Agenda item

Purpose: on 23 March 2023, Executive approved a report to allocate £3.878m to complete the development of Newbury Sports Hub and to give approval to sign the Development Management Agreement with Alliance Leisure Services. The report was, subsequently, called in and considered by Scrutiny Commission on 23 June 2023. A number of questions were raised, principally around the costs to date, potential costs of not progressing the project, and the impact on the Leisure Contract and Playing Pitch Strategy. The report addresses these questions, in order that the Executive can review the decision of 23 March.

Resolved that Executive:

·       Considers the evidence provided in answer to the questions of the Scrutiny Commission.

·       Notes the financial implications associated with progressing or not progressing the project, with particular reference to the impact on the revenue account.

·       Notes that it is proposed that a new annual Stage E review of the Playing Pitch Strategy (PPS) will be undertaken imminently, and this will provide up-to-date data, with regard to the supply and demand of playing pitches in West Berkshire. This review will inform the refresh of the PPS Action Plan.

·       In line with the Council Strategy, created by the new administration, and the changing financial environment, it is recommended that the Sports Hub project is closed, in its current proposed form. Pitch provision at the identified site could remain under consideration as part of the refresh of the PPS Action Plan, following the Stage E Review, and the findings of the review will be used to inform the future provision of playing pitches in West Berkshire.

This decision is not subject to call in as:

·     the item has been considered by the Overview and Scrutiny Commission, or has been the subject of a review undertaken by another body within the preceding six months.

therefore it will be implemented immediately.

Councillor Janine Lewis introduced and proposed a report (Agenda Item 8), noting that the Sports Hub project was closed but that an annual Stage E Review of the Playing Pitch Strategy would be undertaken and that its findings would be used to inform the future provision of playing pitches in West Berkshire, including potential pitch provision at the identified Sports Hub site.

Councillor Iain Cottingham seconded the recommendations within the report.

Councillor Ross Mackinnon suggested that residents could have been using a great facility at the Sports Hub had it not been for a failed judicial review funded and encouraged by Liberal Democrat members, and suggested that the Administration was wasting money by installing a grass pitch at Faraday Road which was likely to be ripped up and replaced with a 3G stadium at a later date.

Councillor Lee Dillon explained that the costs of the new sports facility would be funded through grants, there would be no rental fee payable to a third party and that there were ambitious plans for Bond Riverside to deliver economic and residential benefits. 

Councillor David Marsh noted the huge amount of time and money that had been wasted on the project and commented that he strongly supported the report. Councillor Marsh suggested that the Administration would need to undo the reputational damage caused to the Council by the decisions made by the Western Area Planning Committee and District Planning Committee which had been unconstitutional.

On the request of Councillor Dillon, Councillor Marsh withdrew this comment.

Councillor Howard Woollaston expressed disappointment that a scheme which would have allowed for up to eighty hours of community sport a week was being stopped, particularly when compared with the facility at Faraday Road which only allowed for six hours of play a week, had no facilities and only minimal parking. He commented that demand for pitches was at an all time high and urged the Executive to reject the report and proceed with the scheme.

Councillor Adrian Abbs acknowledged that he had made a donation to help fund football in general rather than a specific court case but noted that the money had not been used.

Councillor Abbs commented that very few residents within his ward had wanted the Sports Hub, however recognised that the Rugby Club was an benefit to the community and that the possibility of an all-weather pitch there would be desirable.

As Chair of Scrutiny Commission, Councillor Carolyne Culver thanked officers for providing the information requested at the Scrutiny Commission meeting and noted that the Scrutiny Commission would be reviewing the current report at its meeting on 28 November. Councillor Culver commented that she had grave concerns about the decisions made by previous planning committees and suggested that lessons should be learned as there were a number of contradictions and inconsistencies in past papers relating to the Sports Hub.

Nicola Thomas, Service Lead (Legal and Democratic) clarified that the process adopted by Western Area Planning Committee had been in no way unconstitutional and that the planning approval had been approved in accordance with legislation.

RESOLVED that: Executive

·       Considers the evidence provided in answer to the questions of the Scrutiny Commission.

·       Notes the financial implications associated with progressing or not progressing the project, with particular reference to the impact on the revenue account.

·       Notes that it is proposed that a new annual Stage E review of the Playing Pitch Strategy (PPS) will be undertaken imminently, and this will provide up-to-date data, with regard to the supply and demand of playing pitches in West Berkshire. This review will inform the refresh of the PPS Action Plan.

·       In line with the Council Strategy, created by the new administration, and the changing financial environment, it is recommended that the Sports Hub project is closed, in its current proposed form. Pitch provision at the identified site could remain under consideration as part of the refresh of the PPS Action Plan, following the Stage E Review, and the findings of the review will be used to inform the future provision of playing pitches in West Berkshire.