Minutes:
At the start of this item the Chairman advised Members that the subject of the Dolphin Centre had been raised at a recent meeting of the Audit, Standards and Governance Committee. As Chairman of the Committee Councillor R. D. Smith was invited to comment on these discussions and he explained that the Committee had discussed whether the Dolphin Centre was a suitable topic for audit and had concluded that the matter was more appropriate for the consideration of Overview and Scrutiny.
The Head of Leisure and Cultural Services proceeded to deliver a presentation providing an update on the Council’s position in respect of the development of the new Dolphin Centre and the ongoing negotiations with BAM in respect of the use of their Sports Hall (Appendix 1). During this presentation he highlighted the following matters for Members’ consideration:
· The Blackmore House site would be free from contamination and there would be no risk on site from adverse conditions.
· Soft market testing had been carried out involving consultation with 12 leading market providers. The majority had submitted favourable responses and had not identified risks to the Council.
· The first stage of the procurement process had been completed and the Council was working with the preferred supplier.
· A decision from Sport England regarding the Council’s application for support was due the following day.
· The climbing wall selected for the centre would be a play-based feature, rather than the traditional style of climbing wall.
· The decision had been made to hold the 2 week maintenance period during the summer months as this was when demand for services tended to be quieter than usual.
· Floodlighting was not available as yet at the school, though discussions were being held regarding the potential for floodlighting to be installed.
· Stage 2 of the procurement process was fairly advanced.
· As the project would be delivered in phases it would not be possible to open the car park until December 2017. Part of the current leisure centre site was located on a third of the area designated for the new centre’s car park.
Following the delivery of this presentation the Board discussed a number of matters in further detail:
· The lack of access to the sports hall facilities at the school mid-week during the day.
· Existing demand for use of the Dolphin Centre during the day, which Officers advised stood at 50 per cent.
· The potential for further negotiations to take place to enable access to the facilities in the day during school holidays. Officers confirmed that this had not been discussed.
· Demand for facilities at the new Dolphin Centre during the evening and the potential levels of competition.
· The updates that had been made to the business case for the Dolphin Centre in response to the soft market testing which had taken place since the Cabinet had made an initial decision on this matter.
· The prudential borrowing rules that applied to Councils when borrowing to fund developments such as the new centre.
· The funding from Sport England and requirements in terms of match funding.
· The recent decision that had been made by the Planning Committee concerning the new leisure centre and legal restrictions in respect of scrutiny Members analysing planning matters.
· The recent consultation with the public regarding leisure services and the extent to which the feedback provided in this consultation process would inform developments with the new centre.
· The potential for the Council to secure additional funding in future and whether this could be used to invest in a sports hall on the site.
· The option to work with other schools in the district to provide residents and clubs with access to sports hall facilities.
Members expressed a keen interest in the needs of community groups and sports clubs that frequently used the existing Dolphin Centre facilities during the day. Officers advised that the Council would provide groups in this position with support. There was general consensus that it would be useful for the Board to monitor this so that Members could be assured that clubs were able to learn about and access alternative facilities where required.
Concerns were expressed by some Members regarding the extent to which contingency plans were in place if the negotiations with BAM were unsuccessful. However, there was recognition that these negotiations had not yet been completed. Members also noted that the Cabinet had previously agreed in December 2014, in response to recommendations from the Leisure Provision Task Group, that if the negotiations with BAM were unsuccessful, the Cabinet would reconsider options for the facility to include a sports hall.
RECOMMENDED that the Cabinet remain observant of its decision in December 2014 to reconsider options for the leisure centre to include a sports hall if the negotiations with BAM are unsuccessful as detailed in the Cabinet response to the Leisure Provision Task Group Report; and
RESOLVED that regular updates be provided by the Head of Leisure and Cultural Services in respect of sports clubs and community groups displaced by the lack of an available sports hall during the day, to include information about the support provided to enable these groups to find alternative accommodation.