Issue - meetings

The Council welcomes engagement from members of the public. To speak at this meeting please register at least 3 working days before the date of the meeting via democracy@southkesteven.gov.uk.

Councillor Virginia Moran had an ‘Other Registrable Interest’ in item 4 – Request for a Financial Contribution, Deepings Leisure Centre.’ Therefore she would read out a statement in her capacity as Chairman of the CIC, and would leave the Council Chamber following the statement’s conclusion.

After being proposed and seconded, it was AGREED that Virginia Moran, Chairman of the Deepings Community Interest Company (CIC) be allowed to speak to the item on the agenda for up to 20 minutes.

Two Directors of the Deepings Leisure Centre Community Interest Company (CIC) provided their statement:

‘Good Afternoon and thank you for giving me the opportunity to present this request for funding towards the renovation and re-opening of The Deepings Leisure Centre and for your time this afternoon to give it your consideration. I have been an SKDC Councillor for Market & West Deeping for the past 5 years but today I am addressing you in my role as a Director of the Deepings Community Leisure Centre CIC. I have with me Martin Reilly who is the Director with responsibility for the refurbishment programme, Paul Smith Shelton, the Director with the responsibility for our illustrative cashflow and who is our liaison with organisations wishing to use the new facilities. Chris Davis is coordinating our grant applications, including the Commons Community Ownership Fund Bid, and the final Director is Ian Stygall, who is a commercial electrician and long-time Deepings resident.

Councillor Baxter will cover the history of the site when working through his presentation. This request is looking for this council's support to reinstate leisure facilities to thousands of residents in The Deepings and beyond, facilities that they have enjoyed for almost 50 years and which will bring parity with the other three towns of South Kesteven. Throughout all our previous battles to retain facilities we have had the unending support of residents and this has never wavered. The Deepings is truly the least supported area within SKDC and we have watched over the years as one service or facility after another has been taken away. We have no arts centre or large events venue, our community centre is run by volunteers, we now run our own immensely successful library (again with volunteers), we looked after ourselves during the pandemic with volunteers, we recently updated a little SKDC play park again with money raised by volunteers and so it goes on. We now wish to be given the means to run our leisure centre, again with volunteers on a not for profit basis.

I'd now like to comment on various aspects of the documents before you. Our Business Plan gives you an outline of the services we hope to provide, the repairs required and the funding sources for those repairs. I will say that to date (as recently as a couple of days ago) the support we have received from Lincolnshire County Council has been incredible and very much appreciated. At the closure and handing back of the centre to them by SKDC, they  ...  view the full minutes text for item 74

The Council welcomes engagement from members of the public. To speak at this meeting, please register no later than 24 hours prior to the date of the meeting via democracy@southkesteven.gov.uk.

It was agreed that the public speaker be given 20 minutes to present their statement.