Agenda item

Environmental & Technical (C-073-2020-21) – proposal for a new leisure centre in Epping.

(1)        The Cabinet noted the progress made on delivery of the Epping Leisure Centre at Bakers Lane, Epping;

(2)        The Cabinet delegated to the Portfolio Holder for Environment and Technical the authority to agree the Deed of Variation to the contract with Places Leisure for delivery of the new centre, adjustments to the agreement to take account of the sale of current Epping Sports Centre at Hemnall Street to Qualis and the right to continue to use this facility until the new Bakers Lane facility was ready;

(3)        The Cabinet allocated £600,000 from existing Capital Programme provision for the Bakers Lane Leisure Centre, as agreed by Council in February, to progress detailed designs and further site survey work in order to arrive at cost certainty;

(4)     In recognising that Qualis owned a number of regeneration sites in Epping Town and the delivery of the Bakers Lane site was interdependent on Qualis progress; the Cabinet agreed to work with Qualis in a strategic delivery partnership, with Qualis occupying the role of Infrastructure Manager with the responsibility of coordination for the delivery of all five sites in Epping Town and communications across the sites and agree an appropriate day rate retainer fee to reflect this;

(5)      The Cabinet delegated authority to the Section 151 officer to repay to Qualis costs incurred by them in preparing and submitting a planning application and outline design for the Bakers Lane Leisure Centre that is to be used by Places Leisure; the amount to be based on the actual justifiable costs incurred and upon consultation with the Leader of the Council, Portfolio Holder for Environment and Technical and Portfolio Holder for Finance; and

(6)       That the final form of contract variation covering Management Fee income from the new Centre be brought to a future Cabinet for consideration.

The Environmental and Technical Services Portfolio Holder introduced the report on the proposed Baker’s Lane Leisure Centre. He noted that at the meeting on 21 January 2021, Cabinet agreed that the new leisure centre in Epping was delivered by its incumbent contractor Places Leisure. This included the purchase of all designs and plans from Qualis once planning permission for the new facility was obtained.

To date, all the work Places Leisure had done with Qualis had been on a voluntary basis and in a spirit of partnership as the Council’s leisure centres provider. Following the Cabinet decision to have the new centre delivered by Places Leisure it was necessary to make the required amendments to the Contract to reflect this. To progress this project to the next stage and Places Leisure needed the services of specialist consultants and legal advisers. It was standard practice that these costs were covered by the client, in this case the Council, as was the case for the delivery of Waltham Abbey Leisure Centre.

The contract with Places Leisure results in a net annual income of £1.3 million. This had been severely impacted by Covid-19. However, as restrictions ease and user confidence increases it was expected that income levels would rise. It was too early, primarily due to the impact of Covid-19, to agree additional income from the new Centre. It was recommended that a final agreement on additional income to the Council was brought to Cabinet for approval later in the year.

Councillor Philip noted that  funding for this work was already in the budget and he noted that recommendation 5 had already carried out the preparatory work for the five sites in Epping; overview had been delegated to the two Portfolio Holders, the Leader and the section 151 officer to look at the repayment to Qualis for their work that had been already completed.

Councillor Jon Whitehouse asked what the timescale was for progressing this work if planning permission was granted in June. The Contracts Service Manager, Mr Warwick said this would be a phased approach. Once Planning Permission had been granted, they would look to start the procurement exercise as part of the phased development of the Epping sites. The Multi Storey car park at Cottis Lane was the first phase, as soon as this was completed then we would commence construction of the Leisure Centre, so looking at summer 2022 to start construction. The build period likely to be between 18 to 24 months.

Councillor Whitbread commented that this was a great project for our Council, and he was looking forward to working with our partners, Places Leisure, who did a brilliant job in Waltham Abbey. This would be a great benefit to all the local communities around Epping and an asset to our district.

Decision:

(1)        The Cabinet noted the progress made on delivery of the Epping Leisure Centre at Bakers Lane, Epping;

(2)        The Cabinet delegated to the Portfolio Holder for Environment and Technical the authority to agree the Deed of Variation to the contract with Places Leisure for delivery of the new centre, adjustments to the agreement to take account of the sale of current Epping Sports Centre at Hemnall Street to Qualis and the right to continue to use this facility until the new Bakers Lane facility was ready;

(3)        The Cabinet allocated £600,000 from existing Capital Programme provision for the Bakers Lane Leisure Centre, as agreed by Council in February, to progress detailed designs and further site survey work in order to arrive at cost certainty;

(4)     In recognising that Qualis owned a number of regeneration sites in Epping Town and the delivery of the Bakers Lane site was interdependent on Qualis progress; the Cabinet agreed to work with Qualis in a strategic delivery partnership, with Qualis occupying the role of Infrastructure Manager with the responsibility of coordination for the delivery of all five sites in Epping Town and communications across the sites and agree an appropriate day rate retainer fee to reflect this;

(5)      The Cabinet delegated authority to the Section 151 officer to repay to Qualis costs incurred by them in preparing and submitting a planning application and outline design for the Bakers Lane Leisure Centre that is to be used by Places Leisure; the amount to be based on the actual justifiable costs incurred and upon consultation with the Leader of the Council, Portfolio Holder for Environment and Technical and Portfolio Holder for Finance; and

(6)       That the final form of contract variation covering Management Fee income from the new Centre be brought to a future Cabinet for consideration.

Reasons for Proposed Decision:

To agree to have a Deed of Variation in the Contract with Places Leisure and approve budget to enable the necessary design and legal processes to enable Places Leisure to take over the scheme from Qualis and continue work at pace for the delivery of the new leisure centre.

The procurement advice received from Anthony Collins Solicitors was that Places Leisure should tender the construction contract through the Find a Tender Service (FTS formerly OJEU) which will mitigate any risk of challenge as well as demonstrate best value for the Council.

Other Options for Action:

It was possible to delay decisions until the outcome of the planning application. However, the slippage in programme would delay delivery of the new leisure centre. Commencement of the construction of the new leisure centre was entirely contingent on the completion of the Multi Storey Car park at Cottis Lane and associated highway works.