Agenda item

BRAYWICK LEISURE CENTRE UPDATE

Kevin Mist and Julian Bullen to provide an update to the Panel.

Minutes:

Councillor Samantha Rayner, Deputy Leader of the Council and Lead Member for Resident and Leisure Services, HR, IT, Legal, Performance Management and Windsor, informed the Panel that the project was going very well and was on schedule. Kevin Mist, Communities Project Lead, gave the panel an update on the leisure centre. The following points were highlighted:

 

·       The swimming pool was now approaching being complete, it had ten lanes, 25m long and the tiling was being completed next.

·       The learner pool was now nearly complete and was now being tiled.

·       The 12 persons Jacuzzi was complete.

·       The changing rooms were being completed.

·       The health spa was almost complete.

·       Parkwood Leisure would kit out the café, which was located on the ground floor and it had provision for up to 180 covers.

·       It was noted that Parkwood Leisure operate a plastic free approach in all their leisure centres.

·       The cultural hall area was still under construction but with good progress.

·       Not much equipment and furniture was being taken across from the Magnet Leisure Centre to Braywick Leisure Centre as it was very old and tired.

·       The opening date was due to be 5 September 2020.

·       The demolition of the Magnet Leisure Centre and the build of Braywick Leisure Centre were being progressed as a means to fund the new centre from the re-development of the old one.

·       The contract fees would remain the same for Parkwood Leisure and there was an approximate investment of half million pounds for Braywick Leisure Centre by the operator which is a significant investment. A consultant had been used to assess the market and give a comparative assessment of the contract sum being received.

 

Councillor Price asked about the Shuttle bus to and from the town centre to Braywick Leisure Centre and the carbon footprint.  Councillor Price wanted to know if the free service bus shuttle had been accounted for in the budget and with the Adopted Resolution to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050 how would Braywick Leisure Centre achieve this target?

 

Kevin Mist informed the Panel that Officers were currently working with three local bus companies to firm up budget prices for the service which would be in place for the opening of the centre. It would be funded from the Leisure Centre revenue budget.

 

The Leisure centre design had been developed to reduce utility consumption by 70% on a like for like basis, the design included two CHP units generating heat and power on site, and a 108kW PV installation on the roof. Other features included rain water harvesting for toilet flushing, the design minimised solar gain which reduced the need for air conditioning, the sauna and steam room had been relocated to a ground floor location outside and away from the gym space and, all the air handling units had heat recovery systems. Background pool disinfection was by ultra violet light, reducing the use of chlorine by up to 40%. There were also electric car charging points at the Braywick Leisure Centre in the public car park area.

 

Councillor Price asked about the facilities for disabled users and was advised that the team had been working very closely with SportsAble’s head swimming coach and the Vice Chairman of the Disability and Inclusion Forum. A lot of input had gone into the design.

 

The squash courts were discussed, and Kevin Mist informed the panel that there would be four courts at Braywick Leisure Centre, two were fixed courts but the other two shared a central dividing wall that is moveable to allow for more flexibility to the space as a whole.

 

Councillor Johnson informed the panel that a report would be going to the next cabinet on the disposal of Magnet Leisure Centre.

 

 

 

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