To consider the above report.

Councillor S. Rayner introduced the report and stated that it was a marvellous opportunity to rebuild the Magnet Centre which was now 40 years old. It was time for a new leisure centre with a capital budget of £30,881,000 and an additional £2m previously approved at Full Council in February 2017. The new leisure centre was designed using the Braywick Park and it centred around the park land setting. There would be a garden walkway through to the centre and would provide an opportunity for not just sport, but for recreation, art and culture. Both herself and Councillor Saunders had worked together with a team they were proud of and who understood the concept and the need to deliver it for residents.

If approved by Council, the a planning application would be submitted in October 2017 and the leisure centre should be finished by the end of 2019. Councillor S. Rayner confirmed that the architects had received some tentative advice from planning officers prior to submitting the planning application.

Councillor Saunders reassured Members that costs would not spiral as there was good developmental control being applied. He had established clear expectations and financial parameters to ensure the budget was more than covered by receipts from the Magnet Centre. He anticipated that the redevelopment of the existing leisure centre would generate up to £38m.

Councillor Saunders confirmed that the design of the new leisure centre had satisfied all needs identified. During the process of identifying needs, Councillor Saunders and the project team had talked with stakeholders and clubs in the area and all had their input included; however, if further groups came forward with something that had not been included, the Borough would look to include it where possible.

Councillor Saunders explained that the site for the new leisure centre was to the east of the park due to contamination of land therefore, the project team were reasonably confident there would not be any complications when digging down and if there are, development costs should be met; however, until the digging starts, there will be a small degree of uncertainty but, there was a generous 10% construction contingency fund which should cover that; there was also a plus inflation protection contingency for the works too. Councillor Saunders was confident that the project would be delivered on time and within budget.

The Chairman stated the Borough did not have a strong history on completing projects in house on time and within budget and gave the Stafferton Link Road as an example. Councillor Saunders responded that cost consultants were already embedded in the team and that the budget was a product of their work. The architects were also very experienced in projects using restricted public funds and the project would draw on the experience of key officers. His belief was that the last time the Borough built anything similar in house, it was Manor Green school which was delivered on time and within budget.

Councillor D. Wilson stated that approximately £7m had been spent on refurbishing the Magnet Centre and he had said then that the Magnet was in the wrong location so it made sense to relocate it. He added that a consultation had been carried out in 2015 that asked if residents wanted the Magnet Centre moved and the majority of those that responded were in favour of the leisure centre relocating to Braywick Park. It was an exciting opportunity to have a state of the art leisure centre built without having to close the Magnet Centre till after the new centre was open.

Councillor D. Wilson said the design generated by the architects was quite beautiful with two entrances, one at the front and one at the back so it was accessible. There were some concerns regarding traffic but, with those being addressed, it was a fantastic opportunity which should be endorsed.

The Chairman stated he had received a letter from the Borough at his home address notifying him of the plans to build the new leisure centre; he queried how wide the notification to residents had been. Councillor S. Rayner confirmed a letter had gone to all residents in the neighbouring area, primarily from the Braywick Park area but also those residents that were nearby to the Magnet Centre.

The Chairman said he was concerned for the more elderly or frail residents that used the Magnet Centre for activities such as SMILE. The Magnet was in a central location to town but, Braywick Park was not so central so he wanted to know how those residents were being accommodated. Councillor S. Rayner said she had worked hard with the SMILE team to identify those residents and help them to maintain access. There were currently four bus stops that stopped outside Braywick Park and bus companies were being contacted to see if they would stop inside the site once the new leisure centre had opened. The project team were also keen for cyclists to access the site with secure bike storage racks and cycle route being installed and built.

