Agenda item

Report attached.

Councillor Paul Cox, Deputy Leader of the Council, reported on an urgent decision taken under Executive Procedure Rule B16, in relation to the proposal to refurbish and improve the skate boarding facility at Mercer Park in Clayton le Moors.  The decision, taken on 20^th August 2019, was as follows:

That Cabinet continues to support the refurbishment and improvement of the skate boarding facility in Mercer Park as outlined in the report.

That Cabinet agrees to the Council being the accountable body in respect of the project funding in accordance with the terms and conditions of relevant funding bodies.

That Cabinet delegates authority to the Deputy Head of Environmental Services in consultation with the Portfolio Holder to take all reasonable steps to implement and complete the project, entering into necessary contractual agreements and obtaining all necessary permissions and consents.

That Cabinet agrees to waive the Contract Procedure Rules to engage Proffitts CIC as Project Manager for the delivery phase of this scheme, as set out in paragraphs 3.5 & 3.6 of the report.

Approval of the report was not deemed a key decision.

Reasons for Decision

The Friends of Mercer Park are the longest standing Friends of Group in the Borough associated with a park.  Over the years the Friends of Mercer Park have worked with the Council to undertake numerous community projects and fund raising events which have benefitted the park.

The outcome of a consultation undertaken by the Friends of Mercer Park showed that local residents and young people would like to see the refurbishment of the skate park facilities in Mercer Park.

Funding bids were submitted to relevant funding bodies between July and December 2018.  The outcome was that funding bids to Sport England, Lancashire Environment Fund and Tesco were all successful.

In addition to this external funding being secured, Cabinet agreed to contribute £25,000 to the project via the capital programme for financial year 2019/20, Friends of Mercer Park contributed £3,000 and Lancashire County Council contributed £600.

Proffitts CIC, a community interest company who have expertise in green space improvement projects and audience development, submitted the funding bids as a co-applicant with the Council, at no cost to the Council.  This is because the mechanism used by the funding bodies allows any fees for time spent on developing a funding bid to be claimed directly from them during the delivery phase of the project.

The Council and Proffitts CIC were co-applicants in securing the funding for this project and Proffitts CIC has the necessary skills fulfil the Project Manager role.  As such, the Council intends for Proffitts CIC to act as Project Manager for the delivery phase of the Project.

The refurbished and improved skate boarding facility will provide a much better resource for the young people of the Borough to use.

A tender exercise has been undertaken in line with the Council’s Contract Procedure Rules and a successful contractor appointed.  The new skate facility is expected to be completed by the end of September 2019.

Alternative Options Considered and Reasons for Rejection

Not to continue with the delivery stage of skate park refurbishment in Mercer Park Clayton le Moors.  This is not recommended as grant funding has now been secured and the work can be undertaken as per the wishes of the local community.

Resolved                         -    To note the progress in relation to the proposal to refurbish and improve the skate boarding facility at Mercer Park in Clayton le Moors and the urgent decision taken on 20^th August 2019