Daventry See also Other Daventry Freedom of Information Items

13.7.10 Daventry District Council Scrutiny and Improvement Committee  

 Extracts from the Report of the Task and Finish Panel on Leisure Centre Maintenance

 The Scrutiny and Improvement Committee determined to undertake a review of Leisure Centre repairs and maintenance as a result of concerns expressed at Scrutiny & Improvement Committee on the 16th June 2009 about further funding requests for repairs and maintenance of Daventry Leisure Centre. ...

The review aims to clarify the situation regarding DDC’s commitment, past and present, in regard of the repairs and maintenance of the Leisure Centre.”

 4.3     The Leisure Connection Contract

 The Leisure Connection contract comprised two elements – an ‘agreement’ and a ‘Specification for the Management, Marketing and Maintenance of Daventry Leisure Centre’(the “Specification”; clauses from this are cited commencing with “S”); there was also a specification relating to the Outdoor Pool but this is not relevant to the Task and Finish Panel’s work. Clause 3.1 of the agreement provides that the Specification is an integral part of the contract.

 The contract did provide for the Leisure Centre to be maintained by the contractor, but the terms of this were non-standard and complex in the Panel’s view. In particular, there was provision (S2.7.5) for equally shared costs of ‘routine works’ (which appear to cover the bulk of costs which would have been incurred in keeping the building and equipment in good condition) and (S7.2.4) for the Council to bear all the costs of replacing items of plant or equipment costing £2,500 or more. In both cases there were exclusions for damage caused by the contractor.

 Under S7.4 there was provision for the building to be surveyed two months prior to the end of the contract and for the contractor to put right any defects at its own expense. It is not clear to the Panel how these provisions were intended to interact with the cost sharing mechanisms in clauses S2.7.4 and S2.7.5 outlined above.

 There was also a lease of the property to Leisure Connection, but in relation to maintenance this merely referred to the terms of the contract.

 The Leisure Connection contract included provision of a performance bond to a maximum value of £150,000.

 There is evidence, in the form of the requirements on the Council to restore items set out in the SOLL contract (and particularly in the QMP report, although this also deals with matters which were not failures of maintenance but changes in standards since the Leisure Centre was originally constructed), that the Leisure Centre was not handed over by Leisure Connection in the state required. There is some documentation to show that inspections have been carried out on: 5 occasions... (between 2004 and 2006)

"Client-contractor meeting minutes also indicate that various items of remedial work were identified and Leisure Connection undertook to address them e.g. the pool underwater lights. It is also apparent that at least some of these works were not actually undertaken.

 Whilst maintenance inspections did take place, the Panel’s view is that these were not as often as would have been desirable, and that a significant difficulty was ensuring that the contractor actually carried out the maintenance required.

 At and after the end of the contract the condition of the Leisure Centre was a matter of dispute between the Council and Leisure Connection. Some remedial work was carried out by Leisure Connection but officers of the Council believed that Leisure Connection was responsible for additional items. After what appear to have been forceful but largely fruitless negotiations the Council claimed £96,413.82 from the performance bond (of which £49,944.98 was offset by a counter invoice from Leisure Connection; the Council received a net sum of £46,468.84). The £96,413.82 represented just under two-thirds of the maximum sum which could be claimed; it has been explained to the Panel that this was the maximum figure officers, taking advice from QMP, felt could be justified as demonstrably being due to Leisure Connection’s failure to fulfil its maintenance obligations.

 Taking these matters into account, the Task and Finish Panel finds that:

 It is apparent that Leisure Connection had not maintained the building in the condition it was required to, and that the Council had been unable to ensure that it did so. Given the complexity of the provisions of the agreement it is unclear to what extent this resulted in additional cost to the Council, but clearly such a position is undesirable.

 The lack of a standard dilapidations clause is likely to have been unhelpful in securing the completion of maintenance works by Leisure Connection. The two months provided between survey and end of contract was inadequate to identify problems, select solutions and implement them.

 The performance bond was a useful mechanism to redress at least some of the financial exposure of the Council to the under-performance of the contractor.

2005

Under the Freedom of Information Act I obtained an Environmental Health report following a food hygiene inspection of the catering facilities at Daventry Leisure Centre on 22.2.05. The facilities are managed directly by LC.  The following are extracts from the Schedule of Requirements and Recommendations. PB

"During the inspection the following food safety risks were noted:

	Cooked chicken and prawns were allowed to defrost in inappropriate conditions...
	At the time of the inspection the probe thermometer was broken and food temperatures were not being taken of high risk foods...

"At the time of the inspection the kitchen area was generally found to be in a dirty condition.

"It was noted that the wash hand basin in the kitchen was not in regular use. Regular hand washing is important for personal cleanliness...

"On an advisory note I feel it is important to inform you with regard to the legal duty of food handlers to report any illness or condition such as diarrhoea, vomiting, infected wounds or skin infections, to their manager or supervisor. It is the duty of the food business/proprietor to exclude as and where necessary food handlers from food handling areas/activities... You will be committing an offence if there is any likelihood of persons directly or indirectly contaminating the food...

"At the time of the inspection the waste storage was found to be totally unacceptable with accumulations of waste noted in the rear store areas... "

Despite this report further issues were noted. On 23.3.05 a hand written Food Hygiene report notes, "2x cleaning cloths taken and results showing failure on both samples taken. One sample positive results for E coli."  A council officer wrote a letter to LC about these samples on 4.7.05. This letter warned "...you must continue to ensure that all cloths/towels are changed regularly and also as and when required, that correct cleaning liquids are used to remove any pathogens..."Council Press Release -  Pool facts clarified  20th August 2003 from http://www.daventrydc.gov.uk/news/details.asp?id=380 

There has been much speculation in the press about the outdoor pool and the problems with opening that it has suffered this year. There have also been suggestions in letters and articles that the Council has failed to invest in the pool.

