Daventry See also Other Daventry Freedom of Information Items
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:
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Cooked chicken and prawns were allowed to defrost in inappropriate conditions... |
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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.
“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...