A CALL for Redditch borough council to start looking for an outside firm to run the Abbey Stadium, Forge Mill Museum, The Palace Theatre and Pitcheroak Golf Course has been put on hold.
The recommendation to enter the procurement process came from the council’s Overview and Scrutiny committee after a ‘Short Sharp Review’ of leisure service options led by chair Councillor Jane Potter (Con, A/Bank, Feckenham).
This involved a working party sending out questionnaires to a number of councils and meetings with representatives of two councils which had gone down the external provider route and a site visit to Chase Leisure Centre, which is run by Wigan Leisure Trust.
“We wanted to explore the options for a trust to manage leisure facilities with a view to making savings and improving facilities for the people of Redditch,” said Coun Potter. She explained that such a trust would be a not-for-profit body and savings could be in the region of £200,000 to £300,000 at a minimum.
The working party were particularly taken by their visit to Chase; Coun Tom Baker-Price (Con, Headless Cross & Oakenshaw) said: “What impressed me was not only the savings the council made but also the level of investment in equipment and because it was working from a commercial perspective they were much more pro-active.”
Coun Paul Swansborough (Ukip, Winyates) said this included a professional online booking system for the local theatre which could really boost ticket sales if introduced in Redditch.
However Coun Joe Baker (Lab, Greenlands) said he felt the report had been rushed, particularly as the council’s leisure department was carrying out its own review into services.
“What concerns me is that this is what Conservatives do best and that’s sell off and out-source our assets, assets that our communities like,” he said.
He called for the report to be deferred until leisure staff had completed their own when the two documents could be considered together.
This was agreed by five votes to two.
