Minutes - Ashdown Community Use Management Committee - 2 March 2009

BOROUGH OF POOLE

ASHDOWN COMMUNITY USE MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE

MONDAY, 2nd MARCH 2009

The Meeting commenced at 16:30pm and concluded at 17:45pm

Present:

Councillor Jeff Allen – Elected Member (Chairman)

Colvin Aldous – Governor Representative (Vice-Chairman)

Jon Bland – Ashdown Technology College

Tom Darlington – User Representative/Poole Hockey Club (from 5.20pm)

Debbie Priest – Children & Young People’s SQIS (Borough of Poole)

Anthony Rogers– Leisure Services (Borough of Poole)

Iain Stokes – SLM

Councillor Mrs Sandra Moore – Elected Member (until 5.15pm)

Lisa Gardner – Legal and Democratic Services (Borough of Poole)

Anne Murphy – Business Manager (Ashdown Technology College)

1.APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

Apologies for Absence were received from Jennie Sykes (Poole Athletics Club), Keith Newman (Ashdown Technology College), Elizabeth Jones (Ashdown Technology College), David Greenwood (SLM), Rebecca Miles (Ashdown Technology College) and Andrew Blow (Children & Young People’s SQIS).

2.MINUTES

RESOLVED that the Minutes of the Meeting held on 12 January 2009, be taken as read, confirmed and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

(Minute 5 - Football Pitch) – Councillor Jeff Allen declared a personal interest that he was a Member of the Planning Obligations Working Party.

4.MATTERS ARISING

Minute 4 (12.01.09) – CUMC Constitution / Voting Rights

Anthony Rogers reported that the conclusions and recommendations of the SLM Contract Review Working Party had been presented to the Environment Overview & Scrutiny Meeting on 26th February 2009 and one of the recommendations was that the Joint Use Agreements between the parties would be updated so that they were fit for purpose as a result of the SLM Contract.

AGREED –

That an update be provided to the next meeting of the CUMC with regard to the review of the Joint Use Agreements.

Minute 8 (12.01.09) – Viridor Credits

Anthony Rogers advised that non-profit making organisations were eligible to apply for grants of up to £50,000 from Viridor Credits’ Landfill Communities Fund and the Trust part of SLM would be the appropriate applicant for such funding.

The Chairman suggested that Leisure Services explored with SLM whether funding could be obtained from Viridor Credits’ Landfill Communities Fund to contribute towards the larger projects on the campus (e.g. updating the outdoor facilities).

AGREED –

That further consideration be given toapplying for funding from Viridor Credits’ Landfill Communities Fund.

Minute 6 (12.01.09) – Building Schools for the Future (BSF)

Debbie Priest confirmed that clarification was awaited with regard to the BSF Plans for the School and it was anticipated that a proportion of the BSF funding would be used to improve the sporting and outdoor facilities on the campus. Ashdown Technology College would receive extensive remodelling through the BSF programme with approximately one quarter of the School rebuilt completely.

Anthony Rogers reported that the BSF `Strategy for Change’ documents had been drafted, outlining how Poole and Bournemouth’s vision for secondary education in the conurbation would be achieved, and a Feasibility Study and Options Survey would be completed for the campus at a later date.

The Committee suggested that consideration be given to inviting a Lead Officer for the BSF programme to a future meeting of the CUMC to explain the project in further detail.

Minute 7 (12.01.09) – Perimeter Fencing

The Chairman noted that Andrew Blow (Senior Adviser, Children & Young People’s SQIS) had provided an update with regard to the Perimeter Fencing and had confirmed that a full Health & Safety Survey had been completed for the site. The report had been sent to Ashdown Technology College, Haymoor Middle School and Leisure Services in the first instance, as the three entities with possible perimeter responsibilities.

Anne Murphy understood that Ashdown Technology College had no responsibility for the Perimeter Fencing as there was no provision for this in its Asset Management Plan and this was considered to be a boundary issue.

The Chairman requested that a copy of the Health & Safety Survey be provided to Members of the CUMC with the next Agenda.

AGREED that:

(i)-The Health & Safety Survey report be provided to Members of the CUMC with the next Agenda; and

(ii)-An update on the Perimeter Fencing be provided at the next meeting.

5.OUTDOOR FACILITIES

Anthony Rogers provided a verbal update on the progress to date with the Outdoor Facilities and advised Members of the following:

Athletics Track

The aim was for the Athletics Track to be re-certificated by UK Athletics to enable competitions to be held in the Summer;
The re-certification would depend on the completion of repairs to: (i) the side of the 100-metre straight, (ii) the water-areas of the Steeple Chase and (ii) the back of the Hammer Cage;
Leisure Services had funded £7,000 of minor repairs to the Flood Lighting on the Athletics Track,
Poole Athletics Club had obtained £8,000 of grant-funding from UK Athletics and funding from Leisure Services towards the provision of a new High Jump near the Pole Vault area;
The new High Jump facility would be available for club competitions and training, whilst the current facility would be retained for School use;
The existing housing for the High Jump matting would be retained and the Pole Vault matting extended.

