Agenda item

Report attached.

In accordance with Regulation 11 of the Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Meetings and Access to Information) (England) Regulations 2012, approval was obtained from Councillor Patrick McGinley, Chair of the Resources Overview and Scrutiny Committee, to the following decision being made by Cabinet on 22^nd March 2023, under the special urgency provisions for key decisions, on the grounds that the decision was urgent and could not reasonably be deferred.

 

Members considered a report of Councillor Marlene Haworth, Deputy Leader of the Council, informing the Cabinet of work undertaken by independent consultants to the Council on potential alternative sites for the development of the proposed new leisure facility.  The additional report had been carried out in response to stakeholder feedback, highlighting concerns regarding the independence of the previous site options report.

 

In addition, the report sought approval to amend the delegated authority in place for the project.  Delegated authority for this project had previously been agreed to the Deputy Chief Executive.  As a result of the delegated person retiring from the organisation, the report identified a new director to delegate these responsibilities to.

 

Councillor Haworth outlined the main elements of the report, including the overarching need to increase public participation in health and wellbeing and the delivery of an investment plan to address the issue of ageing facilities via Hyndburn Leisure.  She reminded Members of the option sites considered by the consultants.

 

Each site had been assessed objectively using the same criteria.  Wilson Playing Fields was the independent consultants’ recommendation.  The site was already an established leisure and sports location.  Wilson had a good balance of access, parking facilities, links to countryside walks, which would support the site’s long term management and deliverability.  None of the other sites were considered to be suitable.

 

The report to Cabinet also reinforced the Council’s commitment to repurposing Mercer Hall and reiterated that it was no longer suitable for use as a leisure facility.  That building was not large enough and any extension proposed would be costly given the heritage considerations.  The building did however have potential for other uses.  It was an attractive structure and remained a positive addition to Great Harwood town centre.  There was now an opportunity to reinstate some of the original features of the historic building.

 

The proposed new leisure facility at Wilson Playing Field would be financed by up to £10M from the Council.  A funding application had also been made to Sport England for £2M.  The outcome of that bid was awaited.  An application would also be made to the Council’s capital fund in 2023 to deliver feasibility work at Mercer Hall.

 

The Leader commented that the process had continued over many years and had been well documented in numerous reports.  The emotional attachment of some residents to the existing leisure facilities was understood, but the decision had to be taken with the head rather than the heart.  It was still the intention to repurpose Mercer Hall, as had been done with Great Harwood Town Hall, Bank Mil House and Churchfield House.  Other uses for the building were canvassed three years ago, but there had been a campaign to keep a pool in Great Harwood.  Members were reminded that the proposals had come from Hyndburn Leisure and that the Opposition Leader, as a member if the Trust’s Board, had been fully engaged in this process.  The issue had inevitably been seized upon during various election campaigns.

 

The Council remained committed to investing in Mercer Hall.  However, Hyndburn Leisure needed to keep its business model under review in order to remain viable, so as to be able to deliver leisure and health benefits across the Borough.  The Trust was, in fact, doing well and was sought out by its peers for advice as an example of good practice.

 

Councillor Dad concurred that Hyndburn had poor health and wellbeing outcomes, particularly around obesity and the impacts of COVID-19, which needed to be addressed.  Mercer Hall remained an iconic building and its best future use needed to be identified.  He queried the use of the analogy at Paragraph 3.1 of the report, comparing exercise to a pill.  However, he was pleased to see a new options report, as the previous report had not been viewed by some as sufficiently independent.

 

The Leader responded that the reference to exercise as a pill was somewhat tongue in cheek, but illustrated the point about the need for cost effective prevention of ill-health.  The Council had been able to cease its annual subsidy to Hyndburn Leisure of around £1m, freeing up those resources for other uses.  In addition, sports provision would be available through Hyndburn Leisure’s operation of the facilities at Hyndburn Academy in Rishton (recently announced as a new build school under the Government’s Schools Rebuilding Programme) and Accrington Academy and the facilities provided by Accrington Stanley Community Trust.

 

Councillor Harrison congratulated Hyndburn Leisure on their good work over the last few years.

 

Approval of the report was a key decision.

 

Reasons for Decision

 

The report included a detailed introduction to the overall proposals and the following information:

 

Site Location for the New Leisure Facility

 

In response to stakeholder feedback, highlighting concerns regarding the independence of the previous site options report, a second study had been commissioned, led by a new, independent consultant who had no prior involvement with the review process or with any of the proposed alternative sites.  In commissioning a further site options report, officers had accepted that the conclusions of the previous site options report were potentially rendered unreliable by a conflict of interest on the part of one of the authors who was also involved in developing proposals for the Wilson site.  When considering the new site options report and the recommendations in this report, Members were asked to consider this matter and their preferred site afresh, having regard to the documents appended to the new report and disregarding the recommendations of the previous site options report.

