This meeting was to allow the Joint Panel to scrutinise and make recommendations to the Cabinet about the future of the borough’s leisure centres, in particular the swimming pools at St James in King's Lynn and the Oasis in Hunstanton. The meeting was also asked to note that the budget for 2025 would be discussed at its next meeting.

The meeting concluded with a confidential item about the future of the Alive West Norfolk organisation.

Renewal Plan for Swimming Pools and Leisure Centres

The meeting considered a report entitled Renewal Plan for Swimming Pools and Leisure Centres , which recommended that the council invest in a major renewal strategy for its leisure venues.

The report argued that this was necessary because of the generally poor levels of health and activity in the borough, and the fact that two of the council's three swimming pools - St James and Oasis - were coming to the end of their economic lives, and that the cost of running them was increasing every year.

The report highlighted that the subsidy paid by the council to operate the council’s leisure facilities currently stands at £1.4m and is expected to increase , and that Sport England research shows that deprived communities have a particularly strong preference for exercising in their local public pools and leisure centres.

The borough’s venues are therefore increasingly unable to meet the expectations of local people – particularly St James and Oasis - and require increasing council spend to keep them open and operating. This spiral of long term under investment in the facilities, increasing costs and faltering health and community returns is something the council should address as soon as possible as costs will only increase and therefore, increase the burden on the taxpayers of West Norfolk.

Renewal Plan for Swimming Pools and Leisure Centres

The report went on to outline a number of options for the future of the borough’s leisure provision, from closing venues entirely, to investing in a major programme of renewal. The report recommended that the council reject the closure option, and instead commit to a phased renewal strategy that would result in a network of three sustainable public swimming pools for the borough.

Option One - Replace and relocate St James pool

The first phase of the renewal strategy proposed in the report would see St James Swimming Pool replaced with a new six lane 25m pool and a learner pool, which would be located either at Lynnsport, or another town centre location.

This can be achieved either as a first phase project which integrates the new pool (with new dedicated pool changing) into the existing on-site facilities or instead, as part of a simultaneous whole site refurbishment or replacement of existing facilities.

Renewal Plan for Swimming Pools and Leisure Centres

This option was estimated to cost £16.2m, and could result in up to £540,000 net annual revenue improvement, as well as increasing usage of the new facility by 50,000 visits per year, compared to the existing St James pool.

Option Two – Replace Oasis at an existing or alternative site in Hunstanton

The report proposed that the second phase of the strategy would see the Oasis replaced with a new facility, preferably at or near the seafront in Hunstanton.

This new facility would include a four lane 25m pool, a water splash area, a soft/adventure play area, a fitness gym and studio and a café. It is estimated that this would cost in the region of £27.8m, and would result in annual revenue improvements of £383,000, an increase of 126,000 in the number of visits per year, and a dramatic improvement in the operating performance of the facility.

Option Three – Redevelop the existing ‘dryside’ facilities at Lynnsport

The final option outlined in the report is for the redevelopment of the ‘dryside’ facilities at Lynnsport. The report does not go into significant detail about what this redevelopment would involve, or what it might cost, but it does note that previous feasibility studies have suggested a figure of around £44m for a scheme that included a new swimming pool and expanded fitness and gymnastics facilities.

The report states that further work is required to fully assess the options relating to the redevelopment of Lynnsport, but it does suggest that a new swimming pool at the site should not be considered a higher priority than the replacement of the existing pools at St James and the Oasis.

The report also states that the redevelopment of the ‘dryside’ facilities at Lynnsport is likely to offer a much lower return on investment than the replacement of the pools at St James and the Oasis.

Option Four – Provide additional fitness facilities (enlarged gym and extra studio) and general refurbishment of Downham Market leisure centre.

The report notes that Downham Market Leisure Centre is in a relatively good state of repair, and that it is already successful in terms of usage levels and cost recovery. However, it does suggest that the council should consider a modest programme of refurbishment and improvement works at the centre, including providing additional fitness facilities. This work is estimated to cost in the region of £9.7m and would deliver around £63k net annual revenue improvement, an increase of 34,000 visits per year, and improve operating performance (cost recovery) from 90% to 97%.

Recommendations

The report concluded by recommending that the council approve funding of £450,000 to allow officers to progress Options One and Two to RIBA Stage Two¹ which would allow for the development of a full business case for each project.