Agenda item

The Monitoring Officer advised the meeting that questions had been received under the Public Question Time Scheme from Mrs Judith Randall, who was in attendance to put her questions direct to the meeting.  Members had been provided with the questions submitted.

The Chairman welcomed Mrs Randall to the meeting, and invited her to put her questions to the meeting.

Mrs Randall’s questions were as follows: -

Regarding funding for Market Rasen: -

1                 What population does West Lindsey count as the surrounding area?

2                 Looking at a map what population lives within a five and then a ten mile radius including any outside WLDC ?

3                 Does WLDC appreciate the demand for a swimming pool?

4                 Has a fair share of investment gone into Market Rasen?

5                 Does WLDC focus on the high density population of Gainsborough which is placed peripherally to the District? Thus effectively depriving areas including Market Rasen of a fair share of investment?

However the Scheme did permit participants to speak for up to three minutes to provide explanation/ put their questions into context and in doing so Mrs Randall made the following statement: -

“I have been a resident of Market Rasen for 26 years and a member of Market Rasen Action Group since it formed last year.   Years ago, I took my children regularly to swim in the pool at Cleethorpes.  I know how important swimming is for health and wellbeing.  In the year 2008, and after that year, Market Rasen came so close to having its own swimming pool.  That dream was snatched away by a financial crisis, fuelled by global political ineptitude.

We had high hopes for a pool; hopes were raised then cruelly dashed by a newly elected District Council.   Market Rasen was deemed a viable location for a swimming pool back then – a location in the heart of Lincolnshire, on the edge of the Wolds with its own railway station, its local holiday accommodation and the people of Rasen have never forgotten what was taken away and the price we had to pay for the financial crash. 

Last year Rasen residents were astonished to learn of an imminent development of a dry leisure centre.  Why no swimming pool?  Where was the consultation process?  It is as if we are to have one half of a leisure centre – what people really want is a whole complex including a much needed swimming pool.

Can the Council apply for outline planning permission instead of just setting aside a vague patch of land that may be developed for a pool at a later date?  Instead of investing outside the county, the residents of Rasen and its hinterland would love to see investment in their health and wellbeing.

Investment in a swimming pool would be welcomed by thousands of people, irrespective of age or disability. 

I fear that for far too long, Rasen has lost out to the peripherally located but more densely populated town of Gainsborough.  

I would like to ask that measures are taken to ensure the new leisure facility is as green as can be:

·         Lighting that does not create light pollution

·         Areas of land given over to meadow and native trees such as oak

·         Bricks used designed to accommodate Swift nests

·         Roofs that have the capacity to capture sunlight for energy

The town has recently lost a beautiful Horse Chestnut tree in Kilnwell Road.   We need more, not less, trees for our declining insect populations.

Priority needs to be given to mitigate climate change.  We cannot afford to lose natural habitat for our wildlife.

Tawny Owls use the site that is to be turned into a leisure centre; their numbers are in decline – as are our once thriving population of Swifts. 

We need a green leisure complex and I ask the Council does all it can to prioritise the addition of a much needed swimming pool.”

The Chairman thanked Mrs Randall for her questions and asked Councillor Sheila Bibb as Chairman of the Prosperous Communities Committee to respond. 

Prior to her response, Councillor Bibb advised that in accordance with the Scheme, she would only be responding this evening to the questions which had been submitted in writing.  Officers would, in due course, respond in writing to any relevant additional points Mrs Randall had raised in her explanation speech.

The answers were given as follows: -

“Q1 and 2 - Since the focus of your question is Market Rasen, there is a catchment population of 16,000 within a 12km radius of Market Rasen. If we increase this radius to 15km, Welton could also be served by Market Rasen.  This is a 15 – 20 minute drive and increases the catchment to 29,000.

Regarding leisure there are no meaningful facilities within 25-30 minute drive time.

Q3 - Moving on to your question regarding a swimming pool, while cognizant of a demand for such a facility, independent feasibility studies have demonstrated that, should a pool be provided in Market Rasen, this would require a significant subsidy in terms of running costs.  In the current financial climate this is not a position this Council can support.  As a District Council we have to provide services for a wide range of residents across the whole of the district in a way that provides value for money for all tax payers.

The Council are not ruling out a pool development in Market Rasen in the future.  The site acquired for the dry leisure facility is large enough to accommodate future expansion, and the building has been designed in such a way that a pool could be added at a later date should this prove viable.                                                                       

Q4 - In 2012 MR BIG were successful in winning the first round of Porta’s Pilot funding and were one of twelve towns nationally to be granted £100k of funding to regenerate the town centre. They won a further £110k through the Government’s High Street X Fund in 2013.  (Various M R development groups have since tried unsuccessfully to secure further funding to capitalise on this project)

The recently approved leisure investment for Market Rasen is valued at £6.3m which is three times the leisure investment into Gainsborough.

Also Market Rasen Town Council, supported by WLDC, are currently developing a 3 year vision and strategy that could net £200k funding from WLDC to develop their strategic growth projects.

Q5 - Coming full circle to the effect of population size on investment, when submitting bids for external funding, the Council must work within specific parameters and criteria, in the case of European Funding for example.  In most cases funding organisations are very clear about what they will and won’t fund and they establish a pre-determined set of eligibility criteria at the outset. Population density is not usually a factor here.

Indeed, at this time, along with the investment in both Gainsborough and Market Rasen, WLDC is also investing in other parts of the district such as Caistor and smaller projects elsewhere.”

The Chairman thanked Mrs Randall for her attendance and indicated she would receive a copy of the responses to her written questions, provided verbally at the meeting, in writing, in due course.