Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies for absence had been received from Councillors Costin, Hogben, Lee and Staines.

Annual Council agreed the meeting dates of the Leisure and Culture Policy Development Advisory Group. The group is asked to agree the timing of forthcoming meetings.

The group agreed that the start time of its meetings for the forthcoming year would be 17:30.

Councillor Chowen will provide an introduction.

The Chairman welcomed members to the Leisure and Culture Policy Development Advisory Group and explained that he would value the advice of the group in the preparation of decisions. Decisions would consequently have more ‘weight’ if they had the support of the Advisory group.

The Chairman described the vision for the new leisure centre as one of a flexible use modern facility, which would be well suited to meet the future aspirations of the community and sports clubs that currently used the centre. The Director of Community Services presented to the group the draft design concepts and artist impression of the site. A summary of the progress of the project was provided as follows:

·         Understanding of the lessons learned from the existing centre

·         Project management structure

·         Design and configuration options

·         ‘Identity’ of the building

·         Preferred construction materials

·         Utilisation of the full site infrastructure

·         Continuity for existing club users

The new leisure centre would deliver

·         A six court sports hall

·         An 80-station gym, a cycle studio and three fitness studios

·         A café and extended catering facilities

·         A sensory room

·         Changing for indoor and outdoor activity, including a Changing Places disabled changing facility

·         A ‘Clip and Climb’ facility.

Members’s considerations were:

·         That the design was of excellent quality

·         That the role of the council was to deliver a balanced approach to leisure provision

·         The number of parking spaces on the site

·         Access implications

·         Maintenance considerations

·         Catering and kitchen facilities

·         The name of the new building

Members heard that the parking provision on-site would be greater than on the current site and that access implications had been considered both in the construction phase and in the design phase.  The procurement process accounted for sustainable sourcing of materials. Officers would feed relevant considerations as necessary in to the architects brief.  The Leisure and Culture Policy Development Advisory Group endorsed the aspirations and progress of the project.

The Head of Community and Culture explained that during the scheduled maintenance works at Billingshurst Pool, further remedial works were found to be required. A long-term solution was favoured over a temporary repair and the pool was now scheduled to re-open in September.

Members considerations, noted by officers were:

·         Lessons learned  

·         Potential impact (if any) of school holidays

·         Specification and quality of materials

·         Guarantees and warranties for the remedial works

·         Communication of the extended closure

The Head of Community and Culture informed the group about the early preparations for an Arts and Heritage Strategy for the district. The strategy would examine:

·         The existing arts and heritage offer

·         The current and future role involvement of the voluntary sector

·         Growing population and changing demographics

·         Pressure on local authority finances

·         External funding opportunities and partnership working

·         Geographic proximity to other cultural centres

The Chairman explained that the strategy would provide a vision for arts and heritage for the district 2017-2022 and that the Advisory Group would be engaged as the preparations progressed.

To note the Forward Plan extract (if any) for the Leisure and Culture Portfolio.

The Head of Community and Culture and the Chairman updated the group on the Leisure and Culture Portfolio as follows:

·         Sport England had awarded the Council £10,000 toward its Sports and Physical Activity Strategy

·         Car Parking charges would shortly be introduced at Southwater Country Park, in order to invest in more parking, better toilet provision, improved path surfacing and increased staffing

·         There had been a 40% increase in museum attendances in the last five years

·         12% more customers had attended the Capitol

The Chairman proposed and the group concurred that the group would benefit from visiting facilities that were within the Leisure and Culture portfolio. The Head of Culture and Community would facilitate visits according to members’ expressions of interest.