Agenda item

£97k of capital funding has now been approved by the Council for the installation of a skate park and further capital improvements at Alice Park, at the request of the sub-committee.  In addition a further £30K has been pledged by the community for delivery of a skate park.

Members are asked to consider the attached report which sets out the design and project plan for the delivery of the facility.

It was noted that the Cabinet Member had now approved capital funding of £97k for the installation of a skate park and further capital improvements at Alice Park.  In addition a further £30k had been pledged by the community for the delivery of a skate park.

Mark Cassidy, Team Manager – Parks and Bereavement Services, presented the report and explained that provisional designs for the skate park had been put forward in the summer. 

It was noted that due to the time lapse the tenders submitted for the design were now void and officers would now retender for the work incorporating the criteria specified at the last meeting.  Mark Cassidy outlined the revised tender brief. Before going out to tender the £30k pledged by the community needed to be confirmed.  Cllr Appleyard stated that this had already been confirmed in writing.

The following issues were then discussed:

·  Cllr Ward stated that he would like to see some surplus monies to put towards other park improvements.  Now that a smaller skate park had been approved he hoped that this would be possible.  He was keen to start the work on the skate park and other projects as soon as possible.

·  Paul Hooper asked for further details on the project brief and confirmation of the proposed location for the skate park.  He also queried whether the views of all stakeholders would be taken into account.  He stressed the need for costs, performance and quality to be considered along with the appropriate risk assessments.

·  Mark Cassidy explained that the Council had a great deal of experience in running major projects and had overseen the instalment of the skate park in Royal Victoria Park.  He confirmed that Jane Robson, Parks Manager, was liaising with the relevant user groups.  Trial pits would also be dug in the proposed location to ensure that this was suitable prior to starting any work on site.

·  Cllr Appleyard stated that the location had already been agreed in line with the relevant criteria e.g. to protect the boules area and the trees.  It was important to move the project forward as soon as possible.  He also pointed out the strong demand for the skate park and stated that funds raised by the community should only be used to provide a skate park as this is what it was intended for.

·  Cllr Patterson expressed concern about any proposal to redesignate some of the skate park funding as surplus and to spend it on other improvements.  She felt that the allocated funding should all be spent on the skate park.  Cllr Patterson was also unhappy about the specification that the skate park should be approximately 50% of the original design.  Mark Cassidy confirmed that this wording was not included in the project scope.  He also explained that the dimensions set out in the scoping document were only a guide to ensure that the project remained below the requirements for seeking planning permission.

·  Jane Robson explained that tenderers would require price brackets to enable them to put forward designs.  Different price options could be provided.

·  Cllr Ward summed up by acknowledging that there remained some disagreement about whether all the available funding should be spent on a skate park.  He hoped that the project would come in under budget to enable some wider park improvements to take place. 

RESOLVED:

(1)  To note the content of the report and to agree to proceed with two options, one of £97k less 8% contingency funding and one of £127k less 8% contingency funding.

(2)  To agree that the £30k pledged community funding shall be passed to the Council to enable delivery to be undertaken by the Council in accordance with the agreed design.

(3)  To agree that decisions around establishing the lease/licence and the detail of the further capital improvements be reported back to the full Sub-Committee.