Issue - meetings

Report of the Chief Executive.

The Chief Executive gave a presentation to update the committee on the project and the plans moving forward.

The Chairman referred to comments once made by the previous Chief Executive relating to making difficult decisions for the District.  He welcomed the Chief Executive to lean times for the District which would no doubt involve many difficult decisions.

Councillor N Smith referred to a comment made by the Chief Executive regarding the development of the Hermitage Leisure Centre site once it was closed, he asked for clarity on which parts of the site could be developed.  The Chief Executive clarified that she was referring to the building and the carpark only, not the pitches or surrounding fields.  She added that there would need to be consultation with the Parish Council and that options regarding the development of the site would be considered by Members at a later stage.

Councillor N Smith commented that he was familiar with the current problems with traffic and air pollution surrounding the Hermitage Leisure Centre and the proposed new centre would resolve this.  It would also provide a state of the art facility which would encourage people to stay in the District rather than travelling to access these facilities.  He also asked that parking spaces be considered for local residents on Thornborough Road as they currently struggled to park.  He believed that this would be the most important decision the Council has made for many years and urged Members to visit other similar facilities such as at Hinckley to see the benefits.

The Chairman agreed with Councillor N Smith’s suggestion to visit Hinckley’s new leisure centre and also felt that it would benefit Whitwick Parish Council and the Whitwick Action Group to visit too.  The Chief Executive commented that she would be happy to arrange a visit.

The Chairman referred to comments made by the Chief Executive regarding a County Council covenant on the proposed site.  He asked for confirmation as to who actually owned the land.  The Chief Executive confirmed that the land was owned by the District Council and that Legal Services were currently looking into the covenant further.

The Chairman suggested that an indoor bowls facility be included in the proposals.

At this point, Councillor S Sheahan raised a number of questions and the following answers were received from the Chief Executive:

-      Referring to paragraph 1.9 of the Cabinet report attached at appendix 1, Councillor S Sheahan asked for the number of people that would rather see the Hermitage leisure centre upgraded in its current location and asked what work had been undertaken to investigate that option.  The Chief Executive explained that she would provide the figures outside of the meeting as she did not have the information to hand.  She explained that the consultant who was brought in to assess the Hermitage Leisure Centre had advised against that option for a number of reasons.  At the request of Councillor S Sheahan, the Chief Executive agreed to circulate the advice given by  ...  view the full minutes text for item 14