15/12/2022

Published Barrhead News On Line

www.barrheadnews.com/news/

Multi-million plans for new leisure centre scaled back
1 hr ago


Eastwood leisure centre and theatre plans scaled back
1 hr ago

By Drew Sandelands
Local Democracy Reporter

Multi-million pound plans for a new leisure centre and theatre in East Renfrewshire will be delayed and scaled back due to soaring costs.

Councillors have decided to postpone a replacement for Eastwood Leisure Centre for two years as rising inflation and volatile interest rates push up the price.

They also agreed to cut the size of the swimming pool from 50m to 25m and build a four-court games hall, instead of six.

It is hoped the smaller scheme, expected to cost £52million, will mean work can be completed within the £55m budget already agreed by councillors, rather than the increased estimate of £67m.

Council leader Owen O’Donnell said: “We’d like to keep the original budget approval, the £55million, for the project that was originally agreed but to defer the construction start for two years.

"This is to allow the revised design to be prepared and reviewed by council.”

Councillor Tony Buchanan, the SNP group leader, backed the same option but called for work to begin as quickly as possible. However, his amendment lost out in a vote.

“I think there is a significant risk of delaying it for two years," said Councillor Buchanan. "Not only a risk in terms of the current capacity and the current building, which could give up the ghost at any time. That two-year delay could be significant for losing custom and not being able to deliver for a number of people.

"I appreciate the difference in interest rates but in two years time construction costs could have gone up significantly and could potentially wipe out that difference, if not cost more.”

Labour’s motion, with the support of the Conservatives, passed by nine votes to six for the SNP amendment. Councillor David Macdonald, who serves as an independent, abstained.

The original brief had included a new theatre, a 50m pool, a family fun pool and a six-court games hall.

Other options presented to councillors included reducing the scope further, building a new leisure centre but refurbishing the theatre or refurbishing the whole venue.

There was also an option to retain the current building and carry out essential maintenance.

Council officials reported the existing centre does not meet current demand and estimated there is a maintenance backlog of around £14m.

Refurbishing the centre would involve closure – and, therefore, no income – for up to 24 months.

Councillors were also told refurbishment costs could be “frustratingly higher than you’d like” as they involve “managing issues which simply take longer to resolve.”

Councillor O’Donnell said the council had to “balance the fact that we have an end-of-life leisure centre which is not big enough to meet the needs of our growing population, against the very difficult financial constraints we are under.”

He added: “Since Covid struck, the cost of the project increased significantly, reflecting ongoing construction cost increases. In the last few months there has also been instability in energy prices, interest rates and general inflation.”

Council chiefs expect to face a £30m budget shortfall over the next three years, with Councillor O’Donnell stating that the two-year deferral for the leisure centre would “allow for £5million of revenue savings to be taken.”

“Obviously that is important for us, considering the huge budget challenges this council faces,” he added.

The delay will also allow “more certainty over what’s happening with interest rates and greater clarity on energy costs,” Councillor O'Donnell said.

Officials reported the deferral could lead to more certainty on interest rates and reduced borrowing costs but it could also cause construction costs to rise and increase the risk of the existing leisure centre failing.

A report to councillors stated a two-year delay could see construction costs increase by around £7m.

Councillor O’Donnell said he recognised there were “real risks” with delaying the scheme but added: “Ultimately it’s a judgement call and a balance of risk management over time and understanding the budgetary pressures we have at the moment.”

Councillor Gordon Wallace, of the Conservatives, said he supported the decision to delay the project, given that “dramatic” cuts are “coming round the corner.”

A decision on the leisure centre had been postponed in October to allow council officials to review rising interest rates and energy prices.

Some councillors raised concerns that the decision was being “rushed.”

Councillor Macdonald said: “I would have liked further time to discuss these matters with my constituents. We received this paper yesterday, one day before the council meeting.”

Lorraine McMillan, the council’s chief executive, said: “This is not a new project, this is a project that has been discussed and scrutinised by members throughout.”

Current Update -

It would appear from below a report will be submitted to Full Council Meeting on 13 December 2023.


