Issue - meetings

In accordance with Regulation 10(1)(a) of the Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Meetings and Access to Information) (England) Regulations 2012, the proper officer has informed Councillor Noordad Aziz, Chair of the Resources Overview and Scrutiny Committee, that it is intended that the following key decision will be made by Cabinet on 18^th March 2026, under the General Exception provisions, on the grounds that the decision is urgent and cannot reasonably be deferred.

Report attached.

In accordance with Regulation 10(1)(a) of the Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Meetings and Access to Information) (England) Regulations 2012, the proper officer had informed Councillor Noordad Aziz, Chair of the Resources Overview and Scrutiny Committee, that it was intended that the following key decision would be made by Cabinet on 18^th March 2026, under the General Exception provisions, on the grounds that the decision was urgent and could not reasonably be deferred.

Members considered a report of Councillor Munsif Dad, Leader of the Council, presenting options to Cabinet for securing the long-term provision of leisure services within Hyndburn.

Councillor Dad provided a brief introduction to the report, highlighting the main issues addressed in the report which included the following:

• The award of new 30-year leases to Hyndburn Leisure (“HL”);
• The proposed write off from trading debt between HL and the Council;
• Compliance with subsidy control legislation;
• Payment of the annual financial support payment to Hyndburn Leisure in respect of the 2026/27 financial year; and
• The potential release of bad debt provisions from Council’s balance sheet.

Councillor Zak Khan commented that he supported, in principle, the writing off of the trading debt, but enquired about the following

• whether the figure of £1,624m was the entire debt owed;
• whether HL could adequately maintain the buildings in the longer term under a full repairing lease; and
•  what improvements to the financial management arrangement had been realised as a result of the negotiations with HL.

Martin Dyson Executive Director (Resources) confirmed that the total debt figure was as reported.  The Leader responded that a 30-year lease would enable HL to attract in additional funding and it had a track record of doing so previously.  Regarding improved outcome, the Council had set out some key requirements which were being monitored.  The Portfolio Holder, Executive Director (Resources) had regular meetings with HL.  Going forward:

• HL would manage their own Human Resources function in full;
• The Town Hall would come back into the Council’s responsibility in 2027; and
• The subsidy required over the last few years would be minimised.

Overall the Council wanted HL to continue, to prosper and to have a good working relationship with the authority.

Approval of the report was deemed a key decision.

Reasons for Decision

HL hade been the operating the Council’s leisure facilities since April 2002 and currently managed the following venues on behalf of the Council:

• Hyndburn Leisure Centre;
• Mercer Hall;
• Cath Thom Leisure Centre / Wilsons site including playing fields, athletics track and sports pitches;
• Accrington Town Hall;
• Oswaldtwistle West End Community Centre; and
• Bank Mill House Community Centre.

The Council had undertaken a review of its Leisure Management options in 2024 as it had been over twenty years since the current delivery arrangements had been set up, and both the Council and HL recognised that a lot had changed in that time.

The Council and HL had agreed that it was sensible to review the current operating model to ensure that it was still the best way  ...  view the full minutes text for item 348