HERITAGE CULTURE AND LEISURE COMMITTEE |
3 July 2018 |
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MBC Outdoor Sports Facilities Booking Process |
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Final Decision-Maker |
Heritage Culture and Leisure Committee |
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Lead Head of Service/Lead Director |
William Cornall Director of Regeneration & Place |
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Lead Officer and Report Author |
Dawn Hudd Head of Regeneration & Economic Development |
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Classification |
Public |
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Wards affected |
All |
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Executive Summary |
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This report sets out the process for the booking of council sports pitches.
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This report makes the following recommendations to this Committee: |
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1. This report is to note. |
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Timetable |
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Meeting |
Date |
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Heritage, Culture & Leisure Committee |
3 July 2018 |
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MBC Outdoor Sports Facilities Booking Process |
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1. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND
Background
1.1 Maidstone Borough
Council has outdoor sports pitches in some of its parks and open spaces.
Currently there are 22 Junior Football pitches of various sizes depending on
age, 7 Senior Football Pitches, 3 Rugby Pitches and recently we have installed
American Football pitches at Shepway Green. The number of pitches prepared and
available can be changed depending on need.
Current pitch booking process
1.2 The current process
for booking MBC pitches is as follows:
1.3 In June each year all
sports teams that hired pitches during the previous season, or have expressed
interest in doing so for the new season are contacted by MBC regarding their
requirements for the coming season. Teams replying that they wish to hire are
then sent an application to hire form and a copy of the conditions of hire.
Any new teams are also set up with an account with Serco (the operators of
Maidstone Leisure Centre (MLC)), who manage the collection of funds and weekly
booking of pitches.
1.4 Teams who hired
pitches the previous season are given first refusal for the same pitch for the
forthcoming season.
1.5 Teams are given
until mid-July to respond, when they will be issued a contract letter by MBC
which advises of hire process and costs.
1.6 Teams then book
pitches for their fixtures for and during the season with MLC, this service is
provided as part of their contract. Most teams request to take the block
booking option which is VAT exempt. Teams are invoiced over the course of the
season and must play a minimum of ten home games. If they do not play 10 games
at home they will still be charged for 10 in order to avoid paying VAT. If
more than 10 games are played then these will be invoiced at the end of the
season.
1.7 The weekly pitch
allocation is produced by MLC and is passed on to the MBC Grounds Maintenance
Team who prepare the pitches as per the booking sheet.
1.8 MLC will invoice teams twice over the course of the season. MBC will then invoice MLC for this income when received from the clubs.
1.9 If any issues occur
i.e. invoices not being paid or changing rooms left in a state these are
addressed by MBC with the teams directly.
1.10 Hirers wishing to book a single
pitch can contact Maidstone Leisure Centre direct to book and pay for the
pitches.
Maintenance and Condition of Pitches
1.11 All MBC pitches in the borough are
maintained by MBC. This includes line marking. Clubs supply and install their
own goal nets.
Pitch Charges
1.12 Fees and Charges for sports pitches
are agreed by council along with all other fees and charges every year. The
charges are regularly benchmarked against other pitch providers and as well as
this officers through discussion with the football leagues get an indication as
to what an appropriate level is. Because of this there has not been an increase
in the charge for MBC Football and Rugby Pitches since 2012.
1.13 The current prices for football
pitches are as follows:
1.14 The current prices for rugby are as
follows:
1.15 Some MBC sites also have changing
rooms and showers, although the demand for these are very limited as juniors
clubs no longer use changing rooms.
Cancellation of pitches
1.16 Currently clubs cannot cancel a
pitch after the Wednesday before a fixture. The reason for this is that MBC
will have had to pay for the pitch to be prepared.
1.17 If MBC has to cancel a game as the
pitch is not playable a message will be left on the answer phone which all
clubs can access. Unfortunately clubs often choose to ignore the answer phone
and play pitches when they are too wet which causes damage and reduces quality
further.
MBC Resources
1.18 Up until July 2011 MBC employed a Sports Bookings Assistant who dealt with all matters relating to sports bookings including dealing with clubs, contracts, taking weekly bookings and charging clubs.
1.19 After this time in order to enable the sports bookings to continue MLC was approached, and agreed, to take on the weekly booking and charging to sports clubs. Until now MLC have charged MBC to carry out this work at a cost of £5,562 per annum, we are currently working with them on a contract amendment which will make this service a contractual obligation.
1.20 At this time the Leisure Monitoring
Officer took on the role of liaising with Clubs at the start of the season,
issuing of contracts and overseeing how the Leisure Centre were managing the
sports bookings process.
1.21 In December 2016, the Leisure
Monitoring Officer left MBC and the post was moved to the Commissioning and
Business Improvement Team. The part of the role that dealt with sports pitch
bookings did not transfer as it was unrelated to the contract monitoring role.
Since this time there has been very little resource left to deal with sports
pitch bookings and this has been dealt with on an ad-hoc basis.
1.22 The reduction in resource to deal with sports booking has had an impact on the level of service that sports clubs have received.
1.23 It is proposed that the liaison with
the sports clubs and the annual contact with them regarding seasonal bookings
will sit entirely to MLC. This will provide a clearer line of responsibility
and a clearer and easier process for the customer. Any queries or complaints
can then be dealt with at source. We are currently working with MLC to
finalise these arrangements.
Playing Pitch Strategy
1.24 As part of the work being carried
out for the local plan a Playing Pitch Strategy is currently being produced by
the Strategic Planning Team. This will identify the type, number and quality of
playing pitches that will be required up until 2031 to accommodate the
additional houses that are being built in the borough. A report will be
brought to HCLC in due course.
1.25 This strategy should provide the opportunity and funding for improvements in the number and quality of pitches going forward.
2.
AVAILABLE
OPTIONS
2.1
This
report is to note only.
3. PREFERRED OPTION AND REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATIONS
3.1 This report is to note only.
4. RISK
4.1 This report is presented for information only and has no risk management implications.
5. CONSULTATION RESULTS AND PREVIOUS COMMITTEE FEEDBACK
5.1 None.
6. NEXT STEPS: COMMUNICATION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE DECISION
6.1 The final arrangements with MLC will be agreed and the clubs notified of the new process.
7. CROSS-CUTTING ISSUES AND IMPLICATIONS
Issue |
Implications |
Sign-off |
Impact on Corporate Priorities |
We do not expect the recommendations will by themselves materially affect achievement of corporate priorities. However, they will support the Council’s overall achievement of its aims to provide good leisure and cultural attractions and to encourage health and wellbeing. |
Head of Regeneration and Economic Development |
Risk Management |
Already covered in the risk section of this report |
Head of Regeneration and Economic Development |
Financial |
The proposals set out in the recommendation are all within already approved budgetary headings and so need no new funding for implementation. |
Head of Regeneration and Economic Development |
Staffing |
We will deliver the recommendations with our current staffing. |
Head of Regeneration and Economic Development |
Legal |
N/A |
Head of Regeneration and Economic Development |
Privacy and Data Protection |
Any data collected will be processed in accordance with the appropriate data protection legislation. |
Head of Regeneration and Economic Development |
Equalities |
There are no impacts identified, however it is important to communicate our policies widely to ensure access to services especially for hard to reach groups. |
Equalities and Corporate Policy Officer |
Crime and Disorder
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N/A |
Head of Regeneration and Economic Development |
Procurement |
N/A
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Head of Regeneration and Economic Development |
8. REPORT APPENDICES
· None
9. BACKGROUND PAPERS
· None