Councillors Grant and Mavroudis declared a Non Pecuniary interest in the item relating to the Great Yarmouth Sport and Leisure Trust.

Councillors Williamson, M Coleman and Jeal declared a Non Pecuniary Interest in the item relating to the Winter Gardens in their capacities as Members of the Preservation Trust.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Fox.

The minutes of the meeting held on 3 December 2015 were confirmed.

Councillor Plant gave an update to Members on the current position and future plans for the Great Yarmouth Sport and Leisure Trust.

The Chairman raised a question in relation to the applications and asked would they be for both public and voluntary sectors, Councillor Plant confirmed that these would be for both sectors.

Councillor Sutton asked for an indication as to how the Sports and Leisure Trust were to use monetary balances to pursue assets, Councillor Plant advised that a business plan would be produced.

The Committee received and considered the Principal Conservation Officers' report which informed Members of the current position and proposed programme for the Wintergardens.

A number of concerns were raised in regard to the restoration and redevelopment of the site.

The Principal Conservation Officer reported that the Winter Gardens is a dangerous structure and appears on Historic England’s Buildings at Risk Register.

The Principal Conservation Officer advised Members that the last survey and cost report was produced by Morton Partnership in 2014 and at that time the estimated cost of repair was between £2.5 and £3m. He advised that it was likely that the cost would now have risen due to the continuing deterioration of the building. 

It was reported that should an application for a Heritage Lottery Fund be successful the funding would be used to develop the application, and fund important elements such as the business plan, conservation plan and management plan.

Concern was raised over the previous leases of the site and a Member asked if copies of these were available, further concern was raised in regard to the annual cost to the Council for the building whilst standing empty. 

A Member stated that the Wintergardens was a highly protected building and that officers working on the project would be governed by the law of the land. A suggestion was made in regard to obtaining a report from the English Heritage in regard to the dismantling of the premises and storing. 

Members requested assurance from Morton Partnership and the Conservation Team and asked for a further update to be brought to the next meeting of Scrutiny.

RESOLVED :

1) That an update from the Conservation Team together with assurances from Morton Partnership be brought to the next meeting of Scrutiny.

2) That a report be sought from the English Heritage Association in regard to the disposal and storage of the Wintergardens.

The Committee received and considered  the Budget Monitoring report which compared the actual expenditure and income position at the end of December 2015 to the updated budget for 2015/16.

A question was raised in regard to the IT Services and whether IT services would be separated across departments.

A Member asked in relation to the Benefits Section whether the introduction of Universal Credit had been taken into account. The Director of Customer Services advised that a grant had been secured for 2016/17.

Concern was raised in regard to the calculation for car parking, it was advised that the calculation is based on an estimated income.

In relation to a question raised in regard to a secondment post to Sports England, Members were advised that this post had been extended and had been fully funded by Sports England.

A Member asked for clarification how footway lighting is charged to the Council, the Director of Customer Services advised that this was paid direct to the utility companies.

RESOLVED:-

That the Budget Monitoring Report (Period 9) be noted.

The Transformation Programme Manager provided an update on the Transformation Programme.

Members were advised that the Transformation Board were meeting next week and a further update would be provided to Members at the next meeting of Scrutiny.

Concern was raised in regard to length of time in relation to the Asset Management database, although it was reported that all assets had now been plotted and that the database is available for members of the public to view.

The Committee considered the Transformation Programme Manager's report which provided an overview of the business case for the Town Hall and exploration of alternative delivery models.

The Transformation Programme Manager advised that the original business case figures for the development of the events were unrealistic, therefore this had resulted in changes to the 16/17 budget for these areas of work.

Members were advised that the catering contract was due for renewal in March 2016. Members were advised that this had presented an opportunity to see if a more cost effective way to run events could be sought by seeking a contractor who will manage the event in their entirety, from marketing, booking, setting of the venue, running the bar and catering elements and in return pay a fee to the Council. It was reported that an invitation to tender had been advertised.

A Member asked whether there were other plans in place if the tender process was unsuccessful. The Transformation Programme Manager advised that the Events Team were reviewing the business case for the Town Hall events to further increase the forecasted income.

The Committee expressed their support for the Town Hall events although concern was raised in regard to expenditure and profit losses.

The Chairman advised Members that the next meeting would be held on the 7 April 2016.

A Member raised a question in relation  to item 7 Transparency Code / Publication Scheme and asked for an update to be given at the next meeting from the HR Manager.