Why is the Council refurbishing the Forum? The Forum was originally built in the 1960s with what were then traditional building methods and materials. The building has been in a declining state for some time and its condition can best be described as fragile. The viability and continued support of the building cannot be sustained by ongoing maintenance and the Council is unable to fund the (capital) redevelopment itself. The Council has, therefore, been exploring a number of options to refurbish and/or replace the facility. Most notably these options have included the Billingham Gateway scheme (2003) and applications for PFI credits (2003 & 2005). The Council has remained determined to identify and refine options for improved leisure facilities in Billingham. (NB. PFI (Private Finance Initiative) is a way of funding long term public sector contracts such as schools, and leisure facilities, which involve a significant capital expenditure. The capital monies are provided by Central Government in the form of PFI 'credits' to the Local Authority and are paid back over the period of the PFI scheme by the service provider.) To that end, the Council worked in partnership with The Billingham Partnership, to prepare a refined PFI bid with the aim of convincing Government of the many merits of redeveloping the existing facility mix to meet modern day standards. Consultation undertaken in October 2006 demonstrated widespread community and media support for a bid, however, in December 2007 the Council received a (formal) letter from Department of Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) to advise that they have not been awarded any PFI credits (2008-2011) in the following the Comprehensive Spending Review 2007 settlement from the Treasury and therefore could not support any PFI applications. Concurrently to preparing a refined PFI bid, the Council investigated alternative regeneration options for the Forum, lest the Government bid was not successful, or the Treasury settlement not forthcoming. Following detailed analysis of the options - refurbishment has been identified as the most appropriate route to improve leisure facilities in Billingham, offering the best value for money. In February 2008, Cabinet approved a £15million refurbishment of Billingham Forum, a decision ratified by Council. The £15million refurbishment will be funded by the Council and Tees Active Ltd using prudential borrowing. Refurbishment will retain and enhance all of the present facilities, including the unique regional attraction of the ice rink; extend the range of facilities on offer; and improve the appearance and layout of the Forum to attract new customers; all for substantially less capital cost than the alternative options. It will also provide an expedient solution to the structural and maintenance problems we currently face. Furthermore, the use of prudential borrowing to fund a Council led refurbishment is considered to be favourable to using the private sector as the Council in partnership with Tees Active Ltd will be able to retain control of the end facility. English Heritage has also agreed in principle to a refurbishment option, although detailed discussions regarding detailed design and work to the theatre will need to be held. What facility mix will a refurbishment provide? Existing facility mix will be retained and upgraded: - The pool will be modified to standard size (6x25m), with an additional training pool & retained learner pool. The changing rooms, toilets & spectator areas will be refurbished
- The gym will be extended to offer an additional 30 health & fitness stations (70 in total) & improved changing rooms will be provided
- Structural improvements will be carried out to the theatre & it will benefit from a new entrance
- The ice rink will benefit from a new ice pad, an improved café, and upgrading of the spectator area, toilets & skate hire area and changing areas
- The indoor 2 lane bowls court will be enhanced through decoration & provision of a new bowling floor
- 4 court sports hall
- 2 squash courts
- Multi-purpose room
- Enhanced reception area
- New dance studio
- Exhibition space in the entrance for art work
- Play barn
- New central café area
- More stylised appearance created through the provision of a glass atrium covering a modern central hub, and new glazed entrance.
