Issue - meetings
Approval of contract awards for Leisure and Culture
Meeting: 15/03/2023 - Council (Item 22)
22 Approval of contract awards for Leisure and Culture 
PDF 354 KB
Purpose
To seek authority to award a contract for;
a. the management of the Council’s leisure facilities
b. the management of the Council’s culture facilities
Recommendations
That, subject to the decision of Cabinet on 13 March 2023, Council resolves to:
1. Agree to award the Leisure Management Contract to the preferred bidder set out in EXEMPT Annex C (i).
2. Agree to award the Culture Management Contract to the preferred bidder set out in EXEMPT Annex C (ii).
3. Delegate authority to the interim Head of Legal Services for Contract finalisation.
4. Delegate authority to Deputy Chief Executive and s151 Officer, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing and Leadership and Management Team (Chief Executive, Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Governance and Development), to accept capital investment proposals set out in preferred bidder’s Leisure tender submission.
5. Notes the position set out in paragraph 5.6 for the mobilisation period and in the early process of embedding the new contracts.
Additional documents:
- ANNEX A - Project Timeline, item 22
PDF 31 KB
- Webcast for Approval of contract awards for Leisure and Culture
Minutes:
The purpose of the report was to seek authority to award a contract for the management of the Council’s leisure facilities and the management of the Council’s culture facilities as set out in the report and the annexes.
The officers responsible for the procurement process introduced themselves as Rachel Biles - Strategic Projects Lead, and Scott Williams - Business Manager - Contracts, Environmental Services. They were supported by Scott Dorling, Partner from Trowers & Hamlins LLP.
It was noted that Leisure and Cultural Centres had been facing difficult circumstances following the coronavirus pandemic.
It was noted that this procurement strictly covered the leisure centres in Cirencester, Bourton-on-the-Water and Chipping Campden.
A minor addition to Recommendation 4 to include the Leader of the Council in the consultation was put to Council as the Cabinet positions may change after the election on 4 May 2023.
Council noted the work with Members as part of the Leisure and Culture Working Group to examine the assessment criteria.
Council noted the hard work of officers to complete the process in a very short timeframe and thanked officers for their work.
There were comments made by Members regarding the leisure facilities within Chipping Campden and the lack of consultation that had been had with the school through this procurement process. The Business Manager for Contracts stated that the specifications of the contract required the preferred bidder to have a good partnership with the schools to deliver services. It was also noted that meetings would be set up with the schools running leisure centres in the district to discuss this.
Council noted that whilst there were rights to terminate the contract such as poor performance, there was also a voluntary right to terminate the contract in the event that this was deemed as necessary. However this would have financial implications for the Council which was highlighted by the officers present.
Council noted the reporting requirements and performance standards to ensure the contract requirements were met by the preferred bidder.
Council noted the work in partnership with Max Associates who had experience in leisure management contract procurement and had assisted the Council in determining the specifications of the contracts.