The Deal Leisure Centre Project Advisory Group met to discuss the ongoing redevelopment of the Tides Leisure Centre. The group received updates on the project's operations, design, demolition, planning, finance, communications, and risk management, and agreed to exclude the press and public from discussions of financial and business affairs. No recommendations were made to the Cabinet.

Project Finance

The advisory group received an update on the project's finances. Total expenditure up to RIBA Stage 4¹ stood at £833,487.60. The cost of early construction and demolition works had been agreed at £676,75.49, and the project was still working within the estimated total cost of £20.4 million.

Leisure Centre Design

Mr Matt McCreith from GT3 Architects, advised that the team was working on a landscaping scheme to improve accessibility and visibility of the Deal Leisure Centre.

Councillor Lynne Wright raised concerns about the cleaning and maintenance of the proposed cladding, and Councillor Michael Nee, Portfolio Holder for Finance, Governance, Climate Change and Environment, thought the signage should be installed sooner to avoid 'puncturing' the external finish. Mr McCreith said ventilation and rainwater run-off would be addressed, with strategies produced for cleaning and maintenance, and the team would look to have signage agreed ahead of construction. The Strategic Project Manager (SPM) noted that the white render used at the Whitfield site had proved difficult to maintain, and officers had worked with Places Leisure, which was responsible for maintenance and cleaning, to develop operating manuals.

Other issues raised included:

• Operators had indicated that a first aid room was not necessary
• Swimming-pool changing facilities should be flexible spaces that could be individual or group change
• Dryside changing village male and female segregated facilities and gender-neutral facilities should be provided
• Operator feedback was that changing facilities were not widely used and they would prefer less dry change provision.
• Dover District Council input was sought on building signage location and design

Councillor David Cronk, Vice-Chair of the Council, argued that a first aid room should be retained, and Councillor Oliver Richardson commented that it was important to listen to operators' views on things like the first aid room and changing facilities as they had the experience and knowledge. Councillor Jeff Loffman commented that operators might seek to make economies by reducing the dry changing provision, but it was important to consider how customers experienced the building. Councillor Nee suggested that the team should speak to St John Ambulance.

Demolition and Planning

Mr Chris Howe from Hadron Consulting, reported on the demolition of the main pool building and former nursery. Demolition of the pool building and adjacent nursery building had been approved by Cabinet on 12 May, with demolition brought forward to July. Enabling works for temporary access were due to start in 2 to 3 weeks. Early demolition would remove the risk of anti-social behaviour and costs associated with keeping the building secure, allow ground surveys to be completed early, reduce construction programme risk for the main project, and remove a derelict building, demonstrating the council's commitment to the project.

The PAG was advised that there would be more certainty around the final construction programme in September, but it was likely that approval to proceed with the final programme would be sought at the October Cabinet meeting. In response to Councillor Wright, it was clarified that works would include the provision of a temporary reception desk, plant, etc to allow services to continue at the sports hall, tennis centre and temporary gym. There would be a delivery agreement between the council and Alliance Leisure Services to allow construction to take place under the UK Leisure Framework² and a separate JCT minor works contract³ between Pellikaan and Alliance Leisure Services for construction to take place. The SPM advised that a report would be taken to Cabinet in January giving details of the contracts and relationships and undertook to give a breakdown of these at the next meeting.

Mr Howe advised that DHA Planning had been appointed as the planning consultant for the project. Pre-application meetings had been held with the Council's Planning team which had confirmed that the creation of a new temporary entrance, demolition of pool hall, and demolition of neighbouring nursery building for use as construction compound would be carried out under permitted development. Members were advised that a prior approval planning application for the demolition of the pool hall had already been submitted and no concerns had been raised by consultees to date. It was anticipated that the full planning application for the new facility would be submitted on 6 June. Meetings had been held with Sport England to glean its feedback on the proposals, and with Kent Police to discuss 'Design Out Crime' considerations.

Project Operations

The PAG received a presentation on the project's operations. The long-term management contract (April 2026-March 2040) tender process commenced on 9 April, five bidders attended a site visit day and clarification meetings on 7 May, and tender evaluation would take place in July and August, with recommendations to Cabinet in October. The contract was due to be finalised in Q4 2025, with mobilisation in Q1 2026. Early entrance works and associated services were due to be completed in August 2025, and demolition of the pool building would be carried out under permitted development.

