay any proposed sale of the listed asset by the owner, by giving a community group the time to declare an interest in acquiring the asset and to make a bid to buy it. Councillor Whittaker advised that for this reason, receipt of this nomination did not affect the recommendation from Cabinet, which was before Council. As landowners of the site, the Council could make this decision.
In presenting the report Councillor Whittaker reminded Members that the decision to replace the old Dolphin Centre was taken in 2014, based on Sport England’s appraisal that there was no need to build a replacement Sports Hall as there was adequate provision within the district (Councillor Whittaker believed that there were some 7 halls around the District). Officers were tasked to enter negotiations with BAM, North Bromsgrove High School (NBHS) and Worcestershire County Council (WCC) in order to gain access to NBHS’s sports hall which was adjacent to the new leisure centre. This was to allow a continuation of sports provision after school and at weekends.
The agreed facility mix of the new leisure centre allowed the Council to meet the prudential borrowing criteria which would allow the Council to borrow sufficient funds for the project to proceed. The Capital Programme was subsequently increased after the Council received news that Sports England would grant some £1.5m to facilitate the climbing wall and estimates suggested an increase in the total cost of the project. Construction started some two years ago, around August 2016 and Phase 1 was completed at the end of November 2017.
Councillor Whittaker went on to explain that after long and protracted negotiations Heads of Terms were agreed with regard to the BAM agreement and the documents were in the process of being written when there was a change of Head Teacher at NBHS. The Head insisted that the hall was needed for exams for a longer period than had been suggested and BAM were informed that the availability of the sports hall would now be for some 38 weeks instead of the 48 weeks as originally envisaged. BAM then communicated to the Council that the offer of 48 weeks could no longer proceed.
Councillor Whittaker therefore asked officers to prepare a report for consideration into the possibility of refurbishment of the existing Sports Hall or the building of a new facility. Knowing that it would be difficult to separate the Sports Hall ... view the full minutes text for item 19