Agenda and minutes

Venue: Town Hall, High Street, Maidstone

Contact: Email: committee@maidstone.gov.uk  01622 602899

Items
No. Item

43.

Apologies for Absence

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Fort.

 

44.

Notification of Substitute Members

Minutes:

Councillor Hastie was present as Substitute Member for Councillor Fort.

 

45.

Urgent Items

Minutes:

There were no urgent items.

 

46.

Notification of Visiting Members

Minutes:

There were no Visiting Members.

 

47.

Disclosures by Members and Officers

Minutes:

There were no disclosures by Members or Officers.

 

48.

Disclosures of Lobbying

Minutes:

There were no disclosures of lobbying.

 

49.

Exempt Items

Minutes:

RESOLVED:  That the exempt Appendix to item 10 (Maidstone Leisure Centre – Operator Contract) be considered in public but the information contained therein should remain private.

 

50.

Minutes of the meeting held on 5 September 2023 pdf icon PDF 102 KB

Minutes:

RESOLVED:  That the Minutes of the meeting held on 5 September 2023 be approved as a correct record and signed.

 

51.

Forward Plan relating to the Committee's Terms of Reference pdf icon PDF 121 KB

Minutes:

RESOLVED:  That the Forward Plan relating to the Committee’s Terms of Reference be noted.

 

52.

Maidstone Leisure Centre - Operator Contract pdf icon PDF 160 KB

Minutes:

Councillor Russell, the Cabinet Member for Communities, Leisure and Arts, introduced the report relating to the leisure services contract for the operation of Maidstone Leisure Centre, Mote Park Outdoor Adventure and Lockmeadow Health Club.  It was noted that:

 

·  Although the report was titled Maidstone Leisure Centre – Operator Contract, it related to the leisure services contract for the Maidstone Leisure Centre, Mote Park Outdoor Adventure and Lockmeadow Health Club, and this was reflected in the recommendations.

 

·  The first sentence of the Biodiversity and Climate Change section of the report should read ‘The implications of this report have been considered and there are multiple opportunities to greatly reduce utilities and carbon emissions through the minor practical improvements that can be delivered.’  This was because the minor practical improvements were a Council-led initiative and were possible with a new leisure operator or with an extension of the existing contract.

 

·  In February 2023, the Executive agreed to proceed with minor practical improvements to the Leisure Centre and pursue a contract extension with Maidstone Leisure Trust (MLT) and Serco Leisure Ltd (Serco) for the continued operation of the Centre until 2031.  The Council’s contract was with MLT, an independent not-for-profit community benefit society.  Day to day running of the Leisure Centre was carried out by Serco who operated as agent for MLT.

 

·  Since the meeting of the Executive in February 2023, the Council had acquired the Lockmeadow Health Club and the Government had announced capital funding for swimming pool upgrades to mitigate the rising cost of managing public swimming pools.

 

·  Discussions and negotiations with MLT and Serco included incorporating the delivery of the minor practical improvements as part of the contract extension; building upon Serco’s experience of delivering similar cost-saving and income-generating schemes in other leisure centres; and the submission of a bid by the Council to the new Sport England Swimming Pool Support Fund.

 

·  It was proposed that the contract, if extended, should continue to include the Lockmeadow Health Club which had been operating under the leisure services contract since June 2023 and shared the same termination date.

 

·  Accepting the current proposal from MLT and Serco and extending the existing contract was not recommended as the Council would incur additional expenditure and need to make changes to its budgets which would impact other priority areas across the Council.  The recommendation was to put the leisure services contract for the Leisure Centre, Mote Park Outdoor Adventure and Lockmeadow Health Club out to tender and invite offers from other operators as this would provide flexibility if a more acceptable offer was not received from MLT and Serco.

 

·  By contracting with MLT, the Council had access to significant tax exemptions and other benefits.

 

During the ensuing discussion reference was made to the need to undertake the minor practical improvement works to the Leisure Centre as soon as possible to reduce the costs of running the building and increase revenue.

 

In response to questions, the Cabinet Member/Director of Finance, Resources and Business Improvement advised the Committee that:  ...  view the full minutes text for item 52.

53.

Duration of Meeting

Minutes:

6.30 p.m. to 6.55 p.m.