Issue - meetings

The Chairman introduced the report and confirmed that comments made during public participation would be addressed (as far as possible) during the course of the meeting.  She highlighted the following points:

• the summary of actions from Advisory Panels on the project which was contained as Appendix 1 to the report and had been provided in response to comments made at the previous Committee meeting;

·         a preconstruction agreement  for the construction of the new facility had been agreed with  Wilmott Dixon, a firm with considerable experience of delivering leisure centres;

·         the date for the Planning Committee to consider the planning application had not yet been set but was expected to take place in October 2018;

·         Paragraphs 11.3 to 11.6 summarised earlier decisions taken by the Committee regarding the provision of bleacher seating in response to the matter being raised again at the previous Committee meeting;

·         The “Frequently Asked Questions” section of the Leisure Centre project webpage had recently been updated to address recent questions raised.

She announced two forthcoming consultation events in November for which invitations would be issued and further publicity arranged in due course.

In response to questions raised by Members during the meeting and earlier in the public participation period, the following points were made.  Responses were provided by the Head of Programme and the Head of Sport and Physical Activity, together with Mike Lawless (LA Architects) and Olivia Burton and Sean Clark (MACE) who were also present at the meeting:

Concern over seating, lighting and glass wall limiting use of sports hall

Mr Lawless confirmed that the lighting was designed to be flexible and it conformed to national guidance and Sport England requirements.  Blinds would be installed over the glass  for use as required.  Although one elevation  was intended to be glass, there was over 60m of other wall space in the hall which could be played against.

The flooring proposed was of a high standard and robust.  However users would have to have regard to the type of seating brought it to prevent damage.  For major competitions, usual practice was for a mat to be brought in to protect the floor.

Weston Park Blade Netball Club

The Head of Sport and Physical Activity confirmed that discussions had taken place with the Club who were happy that their matches could be accommodated in the new centre.  They intended to use existing chairs for matches but consider hiring in additional seating if necessary.

Provision of changing rooms for umpires of club matches

Provision of adequate changing rooms was highlighted as a key matter by two Members.

Query regarding RIBA stage 5/construction costs

The advisors from MACE stated that RIBA stage 4 involved detailed level of design being agreed which reduced the risk for the Council on handing over the scheme to a contractor.  An element of RIBA stage 5 was also part of the pre-construction stage and was split due to the design and build contract adopted by the Council. 

The contract would be awarded on a fixed  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4