What is this project all about? Where did it come from?
Following Best Value and CPA assessments (which highlighted the lack of clarity of direction and lack of investment in sports/leisure for the District) a report was commissioned from Knight Kavanagh Page (KKP) leisure consultants, which led to a Leisure Strategy for the period 2005-2008 being developed and the Lincolnshire Facilities Strategy ‘Change 4 Sport’.
With regard to Louth, KKP recommended:
Improve fitness provision in Louth
Support Cricket Clubs to upgrade facilities
Identify sites that can be re-designed as mini-soccer sites
Support Louth Sports Association (LSA) to find funds for pitch improvement on the London Road site
Refurbish/replace Louth Swimming Pool - to include the provision of a learner pool and a programme that allows greater flexibility for swimming clubs and casual users
Develop/enhance the GP referral scheme throughout the District
To address gaps in sports hall provision Give consideration to the closure of the hall at Louth Sports Association and the site developed as the key focus for outdoor sports provision in the Louth area
Underpinning these documents is the Leisure Improvement Programme, which sets out in detail the Council’s commitments for the three years.
A major part of the Leisure Improvement programme is a capital scheme for the development of sport and leisure facilities in Louth: The Community Leisure Project.
What does this project aim to achieve?
1. To replace and improve upon the Louth Swimming Pool, which is near the end of its economic life.
2. To provide facilities in accordance with the ‘Hierarchy of Provision’ for a large town.
3. To replace and improve upon the existing Louth Sports Association facilities at London Road, which are in a poor condition, outdated and at the end of their economic life.
4. To play a major role in addressing health, crime reduction and anti-social behaviour issues in the community.
5. To provide high quality venues, centrally located, to cater for the first three levels (i.e. up to ‘Performance’ level) of the Sports Development Continuum.
6. To facilitate higher-level coach education courses (NGB Stage III) and volunteer education courses.
7. To provide leisure facilities aimed at catering for the broadest possible cross-section of the community and which have the capability to accommodate non-sport activity including (but not restricted to): exhibitions, health improvement initiatives, meetings, extended education, childcare, youth service activities.
What determined the facility mix in the project?
In determining levels of provision in the District, within the Leisure Strategy, a guideline known as the ‘hierarchy of provision’ has been developed, which identifies the minimum level of leisure provision, which might be expected, based on levels of likely demand. The hierarchy follows the ‘Settlement Hierarchy’ developed in the Council’s local plan.
Non-statutory consultation has been run throughout the course of the project and will continue to do so. The first two stages of consultation in 2005 highlighted what the public wanted from leisure in Louth and from there, the project was born.
Were decisions taken using an adequate consultation process?
Absolutely!
The process at arriving at the scope of the Community Leisure Project and the location of the leisure centre on Wood Lane has taken approximately three years and includes the most comprehensive consultation exercise ever undertaken by the District Council.
Consultation suggested the use of the Wallis House site. Although the whole site was not available, the Council were able to purchase one corner to enable the leisure centre to move back from the road.
It also suggested that neighbours did not want to lose their view of St James Church spire. For this reason the Council worked with the architects to ensure the roof sloped, allowing the view to remain.
The Audit Commission have a guide on sampling, which we strictly adhere to in any consultation. In order to be 95% confident that the responses are representative of the population, the Commission set out how many responses are required back from the population of the area that is being consulted.
Meetings have been held on a frequent basis with the local sports clubs and schools and updates have been provided at the local Sports Forum.
Further consultation is being planned with all residents and other stakeholders to influence various other stages of the project (programming and activities and the use of the IT suite in the leisure centre as examples)
Where are we at presently? (Spring/Summer 2008)
We have full planning permission for the Wood Lane and London Road developments.
Work has now begun on London Road - with the whole facility (pavilion and pitches) being opened to the public/clubs in Spring 2009.
