Issue - decisions

Council was advised of the outcome of the procurement process in relation to the development of a new Leisure Centre facility for the Borough on the site of the former Council Offices adjacent to Argents Mead. Members were informed that the Scrutiny Commission, following a detailed debate, had supported the recommendations. A summary of the questions raised at Scrutiny Commission, and the answers given, was circulated to Members, to assist the debate and avoid unnecessary repetition. In response to the concern that the Scrutiny Commission had not been informed of the companies involved which were referred to in the report as ‘Bidder A’ and ‘Bidder B’, and as a clear recommendation had been made by the scrutiny Commission, it was acknowledged that it was now expedient to reveal that Bidder A was DC Leisure and Bidder B was SLM.

Attention was drawn to an amended recommendation 2.6 which had been circulated following further negotiations and cited the shortfall in the first year as £200,000, which had been reduced from the £360,000 estimated in the original version of the report. This had been achieved by the contractor foregoing part of its profit margin in year 1. It was stated that a profiling document would be issued to members when finalised.

During discussion, reference was made to the following:

• That instead of the historic cost to the authority or small income (currently) for running the current leisure centre, there would be a considerable income stream for 20 years;
• The apparent insufficient spectator seating to enable the pool to be suitable for hosting national ASA competitions (with the pool being suitable for local competitions and for training and club purposes);
• The need to keep pricing reasonable for users of the facilities – in response it was confirmed that the Council would retain (as now) a control over pricing;
• The cost of the office space and the need for it – in response to this, it was reported that office space was part of the management agreement;
• The importance of a newer, more environmentally friendly building;
• The hard work over several months in order to manage the procurement process;
• The vast amount of consultation that had been undertaken during the course of the procurement process;
• The employment of an Independent Consultant and expert in leisure provision to advise on the selection process;

In response to concerns regarding the report in the press about the pool being unsuitable for competitions, the Independent Consultant explained that there had been a number of aspects to consider in planning the new centre and the need for 250 spectator seats had to be weighed up against other facilities which would have been lost in exchange for this seating, particularly when national competitions with large numbers of spectators would be rare.

Councillor Batty, seconded by Councillor Bessant, MOVED that the item be deferred to receive further details on the implications of the revenue model and on the outcome of the most recent consultation exercise. Upon being put to the vote, the MOTION was LOST.

It was then moved by Councillor Bray and seconded by Councillor Lynch that the recommendations contained in the report be approved.

Councillor Bray and five other members requested that voting on this motion be recorded. The vote was taken as follows:

Councillors Bannister, Bill, Bray, Cartwright, Cope, Crooks, Gould, Mrs Hall, Mr Hall, Hodgkins, Hulbert, Lay, Lynch, Mayne, Moore, Mullaney, Nichols, Taylor and Witherford voted FOR the motion (19);

Councillors Allen, Batty, Bessant, Boothby, Camamile, Chastney, O’Shea, Smith, Sprason, Sutton and Ward abstained from voting.

The motion was declared CARRIED and it was therefore

RESOLVED –

(i)         the selection of Bidder A as the Council’s Preferred Bidder, with Bidder B appointed as reserve bidder in case the contract with Bidder A cannot be finalised, be approved;

(ii)        the additional capital budget requirement of £1.35m to fund the enhanced facility at a total cost of £13.55million be approved;

(iii)       the Council’s Authorised Borrowing limit by the amount of the increase of £1.355million to take the Authorised Limit in 2014/15 to £97.4million (including the HRA) be approved;

(iv)       the shortfall in revenue funding of £200,000 arising from the servicing of the borrowing prior to the opening of the new leisure centre be approved;

(v)        the program for delivery of the new Leisure Centre be approved;

(vi)       the oversight of the program of delivery up to the construction and opening of the new facility be delegated to the Project Team, in conjunction with Deputy Chief Executive (Community Direction) and Leader of the Council,

(vii)      the disposal of the existing leisure centre site upon transfer to the new facility be approved in accordance with the council’s Disposal Strategy, with the capital receipt being assigned to fund the leisure centre scheme.