Meeting documents

To note the minutes of the previous meeting held on 11 April 2019.

The minutes of the meeting held on 11 April 2019 were noted.

There were no declarations of interest.

The Committee considered the work programme attached to the reports pack. Members were informed that the pre-construction site preparation would not be available for the meeting on 7^th August, however this was covered by a planning condition.

RESOLVED

That the work programme be noted.

To resolve that under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 the public be excluded from the meeting for the following item(s) of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part I of Schedule 12A of the Act.

RESOLVED

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

The Committee received a report which presented the final business case for the proposed Chiltern Lifestyle Centre and associated car park redevelopment. Officers highlighted the key points from the report and provided a detailed breakdown of the figures included in the appendices.

The design has been tested for its buildability and cost of build by the Council undertaking a Pre-Construction Service Agreement with BAM. BAM have confirmed a build programme and are continuing to work on the detailed building design to deliver a fixed cost for a Design and Build proposal for the centre.

The fixed price proposal has been slightly delayed but the current update from BAM is that the scheme will be brought in under an estimate of £36M.  

Within that £36M is the cost of the

·       Car Park £2.3M,

·       Library and community facilities £5.13M and

·       Leisure facility £28M

The business case considers the worst case on build costs of £36M and the worst case on income provided to the Council at an average guaranteed net income of £1.25M/annum over a 15 year contract.

Members were informed that the facility mix had attracted significant interest from leisure operators in the market and competitive bids had been received. The Committee would be updated at the meeting on 7^th August with details of the highest scoring bidder following completion of the evaluation process. It was noted that the figures included in the supplementary appendix 4 were examples based on a worst case scenario, and it was expected that these would be exceeded by the appointed operator.

Questions raised by Members during the discussion included the following:

·       It was queried whether surplus profit generated by the operator would be shared with the Council. Officers confirmed profits exceeding the agreed amount set out in the contract would be shared 50/50 between the operator and the Council.

·       A Member raised concerns regarding the fees and overheads charged to the existing community organisations leasing the existing community facilities when they move in to the new centre. It was clarified in response that organisations leasing the existing facilities would be in no worse position when taking in to account lease and overhead costs for using the new centre, although this could be reviewed as necessary going forward.

·       A Member queried whether there would be other commercial outlets in the centre, in addition to the café. It was advised in response that the contractor would have a small commercial offering of sports equipment and there was provision for pop-up stalls and booths which could be used for promotions by the Council or community groups; however there would be no other commercial outlets.

·       It was queried whether the contractors had carried out their own research into the expected number of visitors to the centre and if they would be able to walk away from the contract if these expectations were not met. Officers confirmed that the bidders had carried out their own extensive research into the expected number of visitors and were confident of reaching targets.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 19.