Agenda item

To consider the report (attached) following the Leisure Management Contract Partnership Board meeting held on 27 September 2018.

The Acting Chief Executive provided the following update on the leisure contract with Places for People (Leisure) (PfP).

PfP had reported on the management of the Contract from its commencement in April 2017 – August 2018 at the last meeting of the Leisure Management Contract Partnership Board on 27 September 2018. The PfP performance report had showed a very rewarding start to the contract since taking it over. There had been many changes and achievements with usage up in virtually every category of membership and casual usage across all four centres at Epping, Loughton, Ongar and Waltham Abbey. The performance report detailed the investment and improvements made to the buildings, facilities, work practices, staffing levels and also covered health and safety. Since taking over, PfP had invested in excess of £14 million.

The new Waltham Abbey Leisure Centre had been officially opened by the Leisure and Community Services Portfolio Holder, Councillor H Kane, on 17 November 2018. The opening weekend had received a very successful start when lots of people had joined the leisure centre.

Both Epping Sports Centre and Ongar Leisure Centre were aging centres that required ongoing maintenance. The Epping Sports Centre site had been allocated for residential development in the Local Plan, while Ongar had not been part of the allocation process. There was potential for a leisure centre at North Weald to service the Epping and Ongar areas but no decision had been made by the Council. With the failure of the Tripartite agreement on the Epping St John’s Road site, new opportunities had been created. Consultants were currently conducting a feasibility study of the St John’s Road site to include a new leisure centre, retail shops, a cinema and housing. A report would be going to Cabinet on 10 December 2018 to seek additional capital for the future development of this important town centre site.

The Leisure and Community Services Portfolio Holder reported that this Council was one of the few local authorities that was investing in leisure services, and on the second date of the Waltham Abbey Leisure Centre opening, PfP had exceeded its target on memberships. There were also exciting development opportunities with the St John’s Road site and the vision for a community hub.

The Chairman commented that it would be important for PfP to retain existing memberships and build on the new ones at the Waltham Abbey Leisure Centre.

Councillor R Brookes, who had attended the official opening, acknowledged the real team effort that was evident across the board between the Portfolio Holder, officers and PfP. She also added that Loughton Leisure Centre was very well used and Epping would also benefit from a new community leisure centre.

Councillor S Neville agreed that Loughton Leisure Centre was very popular, but had had a high turnover of staff and he would be interested in seeing the statistics on this. The Acting Chief Executive replied that all the performance data given by PfP to the Leisure Management Contract Partnership Board was published in the agendas of the Board and available on the Intranet for members to view.