Agenda item

It was moved by Councillor Choudhry,

Seconded by Councillor Stokes,

“That Council Procedure Rules be suspended to allow the Chair of the Tennis Centre to address the Council for 30 minutes”. 

The amendment was put and lost by 14 votes to 16 votes with 1 abstention.

(Councillors Finn and Wright arrived at 8.17 p.m.)

It was moved by Councillor Plimmer,

Seconded by Councillor MacIsaac,

“This Council:

·   Resolves to recommend to the Cabinet that they delay the signing of contracts with Slough Community Leisure with regards to building a Ten Pin Bowling Alley on the site of the Indoor Tennis Centre in Salt Hill Park.

·  Recognises that the Tennis Club has not been given enough time to formulate an alternative proposal and business plan to that submitted by Slough Community Leisure.

·  Recommends that the Cabinet grant the Tennis Club a further three months to produce alternative proposals that would allow the Indoor Tennis Centre to remain open and achieve profitability.

·  Urges the Cabinet to meet again and reconsider its decision to support Slough Community Leisure’s proposals to build a ten pin bowling alley on the site of the Indoor Tennis Centre in Salt Hill Park.

·  Urges the Cabinet to consider the Council’s obligations under its N18 national indicator, which the Council chose to sign up to, and which measures the number of adults participating in a leisure activity at least 3 times per week and for at least 30 minutes per session.

·  Urges the Cabinet to consider the health profile of the borough, the rising obesity problem both in adults and children, and the prevalence of heart disease and diabetes.

·  Urges the Cabinet to reflect on whether Tennis might be better suited to meeting the health needs of Slough’s residents than Ten Pin Bowling, whether any way might be found to keep the Tennis Club open as a going concern, and whether the Cabinet and the Council could work with those leading the campaign to save the Tennis Club in finding a way to return the Indoor Tennis Centre to profitability”.

The recommendations were put and lost and, on a show of hands, a prior request having being made for a record of the voting:

There voted for the recommendations:-

Councillors Choudhry, Coad, Cryer, Dale-Gough, Dhillon, Finn, Haines, Hewitt, Jenkins, Long, MacIsaac, Munkley, Plimmer, Shine, Stokes and Wright………………………………………………………………………………..16

There voted against the recommendation:-

Councillors Anderson, Bains, Bal, Chaudhry, Davis, A.S. Dhaliwal, Dodds, Mann, O’Connor, Pabbi, Pantelic, Qureshi, Rasib, Small, Swindlehurst, Walsh and Zarait…………………………………………………………………………...17

Resolved-  That the recommendations be rejected.