Agenda item

            (Councillor J. Rodgers declared an interest in this item in that he was a member of the Board of Sport Northern Ireland and Councillor Maskey declared an interest in that he was a member of the North Queen Street Residents’ Association.)

            The Committee considered the undernoted report:

“Relevant Background Information

      The Committee will be aware that Sport NI operates a range of programmes and initiatives in line with its vision and strategic objectives to increase participation in sport and physical recreation, to improve sporting performance and to improve efficiency and effectiveness in the administration of sport.  Sport NI has recently opened its Community Capital Programme.  The anticipated budget will be £1.5m for the period 2011/12.  The maximum award will be £245,000, with a small contribution expected from partner organisations. 

      It is anticipated that 6 projects across NI will be awarded grant.  A preliminary application is due to be completed by 1 December 2010 and it is anticipated that successful schemes will be announced in March 2011, a ‘call off’ list will be retained for two years, although there is no commitment on the part of Sport NI to fund any project on the ‘call off’ list.   If the application is successful additional information will be required by 15th March 2011, this would include. Security of tenure and the necessary statutory approvals, where appropriate. 

      The programme is targeted to support the needs of low capacity applicants and areas of historically low uptake of Sport NI funding.  It will also prioritise those organisations and clubs who have not received Sport NI capital funding in the past 10 years. 

      More comprehensive information on this programme and other Sport NI initiatives can be found at www.sportni.net

Key Issues

      Council Officers have received several requests from a community organisation (North Queen St. Residents Association and the Ashton Centre), a sporting club (Shankill United Football Club) and a school (Aquinas Grammar) seeking Council support in respect of their proposed applications under this programme.  Protocol requires that Council support requires Committee approval, however, owing to the time scales a preliminary and qualified letter of support from a Council Officer has been provided at this time. 

      In two instances the requests for support are in respect of Council facilities, at North queen Street and at the Hammer Open Space.  In both instances it is anticipated that if successful the applicant will require security of tenure on the site which normally means a 20-25 year lease and it may require some capital funding from BCC to meet the short fall. 

      In each case it is the view of Officers that these projects will potentially benefit the local community in terms of improved facilities and increased participation levels.  However, the committee is asked to note that:

1.      the business case has not yet been established;

2.      there are no technical drawings at this time;

3.      statutory approvals where required have not yet been sought;

4.      the estimated cost is not yet known and consequently the potential capital liability to BCC is not known;

5.      the future management and revenue implications are not yet known

      At this time, the Committee is asked to recognise the potential of the projects and to agree in principle to support them and to authorise Officers to work with the communities and group in support of the applications. 

Resource Implications

      Financial

      It is likely that there will be capital and potentially revenue implications, however, these are unknown at this time.

      Human Resources

      There are no additional human resource implications at this time other than Officer time.

      Asset and Other Implications

      If successful these projects would make a positive contribution to the level of sporting and recreational facilities within the local neighbourhood and would support the delivery of improvements in health and well being and community cohesion. 

Equality and Good Relations Considerations

      There are no equality considerations at this time, however, in the production of any business case / sports development plan it would be expected that equality considerations would be taken into account.

Recommendations

      It is recommended that the Committee:

1.      Note the content of the report;

2.      Note the preliminary nature of the project;

3.      Agree in principle to support the projects subject to further clarification on matters relating to design of the proposal, obtaining the necessary statutory approvals, securing the necessary funding, adequate consideration of future management and revenue issues;

4.      Agree that Officers complete a Strategic Outline Case which would be forwarded to the Director of Property and Projects for consideration for inclusion on the Capital Programme;

5.      Agree in principle to enter into appropriate arrangement which would provide security of tenure subject to further discussion and clarification and the agreement of Strategic Policy & Resources in line with Standing Orders.

Decision Tracking

      Actions to be completed by the Principal Parks and Cemeteries Development Management by April 2011.”

            After discussion, the Committee agreed, in principle, to support the applications which had been submitted by the North Queen Street Residents’ Association and the Ashton Centre, the Shankill United Football Club and the Aquinas Grammar School, subject to further information in relation to the proposals presented by the applicants being submitted for its consideration at a future meeting.