Presentation on the public access arrangements to Leisure Facilities at Eton College.

Ian Mellor, Buildings and Facilities Director of Eton College, gave a presentation on the above item. Members of the Panel were informed that plans for the new leisure facility were at the pre-planning enquiry stage and that the planning application had been submitted on the 16^th July 2018. The Panel were told that construction of the buildings was intended to start in the summer months of 2019 and that the proposed ESAC (Eton Sports and Aquatics Centre) building would be ready by late 2020 and the SSC (School Sports Centre) building would be ready in late 2022. Members were told that presentations to RBWM Councillors had occurred along with a presentation to Eton Town Council, Windsor MP Adam Afriye. A presentation to Eton Community Association and Eton Wick Village Association and an open invitation to all residents/businesses in the parish to open the exhibition had been sent out. All primary schools in both RBWM and Slough Borough had also been sent invitations for the presentation.

The presentation included floor plans for both buildings. The Panel were informed that the SSC building would include a large sports hall and squash courts which would be primarily for college use. It was outlined that the community and public use element would be around the ESAC which would include a swimming pool with a smaller sports hall. Members were told that the ESAC would aim to be a discrete facility and would comply with the college’s safeguarding policy. The proposal included weekday morning use to local non-fee paying primary schools and for local residents to be offered out of school hours use for an annual fee. The proposal included:

·         Squash and badminton courts

·         Indoor sports hall

·         Large indoor 25m swimming pool with 8 lanes

Members were reminded that there had been a joint understanding between the Department for Education and the Independent Schools Council in 2018 which led to the guidance on physical activity. There had also been a national curriculum, requirement for pupils ( by the age of 11) to have swum at least 25 metres and that new reporting streams meant that schools would need to adhere to this more stringently. It was highlighted that 50 state schools in the Royal Borough were subject to meeting the national curriculum requirements and 30 schools in the borough of Slough. It was proposed that next steps included the creation of a Memorandum of Understanding which would seek to outline principles of how benefits to the community would be delivered. It was also highlighted that if planning consent was granted that the Memorandum of Understanding would be followed by a formal section 2016 which would require Eton College to provide community benefit.

It was notes that the current application did not include further facilities that would include:

·         Dutchman’s all weather and floodlit pitch primarily for football and could be made available for community use. TVAC would be managing the site for community use and their car parking facilities would also be utilised. A separate planning application had been submitted on the 13^th August 2018 and would have a separate section 106 from the indoor sports facilities. This element would also support RBWM’s Playing Pitch Strategy.

At the conclusion of the presentation Members discussed the following:

·         Whether the 100% positive feedback collated from local residents extended to include an online survey? It was noted that all of the consultations and surveys held with residents were available along with all planning documentations on the RBWM portal. All consulted residents were also updated with new developments if they had opted in for communications.

·         Whether the venue would be available for public function use, such as weddings? It was stated that there were no plans for public events to become a use of the ESAC facility and that the preferred use would be for sporting events. The use of the site for public functions could be considered at a later stage if there was sufficient demand.

·         How often would the facilities be available for public use? It was highlighted that the proposal included details of 2-3 evenings per week with the possibility of early morning swimming use for public access and for clubs in the area such as SMILE.

·         Is there a proposed name for the building? It was confirmed that there was no formalised name for the building but this would be looked at in later stages.

·         Would there be a catchment area for the schools proposed to have access? It was stated that schools closest to the school’s location would have 1^st preference and that there were currently 18 schools within the wider catchment.

·         Was there a structure to public access Membership such as pay as you go or club member restrictions? It was noted that membership was preferred or a pay as you use the facilities option would also be considered.

At the conclusion of the presentation and discussion, Members noted the presentation and agreed that the item should return to the Panel when more details had been confirmed.