Present at the meeting:
- Councillor R Winkworth (Chairman)
- Councillor S F Ell (Vice Chairman)
- Councillor Mrs K Aldred
- Councillor Mrs B Bourne
- Dr Councillor C M Cottam
- Councillor M Klieve
- Councillor C Sweeney
Officers in attendance
- Sue Johnson – Deputy Chief Executive
- Gary Finch – Principal Officer – Overview and Scrutiny
- Roisin Beressi – Senior Solicitor
- Diane Adshead – Committee Services Officer
Witnesses
- Councillor G M Bretherton – Cabinet Champion for Equality and Young People.
- Kevin Lawson – Service Director - Borough Solicitor
- Paul McKevitt – Service Director - Corporate Services
- Anne Goldsmith – Service Director - Transformation
- Sue Astbury – Head of Service – Integrated Support
- Rob Carter – Deputy Chief Executive, On Side North West
32 Apologies for absence: Councillors Miss J Atherton, M A Dewhurst, R J Derricutt, Ms L E Fagan, T W Halliwell, J D Hodgkinson, E N Houlton and W J Wilkes and Rev Deacon R Moore, Reverend R Buckley, Mr D Barber, Mrs K Stokes and Mr G Wolstenholme (Co-opted Members).
33 Minutes: The approval of the minutes of the meeting of this Committee held on 23 July 2009 were deferred until the next meeting.
34 Whipping Declarations: There were no declarations made.
35 Call in – Youth facilities: The decision made by Cabinet (minute 76 refers) had been called in by Councillor G W Fairhust, with the support of Councillors Mrs D Fairhurst, G Wilkes, Mrs A M L Bland, P A Tushingham, J Ellis, W J Wilkes, J D Hodgkinson, R T Splaine, R Brierley, N A Bradbury, B J Fagan and J Miller.
The Cabinet decision was as follows:-
76 Youth facilities: The Cabinet considered a report, which was presented by the Service Director - Transformation, Anne Goldsmith, informing Members of the potential development of a youth facility and requesting support from the Council for the development, location and future operation.
The report set out details of the alternative option. The reason for selecting the one recommended was that the siting of the facility alongside Parsons Walk, Wigan between Drumcroon and Civic Buildings would represent the best option for planning purposes.
Members asked a number of questions and commented on the various aspects of the report. The Chief Executive reminded Cabinet that the proposals were in the very early stages of development and would need full evaluation before a decision is made.
Resolved: The Cabinet:-
- supports the proposed development of a youth facility in principle;
- authorises negotiations to clarify the assistance required from the Council in relation to the siting of the development and its future operation; and
- requests that should any development take place, design details reflect that the development is situated in a conservation area.
(Councillor P Prescott declared a prejudicial interest in this item as he is Chairman of the Council’s Planning Committee and left the meeting during the discussion thereon).
Councillor G W Fairhurst had stated that the reasons for calling in the Cabinet decision were as follows:
1. The area is a conservation area and this was completely missed out of the report.
2. There is no information about how much money is coming from the Council, if any and how much? Also how many years this would be needed.
3. If this venture fails what is the first option in terms what will happen to the site.
These are just 3 key areas that the report fails to mention and also are just a few important parts that should have been included.
This call in, in no way says or demonstrates that myself or any one supporting this call in is against the proposal just that the Cabinet would surely need more information to be able to vote on such a key issue. Before any Councillor from any party could say, these issues need to be answered and resolved and I wish to call this item in on these grounds and I wish for any other Councillors from any Scrutiny Committee to support this call in.
The Committee considered the report of the Executive Director of Children and Young People’s Services which had been presented to Cabinet on this matter.
The Service Director – Transformation, Anne Goldsmith, on behalf of the Executive Director of Children and Young People’s Services attended as a witness to explain the background leading to the recommendations in the report and answered questions.
Councillor G M Bretherton, the Cabinet Champion for Equality and Young People, attended as a witness to explain how the Cabinet had reached its decision and answer questions. He emphasised that no decision had been made relating to the location of a youth facility as the Cabinet had only agreed to support the proposed development of a youth facility in principle. Following the approach from On Side North West, officers had been given permission to explore the proposal further.
The Committee watched a presentation by the Deputy Chief Executive of On Side North West, Rob Carter, which gave background information about the charity and its advisory role in bringing together public and private sector funding. Although the proposals for the development of a youth facility had been agreed in principle by the Cabinet, the charity would enter into negotiations with the Council to explore if the facility could be both accessible and affordable and could meet the technical criteria by being sited in a neutral location thus avoiding territorial issues. Regular detailed reports would be provided for approval at each stage of the project once approval had been given to proceed.
On Side North West advised that the future revenue funding and annual running costs of the facility would be approximately £1 million and based on other similar schemes would be sourced as follows:
- 10% from young people
- 25% from the private sector
- 25% from Trusts and grants
- 40% from the Council and the public sector (via brokered partnerships)
The facility could potentially provide 55 full time jobs, 100 part time jobs and 370 voluntary positions.
Members questioned the witnesses about the siting of the facility and ownership of the land once the youth facility had been erected.
The Committee was advised that nine sites had been appraised and Mesnes Park playing fields had been identified by On Side North West in principle as being the most accessible site from those nine. The Service Director - Borough Solicitor, Kevin Lawson, informed the Committee that if a Council owned site was agreed as the preferred site for the facility, following negotiations by the charity and the Executive Director of Children and Young People’s Services, and approval by the Cabinet, the Council could enter into a long term lease with the charity with strict user and development restrictions in place.
Resolved: The Committee supports the decision with the following recommendations to be referred to Cabinet:-
- that all site options identified for the project be explored ; and
- that reports on the proposed youth facility be brought to this Committee at each stage.