Will the theatre be retained? Yes, all the existing facilities (with the exception of the climbing wall) will remain. The theatre is a listed building, valued by the community and offers a good range of shows. Essential structural improvements will be carried out, and the theatre will also benefit from a new, separate entrance. As the theatre is listed, the works will have to be undertaken sensitively and in agreement with English Heritage. English Heritage has agreed in principle to a refurbishment option, although detailed discussions regarding structural improvements to the theatre will need to be held. Will the ice rink be retained? Yes, the ice rink is of significant regional importance and attracts people from all over the Tees Valley, Yorkshire and County Durham. It is one of only three permanent ice rinks in over a 100 mile radius and attendance figures show that the ice rink is one of the most popular facilities on offer at the Forum. The ice rink will benefit from a new ice pad, an improved café and the spectator area, toilets, changing & skate hire area will be significantly upgraded. How much will the refurbishment cost? £14.4m will be required in order to significantly upgrade the Forum to offer modern 21st Century sports, community and leisure facilities. In addition, the scheme includes a further £2.5m of investment to fund a planned programme of maintenance works which will ensure the life of the Forum beyond the next 25 years. How will the Council fund a refurbishment? The Council will use prudential borrowing, which is essentially a low interest loan provided by Central Government. In contrast to the private sector, Local Authorities benefit from preferential borrowing rates and are able to borrow as much money as required, without Government consent, provided they can demonstrate that the planned borrowing is affordable. Robust financial analysis has concluded that refurbishment is an affordable option for the Council. The Council and Tees Active Ltd have committed an annual revenue contribution of £1,094,000 to fund the borrowing. In addition preliminary discussions with national funding bodies have indicated that the Council may be able to access up to £500,000 capital. Who will manage the refurbished Forum? The Forum will continue to be managed by Tees Active Ltd, the not for profit trust formed in 2004. Tees Active Ltd has committed a significant annual investment to fund the prudential borrowing and ensure the vitality of the Forum as one of three key Leisure Centres in the Borough. When will the refurbishment be carried out? The initial design and procurement process has already commenced. It is anticipated that a contractor will be appointed to finalise design and cost the scheme in November 2008 and that works will commence in July 2009 and be completed by January 2011 (subject to programme). A more detailed timeline of key dates is available from the website. Will the Forum be closed whilst works are carried out? Yes, in order to carry out the refurbishment it will be necessary to close the Forum for 18 months from July 2009 to January 2011 (subject to programme). Why are you closing the Forum and who made the decision? During 2007 when we carried out the 'option analysis' work which informed Cabinet/Council's decision to opt for refurbishment, we anticipated that a phased refurbishment would offer a number of benefits to the Council, Tees Active Ltd and users of Billingham Forum. Primarily the benefits encompassed the continuation of service and the ability to factor in any maintenance works into early refurbishment works. At this time we also advised Cabinet that a detailed procurement strategy would be produced in order to ensure associated risk management issues would be fully addressed and that the next stage of the design process would focus heavily on 'value engineering' and 'cost effective procurement.' As part of this procurement strategy the Council carried out some preliminary discussions with major contractors who indicated that it would be preferable to carry out the refurbishment works under a full closure. The contractors indicated that this would deliver significant time and cost savings whilst minimising risk. As a result, Council Officers and Tees Active Ltd undertook a feasibility analysis comparing the advantages and disadvantages of both a full and phased closure. Following positive consultation with numerous Council officers, Tees Active Ltd, Billingham Members and the relevant Portfolio Holders, the Council made the decision to carry out a full closure based upon the following reasons: - Overall cost savings to the contract
- Better managed Health & Safety and overall site, project and risk management
- An anticipated 12-15 months time saving i.e. estimated 18 months for full closure whereas the phased closure was estimated to span 2.5 years
- More accurate costing and a reduction in material cost increases for a full closure, over a shorter construction period, thus resulting in a reduced risk of a budget increase
- Grand opening for the whole building as opposed to piece meal
As previously indicated, Tees Active Limited, who manage the building on the Council's behalf and Billingham Members are in full support of a full closure and understand that an investment of this magnitude needs to be approached with diligence and sensitivity. Tees Active Ltd and the Council are committed to working with users to minimise their inconvenience and support them through the refurbishment period and to this end will be discussing their needs and how we can support them over the course of the coming year. It should be noted that all the Forum facilities would have been subject to a period of closure under a phased refurbishment. It was initially estimated that the pool and theatre would have to close for a minimum period of 8 months, and the dry sports and ice rink for a minimum period of 11 months each. These estimates were based, however, on an 'optimum' timescale, in reality it is likely that even under a phased refurbishment they would have to be closed for longer because of the complexity of the Forum's design and interconnectivity of the building. What has been the consultation process to refurbish the Forum? Residents of Billingham have long said they wanted to see this hugely popular facility refurbished and these exciting works will see those wishes come to fruition. The public were consulted in autumn 2006 to ask whether they would back a bid to seek Government funding to redevelop / refurbish the Forum. The results (available to download at the bottom of the page) were very positive, demonstrating widespread community support. Following investigation into regeneration options and the announcement that no Government funding was available, refurbishment was selected by Cabinet in February 2008 as the most appropriate route to improve leisure facilities in Billingham. That refurbishment gained the support of core user groups and clubs within the Forum. In terms of a phased closure or full closure, the Council in consultation with Tees Active Ltd, Portfolio Holders and Billingham Members has made a decision it believes is for the benefit of the refurbishment as a whole, including the ability to see an overall time and cost saving. In short - we will get a first class Forum quicker and for less money. This is a massive investment and needs to be approached with diligence and sensitivity. As with any large scale project, there will be unavoidable disruption and we hope through effective planning and delivery to keep that to a minimum. Have sports users / groups / bodies consulted? All of the sports bodies/groups were contacted for their views on the refurbishment proposals before Cabinet / Council approved the refurbishment option. All responses we received to this refurbishment were supportive including those from the Director of English Ice Hockey Association; Resident Professional Ice Skating Coaches, Director/General Secretary of Ice Hockey UK, President of Billingham Forum Indoor Bowls Club, Secretary of Billingham Amateur Swimming Club, Regional Instructor for the UK Tang Soo Do Federation and the Managing Director of Riverside Leisure. I am a member / user of the Forum, what am I going to do whilst the facilities are closed? As a member /user of the Forum you will be able to use Tees Active's other leisure facilities in the Borough which include: - Thornaby Pavilion - in the process of benefiting from a £1.4m investment which includes the recent installation of a new 70 station gym with brand new state of the art fitness equipment and a refurbished 6 lane indoor bowl centre. The café, crèche and nursery, changing rooms & entrance are also soon to be refurbished. The works will all be complete by spring 09, before the Forum closes. The Pavilion also offers a large indoor sports hall, and a range of Health and Fitness classes.
