FINANCE AND EFFICIENCY
22. Provision of £55M currently exists for the Eastwood Leisure Centre in the capital plan.

23. In addition, up to £700k of Developer Contributions (DCs) is estimated to be available to contribute to the costs for new library and sports facilities, although not guaranteed. DCs are index linked to new development within the area that would be served by the new facility.

Indexation means that sums can vary up and down depending on speed of development and
housing market changes. The contributions are made by developers for specific purpose and secured by legal agreement with specific deadlines for spend.
24. Contingency budget is built into both options under consideration and various stages of the project as appropriate. A fixed price for construction will be known by January 2025 and contingency can be reassessed at that point. Until then, costs provided are based on estimates provided by the project team with these contingencies included.

Contingencies built into current cost estimates

Option 2A without Library Option 2B with Library
5% of Prime Cost* £1,708,510 £1,803,582
Inflation Allowance @ 8.8%** £3,160,300 £3,336,159
Client Risk Allowance £1,600,000 £1,600,000
Total £6,468,810 £6,739,741
*base cost of materials and labour
**Inflation is allowed for at 8.8% from now until mid-point construction

25. The Council report of December 2022 advised that the chosen option (Option 2) would require an annual subsidy to the Trust of £750,000 per annum.

This supports the annual running costs of the facility. This forecast has been updated based on better trading conditions.

Current gym members continues to grow (15% up on pre-covid peak), swimming
(33% up) and theatre performance is outstripping predictions.

26. The current centre this year is forecast to make an operating loss of around £900,000 per annum.

It is now forecast the proposed new centre without a library (Option 2a) would reduce that to £800,000 per annum, whilst the centre with a library included (Option 2b) would see that fall to £710,000 per annum.

The cost saving exercise (para 19) will have an impact on these forecasts and will require to be updated once the preferred option is determined and the costs saving measures are finalised.

27. Table 1 sets out operating costs and income for the current leisure centre and the 2 options under consideration.

The forecasts show that both new larger facility options will result in reductions in the trading deficit. These figures exclude any displacement effect from changes to the wider library or sporting facilities service provision.

28. Option 2B reflects allowances for increased footfall (c. 150,000 p.a.), increased dwell- time and length of visits due to the presence of the library, and consequential sales.

CONSULTATION AND PARTNERSHIP WORKING
29. This report has been prepared in consultation with colleagues from the Trust,
Procurement, Major Capital Projects Team and Accountancy. In consultation with
Procurement, it has been agreed that the Council will utilise Hub West Scotland (HWS) to support the core project team in managing the delivery of this project. This will ensure that sufficient resources are applied to the project to ensure delivery on time and within budget.

IMPLICATIONS OF THE PROPOSALS
30. This report has no implications in terms of Equalities and or Subsidy Control legislation.

Legal and Information Technology requirements associated with the proposals will be fully assessed and provided for within the projects proposals.

31. Any proposed redesign of services would have to take note of the Change Process
prescribed in the legal agreements (the Services Agreement) between the Council and the Trust in 2015, which outlines the measures each party must put in place when recommending a significant change in service provision

32. A Climate Change Impact Assessment Stage 2 has been undertaken. The proposal
will have a moderate positive impact on Council Operations achieving Get to Zero and will have small negative impact on community emissions. This is because:

ï‚· A full-electric heat and power system is proposed, removing the need for a gas
boiler. This is supported by solar panels providing some power, reducing the
demand for grid electricity.

ï‚· Operational energy intensity will be reduced from an estimated 965 kWh/m 2/year
to 360 kWh/m2/year. This provides carbon savings per annum of 303 tCO2e
(based on 2023 emission factors).

ï‚· Expecting an increase in vehicle movements with new centre attracting new
members and increased capacity for swimming lessons etc. This could be
mitigated with a sustainable travel plan incorporated into the future operation of
the site.

CONCLUSIONS
33. Substantial work has been undertaken in the last 12 months to achieve a workable
design within a climate of rising prices without compromising on the goal of a high quality and visually attractive facility within Eastwood Park. Two options have been developed that achieve this.

A decision is required as to which option is desired.

34. Furthermore a decision is required as to whether to undertake some of the preparatory works now instead of January 2025 in order to remove some potential risks from the project.

RECOMMENDATIONS
35. 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.

Director of Environment
For further information contact: Phil Daws, Head of Housing, Property and Climate
Change:
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
December 2023

15/12/2023

Published Barrhead News On Line

www.barrheadnews.com/news/

Plans for new leisure centre in East Renfrewshire
2 hrs ago

By Ben Waddell
@benwaddell123
Reporter

PLANS to deliver a new leisure centre in East Renfrewshire have taken a "significant step forward" following a decision by councillors.

