Agenda item

Charlie Croft, Assistant Director, Lifelong Learning & Leisure) addressed the meeting on the subject of swimming provision in York.

The incoming council in May wished to review swimming arrangements in the city. The review went back to first principles: what kind of facilities were needed in York?

Findings reconfirmed 2000’s vision: swimming facilities sufficient for pay as you go family swimming; for club use; for regular fitness and competitions; good facilities for school children; and accessible to all in the community.

At present Yearsley Pool is in the final stages of refurbishment, Edmund Wilson Pool is to be replaced with a new pool at York High School.

On a model developed by Sport England York is short of 12 lanes of 25m length swimming water. By 2015 given the city’s growing population there will be need for 16 extra lanes.

Slightly different uses for different swimming pools are envisaged.

As part of the plan the council has looked into the possibility of a community pool in the city centre.

Looking at different sites, costs would be around £10 million for a car park site and £6-7 million on other, non car park sites. 1800 sq. metres of space is needed for a pool.

After the Yearsley improvements and York High School redevelopments, there is a current budget of £2 million for further developments of swimming pools in the city. Looking at current available central space Hungate’s site plan would only allow 1000 sq. metres. Piccadilly is not big enough. St George’s Field Car Park is big enough. There has been a swimming pool on that site in the past. However St George’s is currently subject to regular flooding. Flood protection costs would push the costs there to £15 million.

There is provision, and a duty, in the University of York Heslington East expansion plans for a new 12 lane 25 metre swimming pool (split between two pools) with joint university / community use. However should the council co-finance the pool, using the £2 million sum, the CYC will have more influence over both the usage of the pool, and be able to bring forward its development timetable.

The University scheme could be completed by 2011. From 2012 – 2015 work could then turn to siteing a new city centre pool on a major development site, as there is major redevelopment potential currently with the York Central / Northwest land.

Questions

• Does the Sport England model include rising student population, especially given the Heslington East expansion?

Action -  Charlie Croft to find out, and report back to the meeting.

• How does the city ensure access to a University of York pool?

Planning permission commits the University to the provision of a joint university / community pool. Should CYC commit their funding to the project, a legally binding agreement will be drawn up committing the University to certain undertakings regarding access arrangements.

• Would the bus route extend to serve the new pool?

Yes, envisaged to be directly outside of the pool.

• Does the Report look at other leisure facilities?

No, but it suggest a further set of papers are prepared to look at the need in the city for a full range of leisure facilities, alongside swimming.

• Does development land have to be presently council-owned?

No, but it does make issues easier if it is.

• Is the Foss Islands area an option? Or Kent Street Car Park?

Not any more at Foss Islands. There is not enough current space. Kent Street Car Park multi-storey car park has been sold, leaving the remaining site there too small.

• Cllr D’Agorne asked: is there opportunity to give greater community use to existing pools in the city?

Few of the existing school pools meets vision for community use. There are up to 15 pools in the city in total, but are small, and without current adequate reception / changing facilities for public use, or have capacity to have these facilities added.

• Cllr Taylor stated that he felt Fishergate residents were disappointed at the closing of the Barbican facilities and there being no potential for a city centre replacement for years to come. Why couldn’t the pool be put at the Hungate development, under the new CYC offices?

To this Charlie Croft replied that the Hungate development was in advanced stages of planning. The current £2 million swimming budget just doesn’t have the leverage over the whole Hungate project to justify delaying it and redesigning. Also swimming pools have a shorter working lifespan than other buildings and this adds further difficulties.

• What benchmarking is there for other facilities?

Benchmarking models do exist – for instance York is currently short of an area of sports hall provision equivalent to 25 badminton courts. Charlie Croft went on to say that models could only go so far though, and that provision of quality facilities in a community brought its own demand, as in the example of Norwich.