'EAST RENFREWSHIRE COUNCIL - Cabinet 14 December 2023 Report by the Chief Financial Officer - GENERAL FUND CAPITAL PROGRAMME
Culture & Leisure
Eastwood Park Leisure – Refurbishment
This project was placed on hold at the meeting of the Council on 26 th October 2022
with only initial design work being progressed. This will be the subject of a separate
report to Council on 13 December 2023 and estimated expenditure in the current
year has been reduced by £1.140m.'

Made On Line
5/12/2023
8876-9030-8243-0166

This Freedom of Information(FOI) Request concerns Eastwood Park Leisure Refurbishment/New Build.

This project was placed on hold at the meeting of the Council on 26 th October 2022.

Please provide all recorded information held regarding Eastwood Park Leisure Refurbishment/New Build from 26 October 2022 to date.

Specifically during this period

- All Reports/Papers produced/received

- All details of all work carried out

- All details of payments requested/made (Please provide invoices)

- All correspondence(letters/emails/texts etc) to/from/between Council Officials and 3rd Parties concerning the Eastwood Park Leisure Refurbishment/New Build.

- All correspondence(letters/emails/texts etc) to/from/between Council Officials concerning the Eastwood Park Leisure Refurbishment/New Build.

Your help will be appreciated.

Thanks

Agenda Item: 12
EAST RENFREWSHIRE COUNCIL
13 December 2023
Report by Director of Environment
EASTWOOD LEISURE CENTRE

PURPOSE OF THIS REPORT
1. The purpose of this report is to update Council on the progress made in relation to the new Eastwood Leisure Centre and seek a decision regarding how the project should progress.

RECOMMENDATIONS
2. The Council is recommended to:

a) Determine whether:

i. to progress option 2A, at an estimated cost of £56,981,962, that excludes
a library from the proposed design, or

ii. to progress option 2B, at an estimated cost of £59,258,960, that includes
a library within the proposed Leisure Centre, with the benefits outlined in the report;

b) Note the contingency provision of up to £6.7m is included within the estimated
costs and that a further assessment will be made once full construction costs are
known at January 2025;

c) Note the provision of £55m within the capital programme and a further £700k of
Development Contributions is estimated to be available to support the project;

d) Note that a cost cutting exercise will be undertaken to reduce estimated costs to
within the available budget; and

e) Approve expenditure not exceeding £1,920,000 for advance works, to enable de-
risking of the main contract. This cost is included within the total development
costs for both options above.

BACKGROUND AND REPORT
3. The Council meeting of December 2022 considered a range of options for the provision of leisure facilities in Eastwood.

www.eastrenfrewshire.gov.uk/media/8564/C...=6380652203910700000

4. The meeting identified its preferred option as being option 2 - Build a New Leisure
Centre with Theatre - with less pool and games hall provision: The design would be similar to Option 1 but with a 25m pool, 10m learner pool, 4 court games hall and reduced specification.

This would have a capacity of 650,000 customers per year and a capital cost of circa
£52M.

The accommodation schedule included the provision of a library within the Leisure Centre.

This option would be 7560m2 as opposed to the original option 1 which was 10,145m2.

5. The Council decision of December 2022 elected to defer option 2 for a period of two
years. Council were advised that a 2 year delay would add 13.8% to project costs (circa £7m to total of circa £59M). However, it was decided that the project would remain within the capital plan at £55m with a note that when the plan is given final approval, that the budget may vary from this figure because of construction inflation.

6. It should be noted that the costs were indicative and based upon an estimate of cost per m2.

7. Design work has continued to take option 2 forward within Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) Stage 3. This work has demonstrated that in order to remain close to the capital plan allocation of £55m it is necessary to reduce the floor area.

8. Therefore two sub options were considered.

a. Option 2A – build the leisure centre within the budget of £55M

b. Option 2B- build the leisure centre to the space standard outlined at the
December 2022 meeting. This would include a library.

9. In order to remain close to the current budget a revised design, option 2A, has been drafted that extends to circa 7,440 m2 at an estimated cost of £56,981,962. This design includes all the uses outlined in the original option 2 with the exception of the library.

10. Budget contingency of up to £6.7m is included in the estimated costs. These are built into the cost estimates and make provision for additional costs and inflation some or all of which may be required. Proceeding without contingency provision would be a risk to the project.