Football Pitch

Planning Obligations funding had been obtained for the provision of Football Pitch in the centre of the Athletics Track and the new facility would be in place for the next season. The facility would be accessible to both the School and the local community.

Astro Turf

The fencing around the Astro Turf pitch was generally sound, although the boarding around the spectator’s side would be replaced and the spectator area thoroughly cleaned;
One of the lights on the Astro Turf would be repaired following an incident of vandalism;
The old Hockey Goals and other debris had been removed from the Astro Turf and Leisure Services was discussing with the School how the current Hockey Goals could be fixed;
The 5-A-Side Football Goals had started to rust and Leisure Services was seeking quotes for their replacement;
Technical Services would be inspecting the Astro Turf, with repairs completed accordingly, but there were no health and safety concerns at the current time;
Laying a new surface for the Astro Turf would cost in the region of £100,000 excluding a new sub-base.

(Note: Councillor Mrs Moore left the meeting at this point and the meeting became inquorate; the CUMC would therefore need to ratify the recommendations made from hereon at the next quorate meeting).

Tennis Courts

Through the BSF project, possibilities had been identified for improving the outdoor facilities, including resurfacing the Tennis Courts (£40-60,000 to re-tarmac and re-line), providing a separate fitness facility for pupils, etc. and further consideration would be given to such options when the BSF Plans had been clarified.

The Committee expressed concern that the Tennis Courts had been out of commission for a number of years and made the following comments:

-The School was keen to offer pupils the options of playing Tennis and Netball on the Tennis Courts;

-There had previously been a high demand to hold Netball League matches on the Tennis Courts;

-There was a high demand for tarmaced, floodlight spaces, on which five-a-side football could be played;

-The Lawn Tennis and Football Associations could be approached for potential funding, but there could be a trade-off, in that they were likely to want priority use of the facility;

-A deep-clean of the Tennis Courts in their current condition was likely to cause the under-surface to crack.

Leisure Centre Car Park

The Leisure Centre Car Park would be re-lined as the current markings had faded and it did not lend itself to a modern leisure facility. Further work would be completed to the outside of the community wing to make it more accessible for people with disabilities, the disabled toilets would be refurbished and the steps at the main entrance renewed with non-slip paint.

The Committee noted that Anthony Rogers was completing much work to identify what improvements were required and expressed thanks to him for all of his efforts.

Cycle Racks

Iain Stokes noted that Leisure Services had agreed to purchase new Cycle Racks for Ashdown Leisure Centre and confirmed that Haymoor Middle School was in the process of disposing of Cycle Racks which were in good condition. It was –

AGREED –

That Anne Murphy and Anthony Rogers explore with Haymoor Middle School the possibility of obtaining the Cycle Racks.

LEISURE CENTRE MANAGER’S REPORT

Iain Stokes, Senior Manager, provided a verbal Leisure Centre Manager’s Report and drew Members’ attention to the following:

Memberships

SLM had sold 77 new memberships in February, giving a net gain of 9 members and a current total of 755 members;

A third of the memberships were taken out on an annual-basis, which was felt to reflect the good service provided by SLM;

Groups Exercise Classes were continuing to gain in popularity.

Lodge Hill

Anthony Rogers reported that the Swimming Pool at Lodge Hill was now fully functional and £15,000 had been invested over Christmas 2008 to ensure that it was fully refurbished;

New changing rooms had been installed and the Swimming Pool relined;

Opportunities could be explored to maximize usage of the facility particularly during the evenings.

Summer Events

SLM was hosting an event in June providing Taster Sessions on various sporting activities, including Judo, Athletics, Basket Ball and Gym-Challenge (etc).

SLM was seeking to make this an annual-event and hoped that 200 children would attend;

Full information on the above and other activities provided at the campus, would be distributed to all families attending the event.

Young People

Debbie Priest suggested that consideration be given to offering short-term incentive schemes or packages for school leavers, who might not be able to afford a longer-term membership scheme (for example, 6-week packages with restricted use of certain facilities).

Iain Stokes confirmed that SLM had greatly appreciated the support provided by Leisure Services in completing improvements around the campus in recent months.

7.USER REPRESENTATIVE’S ITEMS

Hockey Pitch

Tom Darlington was pleased to note that there were some potentially good improvements in the pipeline for the outdoor facilities and confirmed that Poole Hockey Club was keen for the Hockey Pitch to remain operational.

Student User Group

Members noted that Rebecca Miles (Student Representative) was unable to attend the CUMC meetings at the present time and suggested that a second Student Representative could be appointed, to share attending the CUMC meetings with Rebecca, according to their study commitments etc.

The Chairman confirmed that students were a key user group and their views were highly valued by the Committee.

DATES & TIMES OF NEXT MEETINGS

Monday, 27 April 2009;
Monday, 29 June 2009.