It comes after a proposal to create a new Eastwood Park Leisure Centre, agreed at a council meeting on Wednesday, December 13, that £56million is to be invested in developing a new facility including a state-of-the-art gym and leisure facilities, a theatre and a library.

The council said work will now be progressed to finalise the plans, with construction expected to start in Spring 2025.

Following that, the new centre is planned to be complete by summer 2028, with the current leisure centre and theatre continuing to operate through construction.

Council Leader Owen O’Donnell said: “I am delighted this project is now moving forward, and when complete the new facilities will be transformational for the area.

We are committed to providing the best opportunities for all our residents to lead an active, healthy lifestyle and this new facility will provide just that.

"With a modern gym and swimming pool, as well as fantastic theatre and library spaces, it will provide us with a centre for all of East Renfrewshire to be proud of.

I can’t wait to see work getting started.”

20/12/2023

Post ERC facebook page

www.facebook.com/eastrenfrewshirecouncil/

East Renfrewshire Council
2 d

Proposals for a new Eastwood Leisure Centre have been agreed by councillors, with work expected to get started in early 2025.

The new facility will include state-of-the-art gym and leisure facilities, a theatre and library.

Read more here:

orlo.uk/B9hpE


You can read current news on Council webpage here -

eastrenfrewshire.gov.uk/news

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.


------ Original Message ------
From: "Jenkins, Anthony2" < This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it >
Cc: "EN EnvFoi" < This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it >
Sent: Friday, 5 Jan, 2024 At 15:45
Subject: Environmental Information Regulations Response - 8876-9030-8243-0166

Information Request under the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004

I refer to your information request (referenced 8876-9030-8243-0166) regarding the Eastwood Park Leisure Centre Project, during the period of 26 October 2022 to 6 December 2023.

To clarify, I am answering this information request under the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004, as the information relates to buildings, planning, roads or the state / status of ground or air.

Unfortunately, in the case of this request a significant volume of information is sought and would require prolonged officer time to provide this.

As such, under Regulation 8 of the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004, a charge would be required to be paid to provide the information you have requested.

In the instance of your request, I have estimated that responding to your request would likely cost £4,790.41.

I have arrived at this figure through the following estimation:

The Council's Major Capital Projects Manager (who subsequently no longer works for the Council) has 647 emails between 22 August 2023 and 6 December 2023 following a search for Eastwood in addition to approximately 50 additional documents.

Based on this sample size

– I have estimated that there wold be in excess of 2,000 documents or correspondence for the 14 month period of October 2022 and December 2023 for the Major Capital Projects Manager alone.

As a minimum, there would be at least another 4 officers with emails and documentation.

Appreciating that some of these will be a repeat of the documentation that the Major Capital Projects Manager will have;

I have estimated this number to be a small number above and beyond this initial 2,000 estimate at 750.

With this in mind; my initial estimate is that there are potentially 2,750 documents / correspondence for inclusion.

Based upon a Council officer being able to access 10 -15 documents / correspondence per hour I have initially estimated the time required for 2,750 items to be 183.33 hours (I have went with the higher estimate of 15 items per hour).

Based on the hourly rate for the Resilience Officer of £26.13 (other more senior officers may need to be involved), the approximate cost would be £26.13 x 183.33; providing a total of £4,790.41.

Recognising the Regulation 9 duty for Public Authorities to advise / assist requestors in obtaining information, I have sought to include information that would be available for no cost.

It may be possible to further lower the costs associated with your request if you can be more specific on the nature of correspondence / all documentation sought; or narrow the timeframe.

In relation to Reports / Papers produced on the matter, there have been two reports to the Full Council on the Eastwood Leisure Centre Project, which are publicly available. These are:

14 December 2022: eastrenfrewshire.gov.uk/media/8564/Counc...m=638065220391070000

13 December 2023: eastrenfrewshire.gov.uk/media/9846/Counc...m=638375633600130000

On your asks for details of work carried out; I can confirm that no physical works were carried out on the site / at the site in the period from 26 October 2022 to 6 December 2023.

Likewise in this timeframe, there were no invoice payments made.

I hope this information is of assistance to you.

East Renfrewshire Council offers the opportunity to apply to the Council for a review of how we have dealt with your enquiry. If you wish to proceed to review, please apply in writing within 40 working days to:

Chief Legal Officer
Council Headquarters
Rouken Glen Road
Giffnock
G46 6UG

Or by email at: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

marking your letter or email "Freedom of Information, request for review". In your response, please state the exact nature of the matter you wish to be reviewed.

The review will be carried out within 20 working days of receipt. If you are dissatisfied with the outcome of the review, you have the right to then appeal to the Scottish Information Commissioner who has extensive powers to investigate such matters. Their address is:

Scottish Information Commissioner
Kinburn Castle
St Andrews
Fife KY16 9DS

Regards
Anthony
Anthony Jenkins
Resilience Coordinator
Environment Department
East Renfrewshire Council