Agenda item

That the provision of a temporary ice facility on the Montem site at a cost of £336,000 be agreed.

The Cabinet considered a further report on the potential provision of a temporary ice facility during the nine-month period of closure for a £7.7m refurbishment of the existing arena from November 2016.

Following the resolutions at the Overview & Scrutiny Committee on 14^th July and the Cabinet on 18^th July, Officers had undertaken further work on the option of full size temporary rink at the Montem site that could cater for the needs of the whole community.  The proposal for the Cabinet to consider was for a fully enclosed and secure temporary 20m x 50m rink complete with full operations and management, staffing, seating for 300 spectators, changing area, toilets and skate hire.  The Council’s role would be to provide the site to the rear of Montem Leisure Centre, temporary car park for 125 cars, enabling works, utility connections and CCTV at a total cost of £336,000.

The Cabinet welcomed the work that had been done to provide a facility suitable for all users at a substantially reduced cost from the £632,000 estimated in the previous report in July.  Commissioners asked about the risk of overspend; the measures to ensure the quality of the facility; and the contribution of utility providers.  Any major project had an element of risks that unexpected costs would emerge during delivery and a contingency of 10% had therefore been included in the proposed costs.  A contract manager from the Council would make regular checks of the facility and seek feedback from service users to monitor quality standards.  Discussions had been held with the utility provider but they had not been able to provide direct support in terms of ongoing utility costs.  The anticipated period of closure was nine months but the plans and costs for the temporary facility were for twelve months to mitigate any possible delays.

Councillors Amarpreet Dhaliwal, Bains, Anderson and Swindlehurst asked a number of further questions under Rule 30 about how the costs had been reduced from the estimates in July.  Several factors were highlighted including the identification of a provider who would operate the facility free of charge; driving down costs such as for the temporary car park by selecting matting rather tarmac; and successful negotiation and partnership working as a community project.  The refurbishment was on track to begin in November and the temporary facility was planned to open two weeks after the closure once the ice infrastructure was in place.  The proposal was subject to planning approval.

At the conclusion of the discussion, the Cabinet agreed to support the temporary facility.  As the costs were not in the approved financial framework, it was agreed that the Cabinet would recommend the proposed expenditure to full Council at the meeting on 27^th September 2016.

Recommended –  That the provision of a temporary ice facility on the Montem site at a cost of £336,000 be agreed.