Agenda item

Purpose: To consider the decision of the Executive in relation to the future of the Sports Hub proposal at Monks Lane in Newbury and decide whether the Scrutiny Commission would like to review any aspect of the proposal.

The Chairman presented the item on the Sports Hub, Monks Lane, Newbury (Agenda Item 12).

Previously, the Scrutiny Commission had asked for costings related to the Sports Hub. These were reported to Executive on 2 November 2023.

The Chairman outlined a proposal for a Task and Finish Group to be set up to undertake a review of the Sports Hub for the following reasons:

·       Value for Money – Despite the Council being in a challenging financial position, funds for the scheme had been reprofiled rather than being put back int the pot for reallocation. It was not clear what the funds would be used for if the Monks Lane scheme was not to be progressed.

·       Project Management – The London Road Industrial Estate (LRIE) Task Group had made recommendations on how the Council could improve its project management processes. It was important to learn lessons from the Sports Hub project.

·       Advice Received – There was inconsistency in the advice to Planning Committee and Executive. Lessons needed to be learned in order to avoid similar issues in future.

·       Strategies – The Council’s Playing Pitch Strategy identified the top priority as Faraday Road, but numerous references were made at meetings to Monks Lane being the top priority. If Monks Lane was the top priority then it was a de facto replacement for Faraday Road, but District Planning Committee and the High Court were told that it was not a replacement.

It was suggested that the Task Group could consider whether Members of the Executive should be on a Planning Committee where the Council was the applicant, as had happened with Monks Lane.

It was suggested that the Task Group could be concluded quite quickly.

The following items were raised in the debate:

·       The Conservative Members supported the proposed review and suggested that ‘replacement’ could be taken to mean replacement in planning or strategic terms.

·       It was highlighted that the new administration had different priorities and was already delivering football at Faraday Road. It was questioned whether it would be worth spending time and effort on a review of the Sports Hub. The LRIE review had already looked at project management and lessons learned were being implemented. It was suggested that scrutiny reviews should focus on the work of the current administration.

·       Members noted that the Financial Review Panel were scrutinising all spend over £500, which showed that lessons had been learned and were being applied. It was suggested that if a future project was to have issues with project management, then that would be the appropriate time for a review, and the Commission should be forward looking.

·       It was suggested that the Council’s priorities had not materially changed, but there had been a significant change in tactics. It was noted that the Leader of the Council had welcomed scrutiny.

·       Members recognised that it was important to look at lessons learned and best practice. It was suggested that if the review could be concluded quickly then it would be worthwhile in order to inform future decisions.

·       It was highlighted that the mismanagement / spend on project management consultancy had been acknowledged and was being looked at by the Executive, and the review would be unlikely to come up with different recommendations.

·       A comment was made that the Scrutiny Commission was not supposed to be political. The current administration disagreed with the idea of the Sports Hub, and it was suggested that it was not a good use of time to look at a defunct project.

·       It was suggested that the review should be about more than cost control.

·       The Chairman indicated that it was not proposed to rake over ancient history.

Resolved to set up a Task and Finish Group to review the Sports Hub.