Agenda and minutes

            Apologies for inability to attend were reported from Alderman R. Newton and Councillors McCarthy and A. Newton. 

            The Chief Executive reported that, due to the short notification, the representatives of the Gaelic Athletic Association would not be in attendance in relation to a presentation on Casement Park.

            The Committee agreed that they be invited again to a future meeting.

            The Committee was reminded that, at its meeting on 25th January, it had agreed to hold a special meeting to receive a presentation from representatives of Deloitte MCS Limited in relation to its findings on the review of the Council’s Leisure Estate.

            It was reported that Ms. J. Henry, Ms. A. Wilson and Mr. C. McStephens were in attendance and they were welcomed to the meeting by the Chairman.

            With the assistance of visual aids, Ms. Henry outlined the rationale for the review.  She explained that it had considered specifically the current status of the Leisure Estate and outlined options for future Council leisure provision across the City.  A comprehensive research process, including comparator analysis, had been undertaken, as well as an examination of best practise elsewhere. In addition, a range of meetings with Party Leaders and strategic stakeholders had taken place.  She indicated that it was evident from the review that the issues facing the Council were significant and the scale of transformation was unparalleled in Belfast.  Given the challenges, matched by the ambition of the elected representatives of the Council and their partners, a step change was needed for a modern, sustainable and fit-for-purpose leisure provision in the 21st century.

            Ms. Henry indicated that the research had revealed that there was a compelling case for change and had provided the following reasons:

·         The majority of the Leisure Estate was old and costly to maintain;

·         Alongside significant ongoing Council investment, usage of the facilities had been falling;

·         There was a need to better utilise the public estate;

·         There were a number of strategic opportunities available to the Council to co?operate with other sectors and work across administrative boundaries;

·         The reform of local government had implications for the Leisure Estate;

·         There was an urgent need to re-focus services to positively impact health incomes; and

·         People’s expectations around leisure facilities had changed while the majority of the Belfast Leisure’s Estate had not.

            Mr. McStephens explained that any decisions on the future Council Leisure provision should be underpinned by the following six principles: quality; focus on health and well-being outcomes; value for money; balanced investment and accessibility; partnership; and affordability. He stated that, whilst there was a preferred option, one size did not fit all and certain areas of the City had specific needs and issues in relation to leisure provision.

            He indicated that were a range of options for both the delivery and the funding and management of the Leisure Estate, and reviewed each of these in turn and indicated that each of the options had been delivered elsewhere, including within Northern Ireland.  In conclusion, he reviewed the way forward and stated that transformation would help the Council deliver on economic, social and environmental outcomes. However, taking no action or only partial action would mean that the Council would fall short on those.

            The members of the deputation then answered a number of questions from the Members and, the Chairman, on behalf of the Committee, thanked them for attending and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.