Agenda item

EXEMPT INFORMATION

The Committee resolved in terms of Section 50(A)(4) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 to exclude the press and public from the meeting during consideration of the following item of business so as to avoid disclosure of exempt information of the class described in paragraphs 6 and 8 of Schedule 7(A) of the Act.

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

The Convener declared an interest in the following item by virtue of his appointment as a representative of the Council on the University of Aberdeen Court but did not consider it necessary to withdraw from the meeting during consideration of the business.

            Councillor Fletcher declared interests by virtue of his position as a Director of Sport Aberdeen and also as a Director of Aberdeen Sports Village. Councillor Fletcher did not consider it necessary to withdraw from the meeting during consideration of the business.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport which provided information about potential options for the Aberdeen 50 metre swimming pool in relation to pool dimensions and designs, along with the implications for each option.

The report outlined opportunities and implications for a partial or full ‘twin-track’ approach to the design of the pool and included recommendations on key elements of the pool specification, as developed by officers, taking into consideration advice from the external Design Team and Project Management Team, and in cognisance of the potential budget available and views expressed by the 50 Metre Pool Project Board.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee -

(a)              agree that the length of the diving pool should be 25 metres (providing 8 x 25 metre lanes);

(b)              agree that the boom type should be a submersible boom;

(c)               agree that there should be 600 seats for spectators with approximately 200 additional seats for swimmers;

(d)              agree that the Design Team develop designs to RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) Stage C for both an 8.5 lane (i.e. 21m wide, incorporating 8 lanes with two side margins of 0.5m) and a 10 lane (i.e. 25m wide) 50 metre pool, at an additional cost of up to £75,000 (to be shared with the University of Aberdeen);

(e)              request officers to report back on the RIBA Stage C designs and associated implications to the 50 Metre Pool Project Board and Council in December 2009; and

(f)                 authorise officers to seek competitive quotations, and appoint a specialist consultant to join the Design Team to advise on achieving BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Methodology) accreditation.

There was circulated a draft extract from the minute of meeting of the University of Aberdeen’s Operating Board of 20^th October 2009, wherein it had been recorded that the Board had:-

(i)                 agreed to allocate a budget of £65,000 to allow the architects to develop a design for a ten lane pool, on the understanding that the pool project would be managed by Aberdeen Sports Village Ltd, and that the resulting facility would be part of the management structure of Aberdeen Sports Village Ltd;

(ii)               agreed that, subject to the outcome of the further design work by the architect, a ‘two-track’ approach should be taken to the tendering process, with tenderers being invited to submit bids for the delivery of both an eight lane pool and ten lane pool, and that a design and build model should be adopted for the project; and

(iii)             agreed to provisionally allocate a budget of £200,000 to meet 50% of the additional anticipated costs of a ‘two-track’ tender process.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)                 to agree that the length of the diving pool should be 25 metres (providing 8 x 25 metre lanes);

(ii)               to agree that the boom type should be a submersible boom;

(iii)             to agree that there should be 600 seats for spectators with approximately 200 additional seats for swimmers;

(iv)             to agree that the Design Team develop designs to RIBA Stage C for both an 8.5 lane (i.e. 21m wide, incorporating 8 lanes with two side margins of 0.5m) and a 10 lane (i.e. 25m wide) 50 metre pool, at an additional cost of up to £65,000 to be met by the University of Aberdeen;

(v)               to request officers to report back on the RIBA Stage C designs and associated implications to the 50 Metre Pool Project Board and Council in December 2009;

(vi)             to authorise officers to seek competitive quotations, and appoint a specialist consultant to join the Design Team to advise on achieving BREEAM accreditation;

(vii)           to agree to discuss the future management of the project with partners; and

(viii)         to agree that the Council’s financial contribution to the project be capped at current levels, being £10million in capital funding and £250,000 in annual revenue funding, and that there be no further contribution to consultants’ fees.

- JOHN STEWART, Convener.