BOROUGH OF POOLE

ENVIRONMENT OVERVIEW GROUP

HELD ON 24TH OCTOBER 2005

The meeting commenced at 7.00 p.m. and finished at 8.50 p.m.

Present:

Councillor Adams (Chairman)

Councillor Mrs Hives (Vice Chairman)

Councillors Clements (substituting for Councillor Miss Wilson), Eades, Gillard, Mrs Lavender, Sorton, Trent, White and Wilson (substituting for Councillor Curtis)

1.APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Curtis and Miss Wilson, with the above substitutions.

2.DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

The following personal interests were declared.

Councillor Mrs Hives as the holder of an “Access to Leisure” card

Councillor Wilson as a governor of Rossmore Community College

Councillors Lavender, Trent, and Wilson as Members of the Rossmore Community Use Management Committee.

3.MINUTES

The minutes of the meeting held on 6th October 2005 were submitted for approval.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 6th October 2005 be confirmed as a true record and signed by the Chairman

4.IMPROVING LEISURE CENTRES

The Chairman commenced by thanking the Leisure Centre’s Working Group for the hard work they had undertaken in producing this Report.

The Chairman of the Leisure Centre Provision Working Group commenced by detailing the background behind this work and stated that this was the culmination of some 21 months work which had started as a result of the Best Value Review undertaken in 2003. This Review concluded and recommended that the service was important to the Council and Community and should therefore be continued, a good service was currently provided but needed investment and improvement and that the Council should “consider” private partnership.

The Group were advised that the Leisure Centre Provision Working Group had undertaken an open robust process in looking and considering private partnership. This included:-

  • Market testing
  • Seeking expressions of interest
  • Inviting detailed bids
  • Evaluating the detailed bids

Extremely robust and transparent procedures had been followed and had involved a wide variety of consultees (elected Members, Leisure Services, Financial Services, Property Services, Legal and Democratic Services, Personnel, Revenue and Benefits, Social Services, School Advice and Support Services, Community Use Management Committees, Unison and the Policy Directorate).

Members had also undertaken visits to the 3 out of the 32 Leisure Centres that were currently run by Sports and Leisure Management Limited across the country. Following these visits, Members had commented that the Centres appeared to be run extremely well by competent and enthusiastic staff.

Following the work undertaken, the Leisure Centre Provision Working Group concluded that:-

  • Sports and Leisure Management Limited were now being proposed as the best option as a preferred partner
  • There were still some potential “risk” elements to investigate
  • Further work would be undertaken in order to seek and independent investigation and validation.

The independent assessment carried out by “Strategic Leisure” concluded that Sports and Leisure Management Limited presented the Council:-

  • The affordable offer
  • Less risk than others
  • Aggressive income projections
  • (Related to above), evidence that they were achieving their forecasts.

Further information was then provided to the group on:-

  • Negotiating the details
  • Negotiating Outcomes
  • Benefits
  • Staff Matters
  • Community and Schools joint use
  • Consultation
  • Property Maintenance
  • Financial Implications
  • Value for money
  • Risk Management
  • Partnership of the contract

In working with Sports and Leisure Management Limited there would be a partnership board set up and there would also be a contractual obligation to the Community Use Management Committee’s.

In conclusion, the Group were advised that Sports and Leisure Management Limiteds vision was “to promote and enhance the health and well being of communities through exercise, fitness and sport”.

In response to a question raised, Clive Smith, Head of Leisure Services, stated that it was indented that there would be a monitoring process put in place with quarterly reports being presented to this overview group.

In response to a question raised regarding the duration of the proposed contract, Clive Smith, Head of Leisure Services, advised that a contract had been negotiated with the preferred external partner (Sports and Leisure Management Limited) and, if agreed, would be for ten years to manage and improve Poole’s 3 leisure centres- Dolphin Swimming Pool, Rossmore Leisure Centre and Ashdown Leisure Centre.

In response to a question raised, Members were advised that the ethos of “Pay as you go” was intended to be the corner stone of Policy. Further information was then detailed to the group on the suggestion of a possible “oxygen” card which could be offered free of charge to Poole residents. Such a card would present a number of varying uses in that when “swiped” it would give information on the membership status of the user (e.g. “Pay as you go”, “Full Member”, “Access to Leisure”).

In response to a question raised as to whether or not the “Poole Sports Trust” had been consulted with regard to this Clive Smith, Head of Leisure Services informed the group that they had, however, wanted to see a facility based in the Poole town centre and as a suitable site could not be located, they had decided to “go alone”.

A Member questioned whether or not there was a risk that the facilities at Broadstone would not e used if significant improvements were made by Sports and Leisure Management Limited to the three Leisure Centre that would be under their control. Clive Smith, Head of Leisure Services, felt that the Broadstone Leisure Centre could still be sustained as it “stood alone” and focussed itself in targeting family use.

On the issue of the inability to pay by credit cards at the Leisure Centres, Members felt that this facility was crucial to the use and therefore needed to be addressed by officers.

In conclusion a special thanks was made to the Members of the Leisure Centre Provision Working group for the work they had undertaken.

AGREED that Cabinet be recommended to authorise the contract to Sports and Leisure Management Limited.

CHAIRMAN

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