- Thornaby Pool - a recently refurbished 25 metre, five-lane swimming pool that is very much family orientated. It is very popular with early morning swimmers, offers an extensive swimming programme for local schools, and family fun sessions and Weekend Pool Parties with fun floats and inflatables
- SPLASH - Stockton's newest leisure facility has been designed to meet 21st century needs and offers a 25 metre pool with wave machine, water features, spa pool and flume slide. Its Activ8 fitness suite will soon be increased from 45 stations to 75 as part of an exciting extension programme set to start in autumn 2008. Two new multi functional rooms will also be created to accommodate a wider range of activities, many of which will be brand new. A modern, larger café will also be built alongside new changing accommodation.
Please refer to Tees Active's website http://www.teesactive.co.uk/ for more information. I train regularly at the ice rink, what am I going to do? As already stated it is inevitable in any major refurbishment scheme that facilities will have to close, but this will be closely managed in order to minimise disruption and ensure the refurbishment is completed within the shortest possible timeframe to agreed cost and quality. Tees Active Ltd and the Council are fully committed to working with users to minimise their inconvenience and support them through the refurbishment period. To this end Tees Active Ltd has been meeting with users and user groups to discuss their needs and how best we can support them over the refurbishment period. By starting these discussions now, a year before the closure, we are confident that we can work together to minimise disruption and deliver a quality refurbishment for the benefit of our players and skaters and the wider community. Individuals or user groups can contact Steven Chaytor, Managing Director of Tees Active Limited on 01642 527322 or email: steve.chaytor@teesactive.co.uk to discuss their needs. Can a temporary ice pad be provided? Tees Active Ltd are happy to discuss individuals' needs to ascertain how best they can be supported throughout the closure however it will not be possible to provide a temporary ice pad for the following reasons: - Prohibitive costs preclude a temporary provision
- Feasibility of a relocated ice pad and the associated plant, machinery and facilities associated with it
- Impact on
- Highways / road network
- Road safety
- Accessibility of the site to users (including the need for sustainable links)
- Transportation
- Car parking provision
- Drainage issues
Will the theatre be closed? Yes, the theatre will close, with the rest of the Forum from July 2009 for an 18 month period whilst the refurbishment works are being carried out. Detailed discussions have been held with Riverside Leisure Ltd, (the current theatre operator) to ensure minimal disruption and the overall scheme of works have been planned to start from the end of their current contract. The theatre will reopen in January 2011 (subject to programme) with the rest of the Forum facilities. I regularly attend the theatre, what will happen whilst the works are being carried out? Although the theatre will be closed from July 2009 until January 2011, there are several other theatres in the region including Darlington, Newcastle, York and Sunderland which offer exciting programmes. Who will operate the theatre when it reopens? The Council has recently completed some soft market testing to identify interested theatre operators and is currently in detailed discussions with the preferred operator to try to agree a new contract from 2011. How long will a refurbishment maintain the Forum for? 25 years +. The refurbishment scheme includes a planned programme of maintenance works to ensure the life of the Forum beyond the next 25 years. Will the sale of the Town Centre pay for it? The capital receipt from the sale of the Town Centre has been invested in order to offset the loss of annual revenue from Town Centre businesses /retailers. The Council, however, is committed to upgrading the Forum and has identified a significant amount of resource (£644,000) per annum for the next 25 years to fund works. In addition, Tees Active Ltd have also committed to a significant investment of £450,000 per annum for the next 25 years. Preliminary discussions with national funding bodies have also indicated that the Council may be able to access up to £500,000 capital. Will Billingham tax payers be paying for this for the next 25 years? Billingham and Borough residents will not see an increase in their Council Tax as a result of this scheme. |
