Following the Isle of Wight council’s (IWC) proposal to remove funding for Waterside Pool in Ryde in the next annual budget, expressions of interest are now officially being invited.
As reported last month, the IWC Cabinet agreed in December 2010 that unless a viable proposal at nil longer term cost to the Council is under active consideration at the time of the budget setting process in February 2011, funding will be removed and the pool closed on 31 March 2011.
It is suggested that future management of the pool could come from one of four main sources:
- A private sector operator; this being considered least likely as the Council would not be offering any ongoing contribution towards the running costs of the facility.
- A not-for-profit organisation (trust or community interest company); this presenting more likelihood given the potential financial benefits available (mainly in NNDR and VAT savings) to such organisations. There may be difficulty in establishing a new organisation from interested parties within the time available.
- Employee Ownership; the current staff understand the operation of the facility and so could if so disposed consider undertaking its operation as an independent body. This could take the form of a not-for-profit or a commercial operation. The time needed to develop the business model and establish the company may be a constraining factor in this approach.
- Town/Parish Council(s); the transfer of the facility to a Town/Parish Council or consortium of Councils would be simple to achieve as the organisations are already in existence. This may allow more time for them to focus on the operating model to be used for the facility.
Those wishing to take on the responsibility of running the pool will need to take the following into account.
- The third party must take full responsibility for the repair, maintenance and all running costs of the facility.
- The facility shall remain as a swimming pool from the date of transfer for a minimum of 21 years. Thereafter it shall continue to be used only for leisure and related purposes.
- A minimum of 14 hours a week of programmed time in the facility shall be provided for casual public swimming activities (ie pay and swim).
- If there is a transfer of freehold the Council shall be granted a first option to purchase the building should the third party be seeking to sell it within 21 years from the date of transfer.
- Should the Council not exercise its option under (d) above it shall be entitled to a share of the profits from any sale of the facility calculated on a percentage scale related to the years elapsing from the date of transfer.
Another consideration should be the annual running costs of the pool as detailed below. It’s not an insignificant amount.
| Employees | £300,805 |
| Premises | £107,932 |
| Transport | £250 |
| Supplies and Services | £24,258 |
| Other Payments | £6,800 |
| Direct Costs | £440,045 |
| Indirect Costs | £192,403 |
| Total Costs | £632,448 |
For more information about the decision and paper behind it, check out the iwight Website (PDF)
