Agenda item

Report of the Executive Director (Resources, Environment and Cultural Services) which provides the Committee with a report from Finesse Leisure detailing its performance against target for Quarter 4.

Members received a Powerpoint presentation by Emily Nicholls which provided them with information on the services provided at Stanborough Activity Centre and the roles of staff members.  (A copy of the presentation can be found at Z:\01 Modern.Gov Agenda Papers\SOSC Social Overview and Scrutiny Committee\07 2017.07.27\SOSC - Stanborough Activity Centre (Jul 17).pptx).

Members thanked Emily for her presentation and the enthusiasm that she showed.  They felt that there were a lot of exciting initiatives.

Members asked whether there was any issue with the powerboat interfering with the fishing.  They were advised that there was only a small amount of high speed travelling and, when this was going to happen, the bailiff and anglers were warned.

Members stated that there had been a lot of comments regarding the water quality and also rats.  They asked how the perception could be dispelled.

They were advised that a great deal of work was done on water quality and testing was done on a regular basis.  Members asked for details of this to be publicised.

Members commented that there had been a drop in the numbers for fishing.  They were advised that work was being done on encouraging more 17-25 year olds to take part.  There were good numbers for night fishing.  An app was being used which gave information on catches, etc.  Ideas to increase participation were welcomed.

A Member asked why so many services were run by a third party.  Officers advised that an annual review took place at which the costs of those services contracted by Finesse Leisure were considered and other options.  It had been decided at the last review to remain with the third party operators for the North kiosk and row boats.  Finesse did not have any control over the leases for the Terranova restaurant and café or the High and Low Ropes Adventure Course, as these were managed by the Council directly.

Members asked about the depth of the lakes.  They were advised that the South Lake was approximately 8 feet and the North Lake between 6 and 7 feet.  The model boat lake on the north side of the Park was between 1.5 and 2 feet.

Members asked about the number of children who attended the summer club and how much it cost for attendance.  They were advised that the daily cost was £45 and a weekly cost was £169.  A reduction applied for siblings.

A Member commented that it was important to get feedback on the Herts Parksapp that had been introduced.  Officers advised that this was a new project and a lot of research had been undertaken.  Feedback was being obtained in order to keep the project fresh.

It was noted that Yoga and HiiT were provided by staff at the Centre rather than third party providers.

Members were then presented with a report by Natalie Palmer which provided information on the services provided by Finesse and their achievements against targets.

The main points highlighted in the report were:

·         financial recovery from the impact of the budget gyms had started.

·         there had been a small decline in visitor numbers during the year, although Stanborough Park and King George V and other Playing Fields had gone against this trend and seen an increase in visitors.

·         there had been a slight decline in the use of the Footgolf facility.

·         the pitch and putt course was to be improved.

·         there had been 34 Junior Park Runs held at Kuing George V involving 3,400 children and 19 volunteers per run.

·         a surplus of £22,000 had been realised overall which was £15,000 more than the previous year.

·         £117,000 of savings had been made across the business.

·         the Council was funding the partial refurbishment of the changing rooms at the Hatfield Swim Centre in 2017-2018.  The Finesse Board would be discussing the release of some reserves to support this.

Members noted that the demise of football at King George V was due to the ending of the Sunday Football League as not enough teams were registering to make it viable.  Members questioned whether there was any strategy in place to help the low paid.  The Lead Member for Sport agreed to speak to Officers about this.

Comment was also made that there had been little consultation on the removal of the artificial pitches which went against the recommendations of the Scrutiny Sub-Committee that had looked at King George V Playing Fields and had commented at the time that consultation with local residents was important.

Members asked for further information regarding the intention to sell the lease on the Fairway Tavern to a local third party and they asked whether there would be an adverse effect on the services provided at Panshanger Golf course.

Officers replied that it was hoped that there would continue to be a good working relationship with the Golf society.  They pointed out that the commercial lease on the Fairway Tavern had never been in the control of Finesse.  Further information would be sought regarding the current situation and Members would be notified of any updates.

Members noted that there were often negative comments on social media about Hatfield Swim Centre and they asked what was being done to refute these.

Officers replied that this was frustrating as often the people making comments had not attended the Swim Centre for some time and did not have current knowledge.  Work was being done on public relations for the Centre.

Officers went on to say that the facilities were old, not dirty and investment in refurbishment was planned.  With 78,000 visitors annually there were pinch points at certain times and there was the need for investment.  There needed to be management of expectations as focus would be on the showers, toilets and flooring.  The rest of the Centre was in very good condition.

Members asked whether there had been any advertising of the Summer Play programmes at Moneyhole Lane and Digswell.  They were told that the events had been advertised in the Council’s Life Magazine.

Members also asked whether there had been any promotion of the refurbishment of the two gyms.  They were advised that there had been marketing undertaken in January in readiness for completion of the refurbishment in February.  There had been a 17% increase in memberships but the number of leavers had also increased resulting in a nett growth of 100 members.

Members felt that it would be of benefit to arrange a site visit to the Finesse sites so that they could see for themselves each of the locations.  This would then allow them to be advocates for the services provided at each site.  It was agreed that this would be arranged with Finesse.

It was noted that, despite the reduction in staff numbers, resources were still available to apply for outside funding.  Partnership working was also proving beneficial such as the work with McMillan Nurses and the YMCA on offerings for people after cancer and with Sport England who were providing funding for the Parks app.

RESOLVED:

That the Finesse monitoring information for the final quarter of 2016/17 be noted.