Council and councillors

KEY DECISION

12/2020

1.    Cabinet approved a variation to the current contract for the operation of the Catmose Sports facility with Stevenage Leisure Ltd, to extend the contract on current terms by twelve months, terminating on 31^st March 2022.

2.    Cabinet approved the use of £29,000 from “Invest to Save” funds, and authorises the Director for Places to agree the appointment of a consultancy, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Culture & Leisure, and the Portfolio Holder for Finance, to scope appropriate future leisure provision for the County.

Report No.21/2020 was received from the Strategic Director for Places. Councillor Stephenson introduced the report the purpose of which was to approve a variation to the current contract for the operation of the Catmose Sports facility with Stevenage Leisure Ltd, to extend the contract on current terms by twelve months, terminating on 31^st March 2022.  The extension would allow time for the consideration of appropriate future leisure provision for the County, and implementation of Member decisions.

During discussion the following points were noted:

·       Parking had improved significantly on the Catmose site since an additional parking extension area had been added. Most residents using the sports facilities parked during the day and later in the evening but there were sometimes issues at peak times.

·       What was being proposed was a sensible move forward and it was expected that a lot more detail would be included in the proposal that eventually came forward.

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Cabinet unanimously voted to move into private session

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At 10.44am Cabinet voted to move back into public session in order to vote on the report’s recommendations.

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DECISIONS:

1.    Cabinet APPROVED a variation to the current contract for the operation of the Catmose Sports facility with Stevenage Leisure Ltd, to extend the contract on current terms by twelve months, terminating on 31^st March 2022.

2.    Cabinet APPROVED the use of £29,000 from “Invest to Save” funds, and authorises the Director for Places to agree the appointment of a consultancy, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Culture & Leisure, and the Portfolio Holder for Finance, to scope appropriate future leisure provision for the County.

Reasons for the decisions

Extending the current contract would provide sufficient time for a thorough appraisal of the leisure market options, and for Members to make an informed decision on the future of sports and leisure in the County.