11. In option 2A the library is omitted in order to prioritise income generating and sports capacity facilities for the Trust.

12. In order to include all the facilities outlined within the original option 2, including a library, a further option 2B has been developed. Option 2B extends to some 7,843 m2 at an estimated cost of £59,258,960. The library area would also include an art class room space.

13. The cost for option 2B is similar to what was reported to Council in December 2022
which predicted a cost of £59M if a delay of two years was agreed.

14. An additional feature that is proposed in order to reduce cost is the external plant room which allows the specification of this external space to be reduced thereby reducing overall cost. This element is included in both 2A and 2B.

15. Construction cost is only one factor that requires to be taken into consideration. In addition, the larger facility will serve a larger number of users and provide the benefits of an integrated hub with a choice of leisure options. The current Eastwood Leisure Centre has a capacity for 285,000 service users. The new proposal (2B) with the library has a capacity of up to 650,000 service users. This increased capacity can benefit from funding available from Developer Contributions associated with new housing developments to support the cost of new sporting and library facilities.

16. The potential benefits of including a library in the centre include the following;

a. The inclusion of a library adds to the overall appeal of the centre and the family-
offer in particular. It is estimated that as much as 25% of footfall to the site could
be driven by the library. It is anticipated that a library at Eastwood Leisure Centre
could attract 150k visitors per annum;

b. Increased dwell-time and number of visits would be increased by the presence
of the library. Its central location and relationship with the café would also have
increased ancillary income and secondary spend (retail, catering, theatre, Pay
As You Go and membership sales). For example the removal of the library is
estimated at reducing membership by around 8%. This is estimated to generate
income at around £100,000 p.a.;

c. The inclusion of the Art Classroom within the library was budgeted to generate
£90,000 p.a. through classes. This is a conservative estimate reflecting current
actuals;

d. The inclusion of the library follows the successful model of Barrhead Foundry
and creates a large library on the east of the authority capable of serving as
central hub to branch libraries in the area, and providing for future flexibility in the design of services;

e. Not including the library will miss the opportunity to create what is anticipated to be the most visited library in the authority, following the tried-and-tested model
used elsewhere, including Barrhead Foundry; and

f. The new centre at Eastwood will serve a larger and growing East Renfrewshire
population.

17. As agreed from the outset, any increase in operating costs for the new larger facility require to be offset by increased income to ensure that there is no increase in the subsidy offered by the Council to the East Renfrewshire Culture and Leisure Trust (ERCLT).

This has been fully considered and assessed for option 2A and B.

18. A decision is now required by Council as to whether to proceed with option 2A or 2B in order to deliver the facility within the agreed timescales and costs.

Regardless of which option is chosen, opportunities will be taken during the next phase of design to consider cost reductions that could remove up to £4m from the cost plan and achieve an estimated cost of £55.7m.

Option 2A without a library would require less cost reductions to be made.

Priority will be taken to minimise the impact on revenue generation, capacity or range of offer.

Items that could be considered for cost review may be the theatre fly tower, studio theatre fit-out, merging the café and theatre bar, reducing the size of the training pool, acoustic separation of the library, and the extent of external works.

19. Irrespective of which option is chosen the intention is for construction to begin in April 2025.

However advance works currently estimated at £1,920,000 could be undertaken between now and 24 th April 2025.

a. Ecology survey and any mitigation

b. Utility diversions for Gas, Electricity, Water, Telecoms etc.

c. Existing building alterations including potential removal and reconfiguration of
fire escape and associated asbestos survey

d. Site preparations including formation of building platform

20. Undertaking these works in advance of construction would reduce the risk of project delivery being delayed by factors such as utility connections and reduce the risk of some cost inflation.

21. The current expected programme would follow the sequence below dependent upon
a decision taken at this Council meeting.

RIBA Stage 3 complete and cost review 17.05.2024

ERC Instruction to progress RIBA Stage 4 31.05.2024

Planning Application 17.06.2024 to 06.09.2024

Market Test Period 29.07.2024 to17.01.2025

HubWS Stage 2 Report to ERC 20.01.2025

Financial Close ERC Contract Execution 03.02.2025 to 28.03.2025

Construction TBC 28.04.2025 to 09.06.2028