Board Member Update
Dewsbury Town Board Members.
Decision:
RESOLVED –
That the Board Member Update be noted.
Minutes:
The Board was advised that Councillor Cathy Scott had resigned from Dewsbury Town Board at the end of 2024. The Chair thanked Councillor Cathy Scott for the various roles she had undertaken, and the support she had given to the Board, and wished her well in her future endeavours. A replacement for Councillor Scott would be nominated by the Council and announced at the next Board meeting.
During discussion the Board considered comments made by Iqbal Mohamed (MP) as below:
· There were suggestions from the community that the impact of the closure of the Dewsbury Sports Centre should be considered in the Long-Term Plan.
· Mr Mohamed supported a proposal put forward by his constituents, that up to 30% of the Town Investment Plan funding could be repurposed for projects and activities which could include Dewsbury Sports Centre.
· Mr Mohamed had written to the Secretary of State for Culture Media and Sport, The Chancellor, and the Prime Minister, to ask for the funds to reopen Dewsbury Sports Centre.
· If funding was not provided by Central Government, Dewsbury Town Board should consider at least funding £400,000 capital costs to reopen the dry side, and that the £1.13 million revenue costs may potentially be covered by membership fees and ad hoc user fees, depending on how those costs were calculated.
· Mr Mohamed advised that he may submit a proposal or motion to the Board to explore the funding around Dewsbury Sports Centre further.
It was agreed that Joanne Bartholemew, Kirklees Council, would provide the Board with a report outlining the reasons why Town Board funding could not be allocated to the reopening of Dewsbury Sports Centre, which would be shared with Board Members and the public. The Board was advised that Richard Thorpe from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities had provided an update on how the funding could be allocated at the November meeting, and that the Kirklees Council Cabinet decision and Cabinet papers for Dewsbury Sports Centre were available on the Kirklees Council website and included details of all costs involved in reopening the dry side. The Board noted that the decision to close the Sports Centre had been taken by Kirklees Council, and that there was no capacity within the forthcoming budget to provide revenue or capital costs required for a re-opening. The Chair suggested that the matter could be discussed at the strategy meeting in March and Members of the Board were offered a Teams meeting with officers to understand the technicalities of the Dewsbury Sports Centre building.
The Board noted that the closure of Dewsbury Sports Centre could impact footfall in the Town Centre and agreed that measures to bring people into Dewsbury for leisure activity should be a topic for discussion at the strategy meeting, which was to include the possibility of repurposing existing buildings.
RESOLVED –
That the Board Member Update be noted.