Issue - meetings

(Cabinet Member with Special Responsibility Councillor Ashworth)

Report of Corporate Director (Regeneration).

(Cabinet Member with Special Responsibility Councillor Ashworth)

The Corporate Director (Regeneration) submitted a report to enable Members to consider savings options in respect of the 3 Community Swimming Pools in Carnforth, Heysham and Hornby.

The options, options analysis, including risk assessment and officer preferred option and comments, were set out in the report as follows:

Option A: As to-date, no significant progress, in terms of cost savings, has been made from attempting a renegotiation of the Partnership Agreement between Lancashire County Council and Lancaster City Council, Cabinet is asked whether it wishes to give consideration to issuing twelve months notice from 1^st April 2010, of Lancaster City Council termination of the Partnership Agreement (i.e., to be implemented after 31^st March 2011) i.e., to refer the operation of the 3 Community Swimming Pools, back to Lancashire County Council.

No cost savings have been assumed so far for 2010/11. However, on the basis of Lancaster City Council referring the operation of the 3 Community Swimming Pools, back to Lancashire County Council, there would, with effect from 1^st April 2011, be potential annual savings to Lancaster City Council of;-

Carnforth                     £68,900           }

or/and                                                  }

Heysham                     £44,900           }           Total £147,700

or/and                                                  }

Hornby                         £33,900           }

There will also be HR implications (costs as yet undetermined)

Option B: Investigate whether an alternative operator can be found for the Community Swimming Pools at Carnforth, Heysham and Hornby.

As part of the 2009/10 budget deliberations, this option was pursued, but the outcome was that the alternative (private) sector operator was seeking an operating/management fee (not much less that the current revenue expenditure), and a guarantee that community and schools usage would remain at current levels, for the duration of any operating agreement. As neither the City Council nor County Council could offer such guarantees, discussions regarding alternative (private) sector management to operate one or more of the three community swimming pools terminated.

Option C: To retain the Partnership Agreement with Lancashire County Council, for the operation of the 3 Community Swimming Pools at Carnforth, Heysham and Hornby, but to review and reduce the swimming programme.

Typically, usage at public swimming pools is a mixture of;- casual swimming, club swimming (including private/commercial lettings), swimming lessons, and schools swimming programme. Based on the above, the % usage and cost profile at the three community swimming pools (based on 08/09 throughput), are;-

Estimated net costs, based only on an extrapolation of % usage, shows that for the majority of swimming programmes,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 118