Agenda and minutes

An apology for absence was received from Councillor T J Bartlett.

There were no substitute members appointed.

To receive any declarations of interest from Members in respect of business to be transacted on the agenda.

There were no declarations of interest made by Members.

To confirm the notes of the meeting of the Committee held on 12 January 2017 (to follow).

The notes of the meeting of the Group held on 12 January 2017 were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

To receive a briefing on the current proposed design, highlighting amendments made since the last Project Advisory Group meeting, in particular site layout, parking arrangements, landscaping, accessibility and elevations.

The Group was advised that the design had changed to incorporate future proofing requirements that would allow for the potential construction of a spa or other facility type in the future. The changes were as followed:

·         The plant room for the pool had been moved from the basement to the ground floor. This change would save £100,000, reduce the construction time as a basement was no longer required and allow for the easiest replacement of plant in the future.

·         Moving the delivery area.

·         Improvements to the drop off space for minibuses.

There had been minor changes to the design to ensure a better use of space at the entrance and avoid heat loss and dust traps.

There would be ‘wayfinding colours’ used in the building to guide people to the various areas and this colour scheme would be reflected in the silhouettes of sports people on the external dry side wall. Sport England had requested that more diversity be included in the silhouettes.

The fine tuning of the retail space would be worked out with the operator when appointed but Sports England had stated that they were satisfied with the space provided for retail.

The focus on wi-fi provision would be for the restaurant and the poolside seating but the actual positioning would be determined once the site was built.  

There would be space for an additional two wheelchair spectator spaces in the poolside area. The Council was engaging with accessibility groups on the design.

The planning application was expected to be submitted in March with the intention of it being considered at the June 2017 Planning Committee meeting.

To receive a briefing on the project programme.

Members were advised that the programme was broadly on schedule. As previously publicised, there were no changes since the last Project Advisory Group meeting.

To receive a briefing on advice received during the pre-planning application meeting and progress on preparing the planning application.

The Principal Infrastructure and Delivery Officer stated that the case officer appointed by the planning department for pre-application advice had commented on the information provided to them so far. As part of the application it would set out the reasons why a town centre site was not selected. There was still some work needing to be undertaken in respect of the development of a travel plan.

The Leisure Centre would have a minimum of 250 parking spaces although it was not expected that there would be a need for use of 250 spaces every day. However, it was sufficient for the number of spaces required for a swimming gala.

Members were informed that a meeting with Kent County Council and Stagecoach was being organised to model bus routes and identify whether any contribution would be needed and it was noted that the nearby Lidl application could have an impact on this. It was suggested that Councillor N J Collor be in attendance at that meeting as the relevant portfolio holder.

To receive a briefing on progress.

The Director of Environment and Corporate Assets advised that it was hoped that the land acquisition process would complete before the end of the following week.

To note the following meeting dates:

9 March at 4.45pm

6 April at 4.45pm

11 May at 4.45pm

The dates of future meetings were noted.

It was moved by Councillor N J Collor, duly seconded and

RESOLVED:     That, under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business on the grounds that the item to be considered involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of Part I of Schedule 12A of the Act.

To receive a briefing on the main risks and steps being taken to mitigate them.

Members received a report on the potential risks affecting the project.

To receive a briefing on the overall project costs, affordability, budget and anticipated spend profile.

Members received an update on the project costs.

It was noted that as a result of the changes to the design there had been a number of costs savings achieved. However, there was still some uncertainty over the costs involved due to the ground conditions.

To receive a briefing on the operator procurement process, including the approach for pricing and programming.

The Principal Leisure Officer provided an update on the leisure operator procurement. Members were advised that several documents including the Service Specification, the Leisure Operating Contract and Asset Management Responsibility Matrix were  being refined. The Principal Leisure Officer explained how the pricing of facilities was approached in the service specification. The market would be asked to complete a table of proposed prices for all leisure centre facilities. Although there was no control over membership prices, there were core facility prices that were protected and measures would be put in place to help control how these were increased.

The core facility areas included gym sessions, fitness classes, badminton court hire, 3G Pitch hire and Swimming.   It was added that following feedback from accessibility groups, in particular, carer admission costs would be reviewed.

The provision of free car parking at Dover leisure Centre was also discussed and arrangements for monitoring the implementation of this were under review.