Agenda item

To provide the Panel with an update on leisure provision (report of the Assistant Director - Leisure and Culture enclosed).

Consideration was given to the report of the Assistant Director – Leisure and Culture which sought to provide the Panel with an update on leisure provision and future provisions

The report was introduced by the Assistant Director – Leisure and Culture who highlighted the following key points:

• Usage at the Castle Pool had increased during the quarter but visits to the Castle Sports Centre and Peele Leisure Centre had decreased.
• Overall membership numbers had started to decrease and there had also been a decrease in the number of sales at each site.
• The operator had highlighted a number of maintenance issues within the quarter and also noted that the Omicron Variant of Covid had impacted customer usage within the quarter.
• There were also concerns about the volatility of utility prices.

Members considered the report and made the following comments:

• Members asked whether the Authority were eligible for the grant being provided by the Government to assist with energy costs for swimming pools.
  • The Assistant Director – Leisure and Culture stated that officers were attending webinars to gain an answer to this but it was likely that the Castle Sports Pool would not be eligible as Levelling Up funding had been received to build a new pool.
  • It was noted that a revenue bid for energy costs had been discovered and officers were awaiting the result of that bid.
• Members asked if quarterly performance reports could be brought forward in a timelier manner to the Panel.
  • The Assistant Director – Leisure and Culture stated that the Panel had previously requested updates every six months. He confirmed that he would liaise with the Democratic Services Officer and the Chairman of PMP to look to amend the work programme to potentially bring these reports forwards quarterly.
• Members suggested that the Peele Leisure Centre also needed investment as a matter of urgency.
  • The Assistant Director – Leisure and Culture clarified that the Peele Leisure Centre was owned by the University Academy Long Sutton not the Council. He confirmed that conversations were ongoing with the school about repairs/maintenance to the facility in the future.
• Members asked who was driving the marketing for these leisure facilities and whether there was anything the Council could do to encourage further marketing.
• Members queried whether the figures provided for ‘academy use’ were correct as the appendix quoted the same number of hours for three consecutive months.
  • The Assistant Director – Leisure and Culture explained that these figures were provided by University Academy Long Sutton.
• Members expressed concern about the lack of marketing they had seen for the Peele Leisure Centre and suggested that this needed to be improved immediately.
  • The Assistant Director – Leisure and Culture confirmed that promotion and marketing were part of Parkwood’s responsibilities as operators and that they had recently produced some leaflets to promote the Peele, along with advertisement on social media.
  • He stated that he would find out where leaflets had been distributed to.
• Members requested sight of Parkwood’s marketing plan for the Peele Leisure Centre.
  • The Assistant Director – Leisure and Culture confirmed that he would also engage with the Council’s Communications team to help further Parkwood’s promotions.
• Members requested that the quarterly data be presented in a more meaningful way for future reports.
• Members noted that no promotion could be seen on the Peele Leisure Centre’s Facebook since June 2023.
• Members noted that the figures for bowls and gym usage seemed lower than previous years and asked how this could be improved.
  • The Assistant Director – Leisure and Culture confirmed that usage numbers did fluctuate throughout the year and some drops in figures were due to the Omicron Covid variant.
• Members were particularly concerned by the drop off in usage of facilities by the bowls club as previously the numbers had been very encouraging and requested that the operator explained why this was the case.
  • The Assistant Director – Leisure and Culture confirmed that a conversation would take place with the operator about the position of the bowls club.
• Members queried what the timetable was for information being provided to the Panel about the new Health & Wellbeing Hub.
  • The Assistant Director – Strategic Growth and Development stated that progress was being made with the project on site and confirmed that Spring 2024 was a crucial point for decision to be made on the project by the Council.
  • It was also noted that the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Panel would be kept regularly briefed on the progression of this project.

AGREED:

That the 2022/23 Quarter 4 performance outcomes be noted along with the approach for future options and opportunities for leisure provision in South Holland.