REDDITCH has missed a great opportunity to improve its leisure facilities and save money, says a leading borough councillor.
Coun Jane Potter (Con, Astwood Bank & Feckenham) was speaking after the authority voted to adopt a ‘Teckal’ not for profit local authority trading company to run the service.
This was instead of choosing an external trust, which she said: “Would have been the best option by far for Redditch.”
Coun Potter is basing her claim on the work the borough’s Overview & Scrutiny committee did into the options open to the authority.
The council needs to save money, and while the Teckal model is expected to save in the region of £440,000, an external trust which is already running other local authority leisure facilities could save double that.
Like a Teckal, with an external not-for-profit trust the council would have kept all the assets,” she said, although she admitted her Conservative group had failed to make that clear at last week’s full council meeting.
“The difference is you would have people with expertise to call on from across the country and in all sorts of areas.
“We visited Cannock Chase Council, which is also Labour controlled, and were bowled over by how busy their equivalent of the Abbey Stadium was, and they run a golf course and a theatre there as in Redditch.
“Cannock even had a room devoted to people recovering from cancer which was provided free of charge.
We asked how could this be and were told that, with 60 per cent joining the gym to aid their recovery they could afford to offer this service,” said Coun Potter.
She acknowledged any contract with an external trust would necessarily be long term, 10 to 15 years, but that break clauses could be inserted if anything went wrong.
“I just feel the council chickened out and went for the half way house option,” she said.
Coun Bill Hartnett, the leader of Redditch Borough Council, said: “Coun Potter’s party had an hour and a half at Overview & Scrutiny and an hour and half at Executive Committee to change this.
“We thought it would be a really big debate in the council chamber but they did not move any amendments and did not vote against the Teckal option.”
