Agenda and minutes

There were no apologies for absence received.

To be apprise of any changes to the membership of the Committee in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 4.

There were no changes to the membership of the Committee.

Note, no other business is permitted unless, by reason of special circumstances, which shall be specified at the meeting, the Chairman is of the opinion that the item(s) should be considered as a matter of urgency.

There were no items of urgent business received.

If a Member requires advice on Declarations of Interest, he/she is advised to contact the Legal and Democratic Services Manager in advance of the meeting.  (For the assistance of members, a checklist for use in considering their position on any particular item is included at the end of this agenda sheet).

There were no Declarations of Interest received.

To receive as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 2 November 2022

RESOLVED:               That the minutes of the last meeting held on the 2 November 2022 be received as a correct record.

RESOLVED:             That the date of the next meeting as scheduled was the 15 February 2023 at 7.00pm.

It is recommended that members of the press and public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following items of business in accordance with Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph  3          of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Act and as, in all the circumstances of the case the public interest in maintaining the exemption under Schedule 12A outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

RESOLVED:          That under Section100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following items of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of that Act and as, in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption under Schedule 12A outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

To receive an update from the Interim Head of Wellbeing & Place.

The Interim Head of Wellbeing and Place gave an update on progress in respect of Beacon Park.

Comments and questions were received in respect of the following:

·         With purdah now coming into effect with the forthcoming Parliamentary By-Election would this effect this project.

·         With regard to the sole golf operation and a date for consultation on this.

·         Whether contact had been made with Wigan Council in relation to the Beacon itself as it was felt that this should be included when going out to consultation.  Members were informed that the Economic Development and Regeneration Manager was already working on this and that a report would come back to a future meeting of this Committee.

RESOLVED:             That the update be noted.

To receive an update from Alliance Leisure.

The Interim Head of Wellbeing and Leisure introduced Peter Curtis from Hadron Consulting and Seb Rowe from Alliance Leisure who gave a joint presentation on the new facilities project.

The presentation outlined the progress made on both schemes and opportunity was given to members of the Committee to ask questions.

Comments and questions were raised in respect of the following:-

·         Family Hub Model

·         It was stressed that consultation was really important for shared usage of the proposed new builds.

·         Work around involving schools in the design of the building and other key partners was important.

·         It was envisaged at the outset that the existing building and half of the existing car  park would go back to green space and the potential for flooding issues was raised.

·         A wildflower area should be included in the planning application when submitted.

·         Size of the proposed new pools and number of fitness stations.

·         Energy requirements and heat source.

·         The use of air sourced heating pumps and complications arising from their use and the energy costs associated with them.

·         Use of solar power.

·         It was noted that a financial implications report would come back as a stand-alone item on energy costs

·         A question was asked in respect of the balcony proposed for the Skelmersdale build as this was no longer showing on the plan.

·         Immersive spin zone, very popular and important to have in the new builds.

·         The investment from Central Government.

·         Burscough Site – important this work progressed and a café option to be looked at moving forward.

RESOLVED: A.  That the update be noted

                     B.   That Peter Curtis and Seb Rowe be thanked for a very informative update.

To consider the report of the Corporate Director of Place & Community

The Interim Head of Wellbeing and Leisure introduced his report the purpose of which was to provide Cabinet and Council with an update on the revised leisure centre operator approach following the Council meeting held 15 December 2021. The report also highlighted key information concerning the proposed alternative leisure centre operator strategies following an Officer led optional appraisal.  It also contained a cost forecast for each of the alternative leisure centre operator strategies.

Members of the Committee were asked to consider the findings in the report and that any agreed comments be forwarded to Cabinet in advance of the Cabinet meeting on the 24^th January 2023.

Comments and questions were raised in respect of the following:

·         Generally, in favour of Option A. 

·         Short term contracts could be problematic.

·         Struggle to get staffing on a casual basis i.e. pool attendants, life-guards

·         Repair costs, current buildings have deteriorated

·         Opening the centres up to groups who previously wouldn’t have had the opportunities and the community connection. Crucial to engage with new clubs and bringing them on board.

·         At present no swimming club operating at Nye Bevan.

·         Importance of sports development.

·         Implementation of a café in the Burscough Sports Centre and placed at the front for the community to see and engage with it.

·         Use of the trust legacy funding for the Burscough Sports Centre. This needed to be used to buy something and not used for repairs on the Burscough Sports Centre.

In conclusion Members were keen for Officers to explore implications to set up a Local Authority Trading Company for Leisure to maximise benefits to the Council and community including savings against National Non Domestic Rates – this operating model would need to be reviewed by Leisure Management Committee initially prior to any formal report to Cabinet/Council.

RESOLVED: A.   That the following agreed comment be reported back to Cabinet

"That Option A be the preferred option."

                    B.     That the Interim Wellbeing and Leisure Manager and the Leisure Partnership Manager be thanked for all their hard work on this.