When asked about car parking capacity, Councillor S. Rayner confirmed there would be 500 car park spaces when the building was completed. The Chairman stated the highway infrastructure was for the town as it was therefore, he wanted to know if any upgrading would be carried out to the highways in lieu of the Maidenhead Golf Course development being brought forward. Russell O’Keefe, Strategic Director Corporate & Community Services confirmed a transport consultant had run the flows through a model and it was deemed unnecessary to upgrade the junction. If other developments came online, the consultant would change the transport flow and then the junction may need adjusting. The Chairman queried the intention not to future proof the junction should the Golf Club development go ahead. David Scott, Head of Communities and Highways stated work was ongoing in that area; the leisure centre day was an extended day where there would be traffic peaks at different times from 6am to 10pm. There would be off peak and peak flows and the modelling took that into account with the roads as they were currently. The chairman stated from mid-2019 to 2023 the Golf Club could be surrendered back to the Borough and the leisure would be operational well in advance of that so there was no point causing unnecessary upheaval for residents doing junction upgrades that were not required.

The Chairman suggested a new name for the Pearce Suite that was more up to date that resonated with younger residents. The Head of Highways and Communities explained that the Pearce Suite was so named as the land was gifted by J.W. Pearce and was in conjunction with Kidwells Park. Councillor S. Rayner said there was a Pearce Suite at the Magnet Centre and the plan was to keep it and upgrade it. The new leisure centre would be a more cultural space and was to include an auditorium. Councillor D. Evans said it would complement places such as Norden Farm as the size of the venue will complete the Borough’s whole cultural offering. The Chairman suggested looking for a new name for the Suite and get residents involved.

Councillor Saunders said the Maidenhead Area Action Plan had aspirations for a concert hall within the York Road opportunity area, but due to costs and space constraints it did not go ahead; that was where the Desborough Suite programme came from which would go somewhere towards that aspiration. However, when the news of the Desborough Suite upgrade went out to the public, the Borough walked away bruised as it was too similar to that which was offered by Norden Farm and in direct competition. Therefore, it was logical for the Borough to have a more modest approach for an upgrade of the Desborough Suite to be more useable and get a 700 seat performance suite concert hall which was an elegant response to the Maidenhead Area Action Plans desire. Councillor Love stated the design of the new leisure centre was superb and the centre would be the end bus stop on many routes which means bus drivers could also use the new centre as a rest stop and get a coffee. It would also open up the Braywick Park Nature Reserve; it was a very exciting opportunity.

The Chairman stated he wanted to see extensive hoarding erected around the building site with the Borough logo and the details of the regeneration of the area and Maidenhead. Would be good to have a visual from Braywick Road with pictures. Councillor S. Rayner said it would explain the Borough’s story for residents and visitors to show the Borough is investing in the local area.

Councillor S. Rayner confirmed that the architects designed a leisure centre that would make 75% in energy savings with the capacity for 200 electric vehicle charging points. Councillor Bicknell said that half the site was for parking and that it was a shame the parking could not be moved underground, although he understood it would cost a lot more than surface parking. Councillor S. Rayner responded there were a lot of trees that had to be preserved and that restricted what could be done. Councillor Bicknell said when looking at the land increase in value, at £4m per acre, in 20 or 30 years, the car park may need to be made bigger, he suggested looking again at underground parking in the future. The Head of Highways and Communities stated that feasibility work was carried out and the design parameters were based on that study. The size of the pool had been increased to 10 lanes, the hall had built in flexibility, the spaces in the gym had been increased and the squash courts had moveable walls; therefore, increased use had been built into the design of the scheme. The Head of Highways and Communities confirmed that the new leisure centre would be big enough to allow for 2,000 new homes to be built in the area. The Strategic Director Corporate & Community Services stated that population projections had been used to predict future usage of the facilities.

Councillor Saunders clarified that the design of the new leisure centre was not yet the final design and that the detailed final version of the design would be ready for the planning application to be submitted.

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY: That Cabinet Regeneration Sub Committee noted the report and:

1)    Noted the delivery of the recommendations in the Part II June 2016 CRSC report in appendix 1.

2)    Approved the submission of a planning application for the provision of a leisure centre at Braywick Park using the concept design, appendix 2.

3)    Recommended to full Council the approval of a capital budget of £30,881,000 (in addition to the existing £2m capital budget for 2017/18) for re-provision of the Magnet Leisure Centre based on the cost plan, appendix 3 (Part II).