 

The new site options report had considered the following sites:

 

• Mercer Hall, Queen Street, Great Harwood, BB6 7AL;
• Wilson Playing Fields Clayton Hall Drive, Clayton Le Moors, BB5 5SF;
• Windsor Recreation Ground, Great Harwood, BB6 7AU;
• Land at Alan Ramsbottom Way, Great Harwood, BB6 7UR;
• Former Gas Holding Site, Great Harwood, BB6 7UA.

 

In assessing these sites the new site options report had considered the following:

 

• An overview of the objectives and ‘specifications’ of the Hyndburn Leisure Transformation Project and specifically a proposed replacement pool and associated facilities;
• An overview of relevant national and local planning and other policy to place the site-specific review in context;
• A review of the potential sites;
• A comparative assessment of the sites; and
• Conclusions and recommendations.

 

All of the sites had been evaluated and assessed using the same criteria to ensure a fair and consistent approach.

 

The new site options report reflected site visits and desk-top research.  It drew on complementary, supporting assessments which were appended to the report.  These were:

 

• Socio-Economic and Accessibility Appraisal; and
• Mercer Hall Building Appraisal.

 

The study recommended that Wilson Playing Fields should be considered the preferred option for the reasons, and on the basis of the evidence, set out in the new site options report.  The site was already an established leisure and sports location, located between Great Harwood and Clayton le Moors.  There were immediate and existing links to good quality sports facilities and links to countryside walking routes.  It offered a good balance between accessibility, impact on participation, long term management and deliverability.

 

The study concluded that no other option sites were wholly suitable to accommodate the required development.

 

The Future of Mercer Hall

 

An independent external study had considered the potential to refurbish or upgrade the building to accommodate the identified leisure requirement.

 

The study highlighted that the building was not currently large enough to do this, in particular to accommodate the 25m/ 4-lane swimming pool.  Further, the supporting spaces were disparately located across the building, with convoluted access routes which were often narrow and without natural light.

 

The study stated that the fitness suite and dance studios appeared of an adequate size, but might not suit any growth in demand in the Borough, as they were fairly small in comparison to other local authority leisure centres which had been built more recently.

 

It was identified that a significant programme of work would be required to bring the current facility up to the standard which patrons could reasonably expect and that given the constrained size of the existing building, it would be necessary to extend the building in some way to accommodate an increased leisure provision.

 

The study concluded that Mercer Hall did not offer the possibility in its own right to provide the level and quality of accommodation required to support continued use as a leisure centre aligned with the identified spatial requirement in the Borough.  The pool was small in size and even with a full refurbishment to repair the tank from leaks, it would not comply with current Sport England guidance on layout/arrangement or size for either the pool tank or the changing areas.

 

However, the study identified that the facility did have potential for continued operation for other uses.  The central hall in particular had the potential to offer significant opportunity for a variety of community-facing uses either if the swimming pool were to be filled in, or even if it were to be retained.

 

There were no alternative options for consideration or reasons

 

Resolved                                    -    That Cabinet:

 

(1)   Notes the equality impact assessment attached to the report;

 

(2)   Agrees to replace the current Mercer Hall leisure facility and Wilson Pavillion with a new facility at Wilson Playing Fields, as detailed in paragraph 4.5 and supported by the Site Options Analysis Study (Appendix 1);

 

(3)   Agrees to progress feasibility work to repurpose Mercer Hall, to ensure that it remains a community asset;

 

(4)   Agrees to delegate authority to the Council’s section 151 officer to agree the terms of the proposed development management agreement with Alliance Leisure Ltd pursuant to the terms of the UK Leisure Framework and to complete the same, together with power to agree and complete any related agreements or contract variations with Alliance Leisure Ltd or its sub-contractors;

 

(5)   Agrees to delegate authority to the Council’s section 151 officer to agree the terms of, and complete, any necessary agreements with Hyndburn Leisure in respect of the proposed Leisure Estate Investment Programme at Hyndburn Sports Centre and Wilson Playing Fields, including any necessary variation to the lease of the building and any necessary licence to carry out alterations; and

 

(6)   Agrees to delegate authority to the Council’s section 151 officer to agree the terms of any grant funding awards from Sport England and other bodies willing to support the Council’s leisure investment programme.