The SPM reported that Your Leisure (YL) had been appointed as the interim operator. Finalising the management contract, services specification and lease had taken time, but they had now been agreed and, once signed, the management fee would be released to YL. Fortnightly meetings continued to be held with YL's senior management team and day to day operations were the subject of regular discussions. Feedback was that there was a steady flow of customers using the sports hall, tennis centre and the temporary gym. Exercise classes in the sports hall were being reviewed and discussions had been held about extending the current opening hours, but YL had indicated that the take-up of extended hours was not generally very good.

Mr Simon Molden from The Sports Consultancy, read out nine method statements which would each have an evaluation weighting. Mr Molden clarified that 10 to 15-year contracts were typical, but the proposed 14-year contract would align with the Dover District Leisure Centre contract which was due to expire in 2040. Performance monitoring would be built into the contract, and in the event that the operator failed to meet targets, they would accrue financial penalties or penalty points, and ultimately, the council could terminate the contract.

Mr Chris Howe from Hadron Consulting, advised that construction of the temporary entrance and other works would begin in the next two weeks. Since the pool's closure on 16 March, fencing had been erected around the site. There had been two break-ins around the Easter holidays but no further incidents since security at the site had been tightened up.

The Property Assets Manager (Corporate) (PAM) advised that a condition survey had recently been carried out of the sports hall and tennis centre which had highlighted problems resulting from a lack of maintenance. The key areas needing attention were the rooflights and lighting in the tennis centre. In particular, the lighting in the tennis centre was poor and needed to be upgraded to a more costeffective LED system, at a cost of between £40,000 and £80,000.

The SPM advised that the cost of upgrading the sports hall and tennis centre was not included in the overall budget of £20.4 million for rebuilding/renovating Tides. The council's Indoor Sports Facility Strategy underpinned the Tides project and, with the Local Plan, set out how such projects would be funded. Section 106 contributions⁴ made through the planning system and public decarbonisation works funding could be used to upgrade the sports hall and tennis centre. Operators who had expressed an interest in bidding for the new centre were aware of the condition survey. The PAM clarified that the rooflights would require a separate tender package as they were distinct from the lighting works.

Councillor Richardson raised concerns around the timing of the works and the potential costs. The SPM advised that the purpose of raising these matters was to highlight the need to look at future planned maintenance of the dryside assets, and that Members would receive a report from the Property Assets team which was leading on the project, once costings and timings had been established. In response to Councillor Loffman, the PAM undertook to bring further information to the September meeting, even if only ballpark figures were available.

Communications

The Development Projects and Engagement Coordinator advised that workshops had been held with disability groups and swimming clubs on 19 March and feedback passed to the project team. The communications team had issued a press release on 6 May about the early demolition of the pool building, and the dedicated website had been updated with the latest news. The team was working with colleagues from Community on the disposal of kitchen and plant equipment from the pool building. A survey had been sent to all primary schools in Deal, Aylesham and Sandwich regarding their use of the leisure centre, including any experiences and issues. In particular, there had been engagement with the Downs School about the use of the 'pop-up' pool. Feedback from the school was that the logistics of getting children to and from the pool meant that the amount of time spent in the pool was limited. A press release would be issued when the planning application had been submitted, and there would be engagement with properties neighbouring the site before demolition about accessing the site and the nature of the works. Contact would be made with other stakeholders (town/parish councils, Kent County Council Highways, Police, etc) via notices or newsletters. A survey was being drafted for users of the Whitfield leisure centre regarding how they use changing rooms and their views on a mixed use dryside changing facility.

The SPM clarified that the nursery would be demolished first as it was to be used as the construction compound.

Risk and Programme

Mr Howe advised that RIBA Stage 5 would commence after Cabinet approval in October. The main project contract cost that would be committed to by Pellikaan under the construction contract would be reported to Cabinet in October. It was known that there was asbestos in the plant room and there was provision in the demolition budget for its removal. The early demolition of the building would help to reduce the potential risks of the project by, for example, allowing ground surveys to be done early, and the team would work with the operator to mitigate the risks. The SPM added that workshops would be held with the project team to review and update the risk register which was significant and contained over 50 items.

Mr Howe went through the key target dates relating to the project, which were:

• Submission of planning application 6 June 2025
• Commencement of demolition preparation works July 2025
• Cabinet approval for main and operator contracts October 2025
• Construction starting on site November 2025
• Completion of construction works May 2027

Exclusion of Press and Public

The advisory group agreed to exclude the press and public from the meeting for items of business relating to operations and finance, as these contained information relating to the financial or business affairs of particular persons.