Daventry District Council Community Portfolio Holder, Councillor Alan Hills, said: “The following information should help to explain what has been happening this year and give some of the background to the operation of the pool:-

“Daventry District Council owns Daventry Outdoor Pool but some years ago the management was outsourced to a private company Leisure Connection Ltd. They are responsible for running and maintaining the pool. The Council pays them a management fee and they keep the money paid for entry tickets, so there would be no benefit to either party if the pool isn’t opened to customers.

“Early in the year Daventry District Council paid for improvement works to the pool surround. This was a substantial investment in the infrastructure. Unfortunately the work overran on time and delayed the pool opening this year, but did result in a much improved pool environment.

“There was also an unexpected mid season closure because of operational problems with Leisure Connection; they will have to explain the reasons for this themselves but the Council has taken this up with them. [LCW will be happy to allow LC to place a link here to LC's explanation.]

“The current closure is due to the unexpected failure of the heat exchanger and then discovery of asbestos. Both Leisure Connection and Daventry DC will be investing in excess of £20,000 to replace the heat exchanger and clear the asbestos.
This work has taken time because specialist companies have had to be used both to manufacture a new heat exchanger and safely remove the asbestos. Work is still being carried out and we can’t confirm a date for the pool re opening but both the Council and Leisure Connection are working together to reopen the pool as soon as possible.

“This hopefully illustrates that there is still a considerable financial investment in the outdoor pool.

“As for the future of the pool the Council is constantly obliged by government audits and initiatives to review all of its services. In doing so all options have to be considered and the meetings considering these options are not secret and therefore, quite rightly, reports from the meetings are published. There has been no decision so far to do anything other than operate the pool as it is at present although with the operating contract coming up for renewal there will be discussions on it’s future operation.”

Daventry Express 7.8.03     OUTDOOR POOL IS CLOSED FOR SUMMER   from http://snipurl.com/64gk 

THE patience of Daventry people is wearing thin after the outdoor pool closed in this, the hottest week of the summer holidays. Leisure Connection, which manages the pool on behalf of Daventry District Council, was forced to close it last Monday after a major equipment failure.

A part in the original machinery of the pool will have to be custom made and replaced, and the chemical and temperature levels of the pool re-adjusted, meaning it might not open before the end of the school holidays.  Mike Arnold, community and environmental health manager at Daventry District Council, says despite ongoing problems there are no plans to change the management company...

"We are working together with Leisure Connection to make sure our facilities are run well. As far as we are concerned Leisure Connection will be managing it until the contract ends in two years."

Contract manager for the pool Jo Scruton said: "We are upset, as the last thing we want is to be closed."

But emotions run high over the pool, as it was built in the 60s with public donations after several children drowned in Daventry Reservoir...

Daventry Express 18.1.01 from  http://snipurl.com/69iv

A CHEMICAL spillage at Daventry Leisure Centre forced staff to evacuate the building.

The centre was closed on Monday (Jan 15) evening after it was discovered about 3kg of calcium hyperchlorite crystals had leaked from a barrel in a plant room below the swimming pool. The crystals are an oxidising agent which is combined with acid to create chlorine to keep the swimming pool clear of bacteria. Leisure centre contract manager John Foster said: The manager on duty was changing one of the pool chemical barrels at the time when he noticed it was leaking. As a precaution, a full emergency action plan was put in place. Staff evacuated the centre and it was closed until the next morning. Fire crews were called to the centre in Lodge Road at about 9pm. Leading firefighter Paul Hayden said: Two firemen wearing breathing apparatus and chemical protection suits went in. They put the chemical in a plastic container, sealed it, and brought it out.

Daventry Express 5.1.01 from http://snipurl.com/69iu 

A CLEAN-UP policy has been ordered at Daventry Leisure Centre swimming pool following complaints from users. Maris Ross has been going to the centre in Lodge Road for more than a year for a Sunday evening swim. Mrs Ross, from School Hill, Newnham, said: I've raised the issue with various duty managers because I have never seen such disgusting conditions in a swimming pool changing area. The open drains are usually blocked with static dirty water, the floors are filthy and the pool has a tidemark of grime. It s the same every time I go there. She contacted the Daventry Express after reading letters published from other people concerned about the centre's standards of cleanliness. 

One woman, who did not want to be named, said her complaints had little effect so she now travels to Rugby to go swimming. Mrs Ross added: The young lifeguards are supposed to double as cleaners but I have never seen any incentive offered to them or even supervision of that aspect of their work. It would not be surprising if they are more interested in gaining lifeguard qualifications than acting as cleaners. Centre manager John Foster confirmed it is the duty of the poolside attendants to do the cleaning of the poolside area and changing rooms. He said action was now being taken to improve the standards of cleaning: We have just recruited a whole new group of assistants and we had a training exercise to make sure everyone knows their responsibilities. To be fair to the staff, at times they could clean the changing rooms and they would be messy again within two or three minutes. It's a constant problem where you have mixed changing areas. He added that broken showers in the leisure centre changing rooms had all now been repaired.

“The current closure is due to the unexpected failure of the heat exchanger and then discovery of asbestos. Both Leisure Connection and Daventry DC will be investing in excess of £20,000 to replace the heat exchanger and clear the asbestos...  

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