Agenda item

To receive a presentation from the Portfolio Holder for Leisure and Tourism on themes proposed by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

(Report attached)

The Chair welcomed the Portfolio Holder for Leisure and Tourism, Councillor Anderson, to the meeting.  Councillor Anderson began by updating the Committee on the progress of the Abbey Stadium Redevelopment scheme.  He explained that the appointed developers for the scheme, Drivers Jonas, were due to attend a forthcoming Leisure Contracts Advisory Panel meeting to provide an overview of the final business plan.

Councillor Anderson explained that projects of this type were expensive and financial issues had been a cause for concern from the beginning of the project.  These had been further exacerbated by the current economic crisis. 

Members asked what level of confidence Councillor Anderson had in the project starting in the next two years.  He explained he felt that the project had only a 5% chance of beginning over the next two years, owing to the current economic climate.  Members queried if the consultants involved in the delivery of the project would be paid oncosts.  Councillor Anderson explained that this was not the case and advised of some of the terms of the contract which covered such matters. 

Members questioned Councillor Anderson’s views on the usage of the Palace Theatre.  Councillor Anderson informed the Committee that staff at the theatre had been working to secure acts of good quality and variety and that any of the acts they booked that were deemed to be successful would be booked again in the future.  One of the ongoing concerns for the theatre was the average age of theatre-goers.  Audiences in the past had been made up of older people with very few under the age of thirty.  Councillor Anderson felt that the introduction of a multi-tier pricing system might help with this issue and to fill the upstairs circle seats which were often left empty.

Members commented that the issue with age was likely to continue to be a problem due to the ageing population.  It was also noted that some of the acts booked at the theatre had not appealed to younger audiences.  Councillor Anderson stressed to the Committee that he felt that it was not essential to make a profit from the theatre but that it should be viewed more as a community asset. 

Members questioned whether, using the ‘Room Upstairs’, it would be possible to broaden the usage of the theatre by showcasing films.  Councillor Anderson acknowledged that this had been done occasionally and that this had broadened the appeal of other similar arts complexes in Worcestershire: including the Artrix in Bromsgrove; and Number 8 in Pershore.  Members noted that any films shown at the Palace Theatre would have to be of the smaller, independent variety so as not to come into direct competition with the Apollo Cinema in the Kingfisher Centre.  Members agreed that a recommendation should be made that the Executive Committee considers the option of using the Room Upstairs at the Palace Theatre as a cinema.

The Committee asked about the level of the usage of the Council’s outdoor facilities.  Councillor Anderson explained that the Borough offered a large number of cricket, football, hockey, and rugby pitches.  In order to increase use of these pitches and, in particular the tennis courts, Councillor Anderson felt there was a need to establish more clubs to support them.  To maintain the quality of the pitches, Councillor Anderson suggested that at the end of each season, football posts should be taken down and moved to alternative locations in order to reseed and rest the heavily used pitches.

In response to the Committee’s question regarding the opportunity of managing leisure facilities for Bromsgrove District Council as part of the Shared Services agenda, Councillor Anderson informed the Committee that it might be possible for the Council to undertake the management of Bromsgrove’s leisure facilities such as the Dolphin Leisure Centre.  However, before this could happen the Council would have to consider the personnel implications of doing this.

Councillor Anderson told the Committee that tourism had had very little impact on the town.  However, there were many assets in the town that could be maximised to attract visitors from outside the area including: three major woodland areas; two large parks with green flag awards; and several attractive buildings.  Members questioned if any steps had been taken to promote the numerous walks and trails in the Borough.  Members commented that they had been told that the finance was not available to produce any promotional material of this nature.  Members suggested that a different trail should be featured in each edition of the soon to be re-introduced Council newspaper.  The Committee agreed to make this recommendation to the Executive Committee. 

Councillor Anderson explained to the Committee that he had concerns regarding the usage of the Countryside Centre. He explained that this building had been built using a grant from Worcestershire County Council but that it was far larger than originally intended.  He felt that it would be a worthwhile exercise to identify what uses could be made of this building could be put to and suggested that this exercise could be undertaken as part of the scrutiny process at some point in the future. 

RECOMMENDED that

1)         the Executive Committee request Officers to publish a different walking trail within the Borough as a feature in each future edition of the civic newspaper; and

2)         the Executive Committee request  Officers to consider using the Room Upstairs at the Palace Theatre also as a cinema facility;

all as detailed in the preamble above.