MINUTES OF THE
ASHDOWN COMMUNITY USE MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE
29TH JANUARY 2007
The Meeting commenced at 16:30pm and concluded at 18:10pm
Present:
Councillor Jeff Allen – Elected Member (Chairman)
Clive Smith – Leisure Services
Peter Cotton – School Advice and Support Services
Keith Newman – Ashdown Technology College
Jon Bland – Ashdown Technology College
Mrs Elizabeth Jones – Ashdown Technology College
Councillor Mrs Sandra Moore – Elected Member
Iain Stokes – SLM/Ashdown Leisure Centre
Karl Miles – SLM
Derrick Pycroft – SLM (Group Technical Director)
Philip Stokes – Vincent Stokes Ltd
Kelvan Finch – SLM (Area Contracts Manager)
Colvin Aldous – Governor Representative (Vice-Chairman)
Tom Darlington – User Representative (Poole Hockey Club)
Lisa Gardner – Legal & Democratic Services
Members of the public present: 0
1.APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
Apologies for absence were received from Bill Craig (Governor Representative), Jennie Sykes (Poole Athletics Club), Councillor Peter Adams (Elected Member), J.Oxley (SLM) and Danielle Batty (Student Representative).
2.MINUTES
RESOLVED that the Minutes of the Meeting held on 27th November 2006, be taken as read, confirmed and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.
3.MATTERS ARISING
Role of the Community Use Management Committees
Clive Smith reported that Leisure Services had appointed a new Recreation Manager, Anthony Rogers, who would be working closely with SLM andboth Schools on the Leisure Centre Partnership.
TopCats
Councillor Mrs Moore advised that the TopCats Nursery had relocated to the Canford Heath Community Centre and the Council was exploring how it could assist with adapting the building to meet Ofsted health and safety requirements. A mini-bus service was provided to the new venue and the arrangements were felt to be working well.
Heating System
Keith Newman confirmed that the School was happy with the current arrangements for heating of the Sports Hall since the system had an over-ride function.
Perimeter Fencing
Clive Smith and the Chairman undertook to meet separately to explore whether Planning Obligations funding could be considered for completion of the perimeter fencing.
Risk Assessment
Further discussions were to take place with Poole Athletics Club with regard to the issues raised during the full risk assessment of the Athletics Track in July 2006.
4.DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
Councillor Allen declared a personal interest in that his engraving business undertook occasional work for the Leisure Centre.
5.LEISURE CENTRE IMPROVEMENT PLANS
The Chairman welcomed Derrick Pycroft (Group Technical Director, SLM), Kelvan Finch (Area Contracts Manager, SLM), Karl Miles (SLM) and Philip Stokes (Vincent Stokes Ltd) to the meeting to present the final improvement plans for Ashdown Leisure Centre.
The Final Plans were provided to all members of the Committee and the following points were noted:-
Consideration could be given to the potential use of the vacant space above the fitness studio (for example, as a school study area or as a community area/social room for small-scale functions);
The conversion of the space into a meeting area (at a likely cost of £4-8,000) could be financed through a partnership arrangement (e.g, involving the Council / SLM / the School as funding partners);
The outdoor clubs contributed significantly to the Leisure Centre and needed to be provided for adequately (e.g, through provision of a meeting area above the fitness studio and/or use of the community room, etc);
The changing rooms would be modified to incorporate changing facilities for disabled people, although enlargement of the facilities was not affordable within the existing Scheme;
Temporary dry-changing facilities would be provided in porta-cabins based in the car park during completion of the works;
The Lifecycle Maintenance Plan would allow for refurbishment of the Ground Floor toilets;
All capital works would be completed simultaneously over an 18 week period commencing on 12th February with a two week interval in May/June for examinations;
The Site compound would be situated in the coach-parking area with hoarding positioned in appropriate areas and the upstairs of the Leisure Centre cleared/available for use during the evenings;
The enclosure of the outside boot area was not affordable within the Scheme, but the PE office would remain accessible throughout the works;
Ashdown Technology College was to receive ‘Schools for the Future’ funding in 2013, which was available for projects such as modernising facilities, providing new pupil places and improving access for disabled pupils;
Ashdown’s capital allocations for school improvements for 2006/7 2007/8 had already been earmarked with no surplus funds available for the Works;
In considering other sources of funding it was advised that Sports England had only £3 million to allocate in the South West over the next three years with a maximum of £250,000 per project. It was suggested that a collaborative approach could be taken to funding the outdoor improvement works (e.g. through contributions from the Council, Ashdown Technology College, SLM and bidding to Sports England South West);
The School was to meet with SLM during the week commencing 12th February to confirm the examination timetable and resolve any further points of detail.
The Chairman thanked Derrick Pycroft, Kelvan Finch, Karl Miles and Philip Stokes for presenting the Final Plans and it was -
AGREED –
(i) That the Final Plans for the Leisure Centre improvements be noted; and (ii) The School meet with SLM during the week commencing 12th February to confirm the examinations timetable and to resolve any further areas of detail.
6.USER REPRESENTATIVE’S ITEMS
Hockey Nets
Tom Darlington enquired whether the hockey nets could be stored with the mini-football goals after a hockey match had been interrupted for a net to be repaired.
AGREED –
That Tom Darlington, Jon Bland & Keith Newman explore whether the hockey nets could be stored with the mini-football goals.
Tennis and Netball Court
Members noted that the dual tennis and netball court was unusable at the present time due to surface condition, although there was a significant demand for the facility from pupils and the local community.
The Committee agreed that further consideration be given to submitting a bid to the Planning Obligations Working Party or to making a lottery application to transform the courts into a multi-use facility to extend the community use of this resource -
AGREED –
That Leisure Services and SLM consider options for transforming the Tennis & Netball Court into a multi-use facility.
Work experience policy
Kelvan Finch confirmed SLM’s policy that it was unable to facilitate work experience placements for young people under 16 years of age.
7.DATE AND TIME OF NEXT MEETING
Monday, 19th March 2007 at 4.30p.m. at Ashdown Community College.
CHAIRMAN
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