Purpose

To seek approval from the Leader of the Council to commence a public and stakeholder consultation programme for the development of a new Carlton Leisure, and Community Wellbeing Centre.

Decision

The Leader is recommended to:
Approve the commencement of a consultation programme for the development of a new Carlton Leisure and Community Wellbeing Centre as detailed within the report.

Reasons for the decision

The recommendations are necessary to ensure Gedling Borough Council can move forward with a comprehensive and inclusive consultation process that will directly inform the future of the Carlton Leisure and Community Wellbeing Centre.

The consultation will:

• Enable evidence-based decisions about the design, facility mix, and accessibility of the new Carlton Leisure and Community Wellbeing Centre.
• Ensure community and stakeholder voices are captured early in the process, in line with best practice for public engagement.
• Support transparency, trust and co-ownership by providing residents, staff, and partners with meaningful opportunities to shape local services.
• Strengthen the business case and design brief for the Carlton Leisure, Wellbeing & Community Centre by aligning it with local demand, financial sustainability, and wellbeing outcomes.
• Mitigate risks associated with change by proactively identifying concerns and providing clear channels for feedback and communication.
• Endorsing and commencing the consultation now will ensure that the programme remains on track to deliver key RIBA Stage 2 outputs, investment decisions, and service transition planning within the current strategic and financial timeline.

Alternative options considered

The council could progress to a design stage without engaging in wider public consultation, however, consultation is considered necessary at this stage to ensure development of a site that as far as possible meets the needs and requirements of the community.