Issue - meetings

Report of the Head of Leisure & Wellbeing Services

The Committee received the report as set out on pages 48-53 of the agenda, which asked it to note the progress achieved across a range of projects taking place in the Borough, as well as an update on the Council’s leisure contract.

The Head of Leisure and Wellbeing Services provided the Committee with a summary of the report, which Members acknowledged contained a number of positive news stories including the continued increase in participation across the Council’s leisure offerings and £15,000 surplus from the profit share arrangement between the Council and SLM/Everyone Active for the period December 2016 to November 2017.

It was confirmed that the Wigston Road to Parklands Leisure Centre/Brocks Hill footpath had now been completed. A Member of the Committee stated that having campaigned for the footpath for several years they were appalled at the standard of the completed work. In addition, the Member claimed to be extremely disappointed in the quality of the materials used, which despite having been approved by the Development Control Committee, were not in accordance with the specifications originally requested during consultation with Members. It was also reported that weeds had already begun to extend across the path, the surface did not appear to be level and the width appeared to be unsuitable for users of mobility scooters. The Chair of the Committee expressed sympathy with the Member regarding the materials used to surface the footpath, but confirmed that having visited the site prior to the Committee meeting, the surface was now level and the width was approximately 1 metre which satisfied accessibility requirements.

Several Members of the Committee expressed concerns in relation to the customer experience at Brocks Hill Visitor Centre, stating that the price of refreshments from the café was too high and thereby likely to discourage families from repeat visits. A number of comments were made regarding an apparent lack of use of the function room, which several Members reported seemed to be empty whenever they visited and not kept in a presentable state. It was suggested that consideration should be given to light touch measures to improve the ambience and attractiveness of the facilities to give the Centre a more family friendly appearance.

It was moved by the Chair, seconded by the Vice-Chair and

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED THAT:

The contents of the report be noted.