Head of Environmental Enhancement to report.

The Committee received an update from the Head of Environmental Enhancement regarding the Tarka Leisure Centre project.  He highlighted the following:

·       Since the last update to the Committee in September 2021, the project was still on schedule for completion on 16 May 2022.

·       Currently works were being undertaken to relay the gas mains into the Leisure Centre along the pavement and on the new entrance to the centre.  This had resulted in logistical issues in relation to parking and accessing other areas.  Therefore improved signage had been put in place for the Covid testing centre, ice rink and BJ’s Value House.

·       The ski machine had been delivered last week.

·       The footfall in the current leisure centre had increased and positive feedback had been received from customers on the works to the new leisure centre.

·       The swimming pools were now tiled and glazing being put in place to make the building water proof.

In response to a question, the Head of Environmental Enhancement advised the following:

·       The operators of the ice rink had enquired regarding holding it at the Pannier Market in Barnstaple, however it was not feasible. There was no market located next to the ice rink at Seven Brethren and only a number of food stalls.  

Head of Environmental Enhancement to report.

The Committee received an update from the Head of Environmental Enhancement regarding the Tarka Leisure Centre project.  He highlighted the following:

·       Since the last update to the Committee in July 2021, the project was still just 1 week behind schedule for completion in April 2022.

·       Monthly project team meetings were held, where target dates were reviewed and challenged. Assurances had been given by the contractor that the works would be completed by April 2022.

·       If there was a delay in completion, this would be an issue for Parkwood.

·       The project was now entering a phase of large pay outs being made to the contractor and costs would now start to increase to around £1m per month as move towards the end of the project.

·       Both swimming pool tanks had been filled and water tested.  There had been minor leaks in the learner pool, but these had now been fixed.

·       Works were now commencing on back filling around the tank.

·       Stud work was now being constructed internally showing the layout of the building.

·       A meeting would be taking place with the Showmen on site this week to discuss the arrangements for the fair which was taking place next week.  The fair would be held on a smaller area around the new leisure centre due to the Covid testing centre remaining. 

In response to questions, the Head of Environmental Enhancement advised the following:

·       Whilst the fair was being held the majority of external work would cease and internal works would be carried out.

·       The contractor had levelled the site to enable the heavy vehicles for the fair to get to the area.

·       The scope of the project did not include improvements to highways apart from the reprioritisation of the car park.

·       Parkwood had not made any further requests for financial assistance from the Council.  Parts of the leisure contract were up and running and performing well such as Tarka Tennis and the all weather pitch.

In response to questions, the Chief Executive advised the following:

·       That discussions would be held with the Head of Place, Property and Regeneration regarding the areas of highway which had not been adopted at Seven Brethren.

The Committee thanked the Head of Environmental Enhancement and the project team for their work to date on the project.

Contracts Delivery Manager to report.

The Committee received an update from the Contracts Delivery Manager on the Tarka Leisure Centre project.  He highlighted the following:

·       This was the second quarterly update to the Committee on the project following the recommendation of internal audit.

·       Since the last update to the Committee on 1 March 2021 the project programme had briefly slipped to 3 weeks behind schedule.  This lost ground had since been made up and the programme was currently back to where it was previously, which was just 1 week behind schedule for completion in April 2022.

·       Both swimming pools had now been excavated and there had been no issues during the excavation works with contaminated land. The pools were currently being concreted and would be water tested over the next few weeks.  

·       The block work on the ground floor was now almost complete and this would be followed by the high installation of vertical sheeting, completing the external construction of the sports hall. The roof sheeting had now been installed and the building was nearing a stage where it would be weatherproof.

·       There were some risks identified on the risk register which were being continually monitored to mitigate risk.

Report by Contracts Delivery Manager (attached).

The Committee considered a report by the Contracts Delivery Manager (circulated previously) regarding an update on the Tarka Leisure Centre project.

The Contracts Delivery Manager highlighted the following:

·         An internal audit of the Tarka Leisure Centre project was undertaken in December 2020 and January 2021.  One of the audit recommendations was to bring regular progress reports to members at Strategy and Resources Committee meetings on a monthly basis.

·         Despite COVID 19 and the subsequent restrictions and control measures imposed on construction sites, the programme is currently just one week behind schedule. The next notable milestone will be the excavation of the swimming pools.

·         Parkwood Leisure have overall responsibility for managing the construction phase of the project (under the terms of the Design Build Operate and Maintain or DBOM) contract. They have direct responsibility for managing the construction contractor (Speller Metcalfe), the architect and sub-contractors. 

·         There was a need to consider how to manage the construction site once the Tarka Tennis centre re-opened on 12 April 2021.

·         There would be some disruption to the Tarka Tennis car park and lorry car park, but this would be kept to a minimum.

·         Several officers are currently overseeing the construction phase of the project on behalf of the council. Their roles on the project were summarised in Appendix A.

·         The gross valuation to date for construction was £2.4m.  The next spend would be for £2.3m.

·         It was still planned to open the new leisure centre in April 2022.

·         It was difficult to predict how well the new leisure centre would perform as the business cases had been produced pre Covid 19. The management fee paid to the council would be unaffected though as these payments are fixed.

In response to questions, the Contracts Delivery Manager advised the following:

·         The income the Council would receive from the new Leisure Centre was over a 20 year period.

·         The Council had secured funding from the National Lottery Recovery Fund which would be paid over to Parkwood Leisure.

·         The Chief Executive was the Chair of the South West Leisure Group who were continuing to lobby MPs regarding stage 2 leisure recovery.

·         When the leisure centre re-opened following the lockdown, it would not be fully open.  Parkwood Leisure’s construction contractor had incurred additional costs for cleaning and other Covid precautions as a result of the pandemic. Claims for these extra costs would be reviewed under the contract review procedures.

In response to a question, the Head of Resources advised that that the Council was protected as much as possible.  The borrowing costs within the financial modelling were around 3%.  Borrowing costs had reduced considerably which was financially advantageous for the Council.

The Committee noted the report.