Agenda item

The report provides a briefing on the early analysis of the Leisure Centre Consultation. The Committee’s views will be sought in respect of the Cabinet report about the future Leisure Centre offer, which will be published on 4^th December 2023 and considered by Cabinet on 12^th December 2023.

Contact:

Adele Poppleton – Service Director for Culture and Visitor Economy

A report was submitted which provided a briefing on the early analysis of the Leisure Centre Consultation.

The Committee’s views were also sought in respect of the report to Cabinet about the future Leisure Centre offer, which had been published on 4^th December 2023 and would be considered by Cabinet on 12^th December 2023.

Councillor Graham Turner, the Cabinet Member and Portfolio Holder, introduced the item. He expressed his thanks to; those staff involved in analysing the significant number of responses received to the consultation, within a very limited timeframe; those who had responded to the consultation; and to Kirklees Active Leisure (KAL) which had worked very closely with the Council over the last few months to reach the current position, which was a better outcome than originally envisaged.

Adele Poppleton – Service Director for Culture and Visitor Economy, accompanied by Richard Parry – Strategic Director for Adults and Health, gave a presentation, which highlighted the following points:

·       The proposed offer that had been the subject of the consultation.

·       An overview of the consultation, to which 17,860 responses had been received (both online and paper), and the efforts made to ensure that as many people as possible could take part. This had included drop-in sessions, focus groups for those with protected characteristics and targeted promotion.

·       The geographical spread of the responses.

·       A statistical breakdown of the responses.

·       The key findings.

·       The themes that had arisen in respect of; the impact of the proposals, the barriers to accessing different facilities, and suggestions for reducing the deficit and attracting alternative funding.

·       The key stakeholders that had responded, both local and national.

·       The proposed offer from KAL for 2024-25.

·       A summary of the reduction in costs and increases in income.

·       The assumptions used in the modelling for future income.

·       The key financial changes since May 2023.

·       The different ways of working identified, including the establishment of a number of new partnerships.

·       The three sites where KAL would withdraw provision, and the proposals associated with those sites.

Questions and comments were invited from Committee Members, with the following issues being covered:

·       Thanks were expressed to all the staff involved in this work and the improved offer for 2024-25 was welcomed.

·       In terms of future sustainability, in light of the volatility of energy costs in particular, the level of headroom to deal with rises in costs was restricted. Any money from fundraising was not currently built into the budget and would assist, it would also be helpful for this money to be directed towards capital works.

·       The financial detail was commercially sensitive, but could be shared with the Committee if required.

·       It was questioned whether there was there any scope for further energy management measures to make savings, such as the improvement of energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy.

·       It should be borne in mind that there may be alternative provision that schools could use to fulfil their curriculum requirements for swimming, at a lower cost, and this could potentially impact on KAL’s income, although it was noted that there was limited supply of such provision at the current time and, to date, local schools had found that the quality of provision from KAL was better than other providers.

·       The position in terms of VAT (as raised by one of the public questions) would be examined.

·       The feasibility of retaining dry-side facilities at Dewsbury Sports Centre would be explored but there were a number of complexities, including the presence of RAAC, and the need for a new entrance, which may have implications for land not within the Council’s ownership. It was also very important that the potential for a negative impact on the modelling for the future KAL offer was taken into account. Consideration of alternative provision within Dewsbury for health and wellbeing was in progress.

·       Women-only facilities were offered at Batley Sports Centre and Spen Valley Leisure Centre.

·       There was a need to maintain awareness of the need in those areas with the greatest levels of deprivation, and to have a plan to address this.

·       The importance of effective communication with the public in relation to the issues affecting Dewsbury Sports Centre and the benefits of the current relationship model with KAL.

·       A full de-brief had been programmed in respect of the consultation process and to ensure that any lessons were learned.

·       Timelines had not yet been established for Phase 2 of the Leisure Centre Programme. Discussions were ongoing with potential partners and in respect of resources for the future.

·       A conclusion in respect of the future of Deighton Sports Centre was anticipated earlier than the estimated 12-to-24-month timescale.

·       The working relationship between the Council, KAL and partners would be strengthened, to assist in the early identification of potential issues with the budget in the future, where this was possible.

Resolved -

That the Committee:

(i)       Stresses the importance of:

·       Ensuring sustainability for the future and building headroom into the budget to respond to future challenges, such as a rise in energy costs.

·       The development of a forward plan for future capital investment across all sites.

·       Systems to ensure oversight by the Council and early identification of any future funding issues.

·       Developing and building upon the relationships and partnerships that have been established with community groups and other stakeholders in order to; maximise the possibilities for external funding opportunities and fundraising, and explore all options in respect of the future model, including pricing structure.

·       Effective communication with residents about the benefits of retaining the current partnership model and to ensure understanding of the issues and the implications of the proposals.

·       Establishing a timetable for the establishment of the future model.

·       The recognition that the facilities contribute to the health and wellbeing of the residents of Kirklees and have a positive impact in terms of social connectivity.

(ii)       Acknowledges the significant response to the consultation and the work undertaken to analyse the responses, and welcomes the proposed review to identify any lessons learned for future Council consultations.

(iii)      Recognises the benefits of fundraising by community groups being directed towards supporting capital projects.

(iv)      Notes:

·      That a future plan for physical activity across Dewsbury is to be developed and the feasibility of keeping dry-side facilities at Dewsbury Sports Centre will be explored, whilst balancing the sustainability of the whole of the model. It is recommended that timescales for this work should be put in place.

·      That Deighton Sports Arena will remain open, and continue to be operated by KAL, in the short term so that options to maintain community access to the facility can be explored.

·       That the position in respect of the revised treatment of VAT for leisure centres is to be explored.

·       The re-modelling of finances undertaken by KAL to increase income.