Although work was due to start on the Wood Lane site in Spring 2007, this changed as a result of an application to Lincolnshire County Council by a small group of local residents for the site to be designated as a Village Green. This application was rejected by their committee members but another application was immediately submitted.
Lincolnshire County Council (as registration authority for the County) decided that this application should be independently assessed by an Inspector.
The Inspector (Mr Tim Morshead QC of Landmark Chambers, London) heard the application at a public inquiry in November 2007 and subsequently wrote a report which recommended the second application also be rejected. County Council agreed with this decision at their Planning and Regulations meeting on 10 February 2008.
East Lindsey District Council's Executive Board gave the final green light to plough ahead with the leisure centre element of the project on 18 March 2008.
· Linpave Building Ltd in Rand, Nr Wragby, is the building contractor · William Saunders Partnership is the architect · Thornton Firkin of Lincoln provides the Council with an Independent Client Advisor. (The ICA advises on all elements of the project build, such as quantity surveying and on site project management.)
The Council is also working closely with national governing bodies and funding partners.
What are the capital costs?
· Costs are detailed in the Executive Board Report of 09.05.06. This is available within the public domain and can be viewed by following links to the Reports, Minutes and Agendas section.
Total net cost of proposals to ELDC are £13.572m.
This figure is broken down as follows: - Wood Lane development - £11.663m - London Road development - £1.557m - Wainfleet Road (Skegness) replacement changing rooms - £0.352m
The implications for revenue expenditure are detailed in the report.
How was it decided that Louth should get all the investment? There are other areas that need the money for leisure aren’t there?
Louth is the latest in a line of developments in sports and recreation across the District. The Leisure Strategy demonstrates a commitment by the Authority to develop and improve facilities with a significant capital investment programme – some of which is complete but much still in hand.
To date we have completed the refurbishment of the Embassy Leisure Centre in Skegness; Multi-Activity Community Areas in Sutton on Sea and Louth, a £0.5m spend on play areas and the development of Horncastle Pool and Fitness Suite (which also changed from just 6-month opening to all-year-round). In addition, the Council supported the X-treme Sports Centre in Skegness.
Currently we are working on the latest project in Louth. In addition to this, proposals for further improvements currently in the pipe-line include £260k Lottery Funding for play, a £1.5m revamp on Jubilee Park in Woodhall Spa and proposals for new and improved facilities in Mablethorpe.
As well as the above capital investment across the District, the Council’s annual revenue spend on sports and leisure is significant and totalled £2.5m for the year 2005/06.
What will be the additional cost to the taxpayer for the running of the Louth based facilities?
The Council has a proven track record of keeping Council Tax levels at inflationary levels with currently the 10th lowest Council Tax in England.
For 2008/09, the Fundamental Budget Review has aligned budgets to Council ambitions. The overall increase in Council Tax for 2008/09 for all services provided by East Lindsey District Council was no more than £5 for a Band D rated property. This is less than 10p per week.
Have the financial implications been communicated to the Council Tax payer?
All financial information agreed by Council and by Executive Board is within the public domain either via the website or for public inspection at Tedder Hall. It has also been reported in the press as a result of these meetings.
Public awareness of the project is being handled as part of a comprehensive communications strategy.
What support does the Council have for external funding?
ELDC has been particularly successful in attracting revenue funding for sports development from Sport England, at times the proportion of external funding being as high as 50% of a project cost – for example, community sports coaches. There is no ‘rule of thumb’ proportion that can be attached to capital funding bids. Currently, Sport England and Lottery Funding for capital developments is extremely limited, ELDC having been advised of this at an early stage. It is obvious that bids for funding can only be made to funding bodies whose criteria for receiving bids are relevant to any given project. An evaluation of appropriate funding bodies was undertaken and the team are delighted to announce that the following amounts have been granted to aid in the development of the London Road element of the project (pitches and pavilion):
Football Foundation - £499,000 (capital) and £100,000 (revenue) England and Wales Cricket Board - £90,000 (capital)
