Agenda item - York West Swimming Facilities

This report asks the Executive to agree a way forward for either refurbishing or replacing Edmund Wilson swimming pool.

[Note:

This item appeared on the Forward Plan as “Leisure Facilities Strategy”.

Annex 2 to the report was published on 13 December as a late annex.]

RESOLVED: (i) That, in the light of the results of the public consultation, Option C at the Oaklands site be selected as the preferred location and way forward for modernising swimming and leisure facilities (including an enhanced gym and crèche) on the west of the City, and that Officers be instructed to expedite the submission of a planning application for the work, recognising the advantage of undertaking, at the same time, all building work scheduled for the York High School site.

REASON: To create excellent swimming facilities on the west side of York, in line with the agreed strategy.

(ii) That the proposed agreement with the University of York, involving a partnership approach to providing new swimming facilities in the south of the City, be supported.

REASON: In order to deliver a comprehensive new sports facility located in the south of the City.

(iii) That Officers be requested to pursue, as quickly as is practical, the plans for refurbishment of the Yearsley pool.

REASON: To ensure that this essential work is completed with minimum disruption and at an appropriate time.

Members considered a report which asked them to agree a way forward for either refurbishing or replacing the Edmund Wilson swimming pool, following a consultation exercise on this issue.

In February 2006, the Executive had agreed a leisure facilities strategy enabling the use of capital from the sale of the Barbican site to modernise swimming facilities in the City. A repairing scheme for the Edmund Wilson pool had already been drawn up following a previous major building survey and a feasibility study on the construction of a new pool at the Oaklands site had since been undertaken, between May and September 2006. This study had identified 3 options for rebuilding at Oaklands, namely:

Option A – an independent pool hall on the former Pupil Referral Unit site, with no link to the sports centre;

Option B – a pool hall fully integrated into the new sports facilities, with a central reception hub through rebuild of the sports hall;

Option C – an independent pool hall constructed against the gable end of the existing sports hall.

Option C was recommended, on the grounds that it would create integrated swimming and sports facilities that could be managed by a single staff team, thus achieving efficiency savings, and would be less disruptive to existing facilities during construction. Consultation had therefore been carried out using this option against that of repairing the Edmund Wilson pool. The results of consultation were presented in Annex 2 to the report, which had been circulated after publication of the Executive agenda, on 13 December. These indicated that the majority of respondents (59.7%) were in favour of the new build at Oaklands option, whilst the refurbishment option was supported by 23% of respondents. 18% wanted the Council to seek an alternative site for the pool. A breakdown of responses by area showed that 67.2% of West York residents were in favour of the new build option, compared to 43.6% of residents of other areas of the City. With reference to paragraph 5.2 of Annex 2, Officers reported that a constructive meeting had been held with York City Baths Club and further meetings were planned.

In response to the comments of the Shadow Executive on this item, Members noted that the consultation had been extensive and showed a clear majority in favour of the new build at Oaklands (the future York High School site). Consultation would be carried out on the east side of the City in due course with regard to the refurbishment of Yearsley pool and the proposed provision of new swimming facilities in partnership with the University of York.