Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Hacon.

Councillors Flaxman- Taylor and Williamson declared personal interests in the item relating to the Great Yarmouth Health and Fitness Centre by virtue of members of the Sentinel Leisure Trust.

His Worship the Mayor advised that

(a) the Civic Service is to take place at St Mary's Church, Great Yarmouth at 11am on 21 July 2019

(b) he welcomed the news that the first Great Yarmouth Pride event would be taking place on 29 July

(c) he was concerned over some comments that was made at the Mayor making service relating to a"Geordie" Mayor and  a Black Chaplain

There were no items of urgent business.

Council considered the minutes of the meeting held on 30 May 2019.

Proposer : Councillor Smith

Seconder : Councillor Williamson

That the minutes of the meeting held on the 30 May 2019 be approved.

CARRIED

The following question has been submitted to the Chairman of the Policy and Resources Committee from Mrs L Hewett :

I would like to know and see, what the final details of the Marina Centre will include for all users and how the cost is attributed and whether it is a realistic projection for the rebuild. There have been plenty of rumours of not being able to have a ramp into the pool but not enough details to satisfy the clubs and the public users of the Marina re the disabled access into the pool.

Response from Councillor Smith 

The Council has been fully committed throughout its design work for the new Centre in ensuring that the new building is accessible to all. Work around accessibility has been led by a small advisory group that has been able to shape the design of this project with their expertise and knowledge. Specifically, local disabled swimming groups have participated in site visits as well as discussions to also help shape the designs of the new Centre.

The advisory group itself has been led by Neil Howard (Accessibility and Equality Officer for Norfolk County Council) along with officers from the Council, the project Architect and Inclusion Manager from Sport England, to ensure accessibility is at the heart of the project and conforms to relevant British Standards and Sport England design code.

Specifically, it is worth noting that the principles of good accessibility have been embedded throughout this project, including consideration of the needs of all users regardless of their disability or long-term health condition.

Because of this work and to answer the question given regarding disability access to the main pool in the new Centre, the Council can confirm that there will be a number of solutions for independent and supported (if needed) access for disabled people and people with long term health conditions to this pool. These are:

• For the main pool there will be easy access steps with hand rails for people who can walk in and out but may need support to do so.
• There will be one platform lift which will provide enough space for both a wheelchair user and helper to enter the pool together
• There will be two Pool Pods that can be operated independently for people who are ambient or use a wheelchair to enter and exit the pool independently
• In addition to this, the training pool will have a height adjustable floor and a Pool Pod that will support easy access for all abilities

As well as the general changing facilities being designed to a high standard with regards to accessibility, there will also be a Changing Place to enable individuals with more complicated care needs to access the pool.

Specifically, in relation to why the Council is not using a ramp as a solution, the reasons for this are:

• Ramp access will only allow one person to safely access the pool at any one time as greater numbers may cause an issue with regards to ensuring that the ramp remains clear of Pool Chairs and that individuals of differing abilities are given the time to access the pool according to their own physical ability. Individuals may otherwise feel under pressure to access the pool quickly and potentially unsafely in order not to ‘hold others up’.

   

• Ramp access would not enable some individuals with limited mobility / strength to repeatedly self-propel themselves down and up the ramp. Particularly for individuals who wish to swim for prolonged periods as this may reduce their ability to do so with dignity and independence, as their physical ability to access the ramp will reduce over time as they become more tired.

   

• Ramp access would require a Pool Chair to be left at the bottom of the ramp while the individual swims, blocking the access for others. This would then require a Life Guard to physically lift the Chair from the pool to allow others to gain similar access and then return the pool chair when the individual requires it. Although our investigations showed that this system is in place at Aspire (a specialist pool for people with spinal injuries located in Stanmore), during a scoping visit, Management from Sentinel Leisure raised concerns around this practice as it is reliant upon the strength and stability of the lifeguard to reach down a long way to pick up and replace the chairs, as well as potentially distracting them from their duty to support the safety of all swimmers using the pool area.

Therefore, in conclusion it is clear that for the significant number of disabled users that will want to use the new pool, ramp accessed would not be a suitable solution and the alternative mixed solutions that will be in place for the new pool will provide better access to all, and ensure that during club sessions a larger number of users can safely access and exist the pool at any given time.

Supplementary Question from Mrs Hewett 

Why is there such haste to close the marina centre and does the Phoenix have the capacity to accommodate extra club members?

Response from Councillor Smith

A number of options have been considered including refurbishment, rebuild on site or elsewhere and the impact on funding (and grants) available. The Working Group came to the conclusion that the existing proposals are the preferred option. Discussions have been held with representatives of alternative venues.

Olivia Burton and Pete Simpson from the Mace Group were present for this item and the confidential item on this matter.

Councillor Smith introduced the report of the Strategic Director (KW) advising that in December 2018 Council agreed to allocate capital funding to progress the redevelopment of the Marina Centre to RIBA stage 3 and to authorise officers to further explore funding opportunities to support this project.

The report updates Members with the completed RIBA stage 3 report including recommendations on how to progress the project.

A3D flythrough of the proposed building prepared by the Mace Group was shown at the meeting. Members asked a number of questions regarding the project and these were answered by the Strategic Director (KW), Finance Director and Pete Simpson.   

Proposer : Councillor Smith 

Seconder : Councillor Wainwright 

1. That the development of a new Health and Fitness Centre on the exisiting Marina Centre site, essentially allowing the completion of RIBA stages to stage 7 be approved

    

2. That a total capital budget of £25,893,000 to be included in the capital programme, to be financed as outlined within this report, from a mixture of borrowing, capital receipts and grants be approved. 

    

3. That the earmarking of £1,257,000 from the Council’s asset management reserve to smooth the impact to the revenue account during the early years of the project and including the period of closure during the redevelopment process be approved.

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4. That the commencement of the planning application process, with the aim of submitting the formal planning application in July 2019 along with the commencement of the procurement process for the demolition and construction of the new Centre be authorised.

    

5. That authority be delegated to the Strategic Director to negotiate and formalise with Sentinel Leisure Trust the terms on which the Council’s arrangements with them may be varied in order to accommodate the demolition of the current Centre, the redevelopment of the new Centre, along with its future operation. This may include entering into any documents which are required in order to put into effect the position negotiated with Sentinel. These documents may include, without limitation, a deed of variation to the Funding and Management Agreement, and surrender of the lease of the existing site.

That a recorded vote be taken on this issue as follows :-

For the motion : Councillor Annison, Bensly, Bird, Borg, Cameron, Candon, G Carpenter, P Carpenter, Cordiner- Achenbach, Fairhead, Flaxman-Taylor, Freeman, Galer, Grant, D Hammond, P Hammond, Lawn, Mogford, Myers, Plant, Robinson-Payne, Scott-Greenard, Smith, Smith-Clare, Stenhouse, Talbot, Thompson, Wainwright, B Walker, C Walker, C M Walker, Waters-Bunn, Williamson, B Wright, T Wright.

Against the motion : None  

Abstentions : Councillors Jeal, Martin and Waters-Bunn.

CARRIED

There were no items of any other business.

RESOLVED :

That under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business on the grounds that it involved the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of Part I of Schedule 12(A) of the said Act.