Planning permission sought for new Wyre Forest leisure centre (From Kidderminster Shuttle)

Planning permission sought for new Wyre Forest leisure centre

7:40am Wednesday 13th March 2013 in News Photograph of the Author By William Tomaney

WYRE Forest District Council has applied for planning permission for its controversial £10.1 million new leisure centre in Kidderminster.

The council has submitted the outline application to build the facility on the former Victoria Sports Ground site on the corner of Chester Road South and Spennells Valley Road.

Council chiefs say the new centre will provide a modern, state-of-the-art facility for the district. The proposed leisure centre will include a sports hall, six-lane swimming pool, learner pool, fitness facilities and outdoor five-a-side football pitches.

Other facilities will include fitness and dance studios and a cafe with viewing areas. Full details of the design have yet to be agreed and will be finalised following a “design and build” tendering process.

The council is currently consulting on what facilities residents would like to see in the new leisure centre. To give your views, visit wyreforestdc.gov.uk/newleisurecentre before Sunday, March 31, 2013.

The council’s current contract with DC leisure, which manages the leisure centres in Bewdley, Stourport and Kidderminster - The Glades - finishes in March, 2016, allowing time for the new centre to be built.

Comments(24)

kjb1 says...
10:23am Wed 13 Mar 13

Why have no other site options been considered ? There was plans to site it at Springfield at one time, why has this and other sites been ignored now ?

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Shibdrift says...
1:19pm Wed 13 Mar 13

"Design and build" ??!

Why was this approach chose?

Is it setting WFDC up for issues once contracts are signed?

How will the council ensure problems such as those at Finepoint are not built in?

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FranOb says...
2:10pm Wed 13 Mar 13

Design and build gets a specialist provider who will presumably operate it on a no subsidy basis

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kjb1 says...
10:45pm Wed 13 Mar 13

Why have no other sites been looked at ? nearer to town ?

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Bewdlay says...
11:15pm Wed 13 Mar 13

People moaning that it's a site not "in town" what? - you mean where the shops used to be ? I can't think of a better site , surely it will have a car park for people slightly further away or there will be a bus stop or better still its a sports centre , run or cycle to it !

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emjaypee says...
11:42am Thu 14 Mar 13

FranOb wrote:
Design and build gets a specialist provider who will presumably operate it on a no subsidy basis

Actually that would be design, build, finance & operate. Don't see any mention of that so why presume when in a position to know the facts. Why don't the councils own architects design it, what are they paid to do?

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Shibdrift says...
3:38pm Thu 14 Mar 13

Presume is what the council does.

Presumably the tax payer won't get ripped off either?!

If everything relies on presumption, then we are surely doomed - I presume?

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kjb1 says...
8:20pm Thu 14 Mar 13

Why wasn't the old Dukehouse Site considered ?

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sghunni says...
8:58pm Thu 14 Mar 13

I see yet again there is no mention of a creche? They are likely to lose a lot of customers if they cant provide for familes as they do now. There are cheaper gym memberships else where. The creche is the heart of the centre. Parents can leave their children as young as 3 months and be confident they being looked after and their needs met while the parents use the gym, sit and relax at the cafe even pay a little extra to go out shopping. The creche is usually the first setting they are introduced to before playgroup, it is an important step for them. children can attend right up untill they start school; And then they can attend an after school club and hoilday clubs up the age of 13. It will an absolute tragedy if a creche is not included in the plans.

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Shibdrift says...
11:15am Fri 15 Mar 13

Prepare for a tragedy then!

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SlipperyWhenWet says...
6:37pm Sat 16 Mar 13

I found the article interesting from the perspective that WFDC are seeking the electorates view whilst pressing ahead with seeking outline planning permission; not much scope for local views to impact on the WFDC planning or specification process then!

In fact, since this scheme was originally proposed they seem to have had little interest in the views of anyone outside the Council, in particular those who may be able to guide the way in terms of reasonable specifications, particularly in relation to the pool.

For example, Wyre Forest Swimming club gave a very detailed specification early on the process for the ideal competition pool. I also contacted Cllr Onslow (involved in the process at the time) with my own views, based on 30 years involvment in swimming at all levels; swimmer, coach and now parent.

However, the stated plans appear to have largely ignored the views offered, resulting in plans for a 6 lane pool, useless for anything other than local level competition, justified by the tight budget constraints.

I think the following questions need to be asked and answered;

(1) Has partnership working with Worcester Council been considered?

Worcester are currently out for consultation over new pool provision. They desire an 8 lane pool suitable for competition use but are unable to meet the cost. To achieve it they are planning a competitive tendering process in the hope of driving down costs to affordable levels A partnership whereby two identical pools are specified could result in two 8 lane competition pools, both within respective budgets due to economies of scale.

Currently, the Worcestershire county Swimming Championships take place in Wolverhampton; the nearest 8 lane pool, but out of County! Take a look at the hire costs; there is money to be made from hosting higher level competition. This is something WFDC appear afraid of for fear of upsetting leisure users, yet the user number of weekend evening isers don't warrant this restriction.

(2) Cllr Onslow quoted a £1m cost per lane to move from a 6 lane to an 8 lane specification. Have WFDC considered building above ground rather than digging a giant hole to control costs?

I use www.bestswimcentre.c
om for warm weather training. This 10 lane 50 metre pool (over 3 times the size by volume of that proposed by WFDC) was built at a total cost of 3.5m Euros (£3m) by www.myrthapools.com proving that thinking outside the box a little in terms of building technology could produce a spectacular facility within the stated budget of WFDC.

I have fed into the process at every opportunity, but so far have failed to ignite the interest or enthusiasm of those responsible for delivering this project.

The Wyre Forest area has produced many Olympians; Chris Holmes, Todd Cooper, Amy Smith, Claire Cashmore, Fran O'Connor, Steve Boyce and so on. This has been DESPITE the local pool provision not because of it. Unless the new facility is World Class, what hope is there for future swimming stars?

In my opinion it is time the Council raised its game and built something above 'ordinary', this chance will not come round again in a hurry and in the meantime other Councils are busy future proofing their new builds through innovative thinking and approach.

I found the article interesting from the perspective that WFDC are seeking the electorates view whilst pressing ahead with seeking outline planning permission; not much scope for local views to impact on the WFDC planning or specification process then! In fact, since this scheme was originally proposed they seem to have had little interest in the views of anyone outside the Council, in particular those who may be able to guide the way in terms of reasonable specifications, particularly in relation to the pool. For example, Wyre Forest Swimming club gave a very detailed specification early on the process for the ideal competition pool. I also contacted Cllr Onslow (involved in the process at the time) with my own views, based on 30 years involvment in swimming at all levels; swimmer, coach and now parent. However, the stated plans appear to have largely ignored the views offered, resulting in plans for a 6 lane pool, useless for anything other than local level competition, justified by the tight budget constraints. I think the following questions need to be asked and answered; (1) Has partnership working with Worcester Council been considered? Worcester are currently out for consultation over new pool provision. They desire an 8 lane pool suitable for competition use but are unable to meet the cost. To achieve it they are planning a competitive tendering process in the hope of driving down costs to affordable levels A partnership whereby two identical pools are specified could result in two 8 lane competition pools, both within respective budgets due to economies of scale. Currently, the Worcestershire county Swimming Championships take place in Wolverhampton; the nearest 8 lane pool, but out of County! Take a look at the hire costs; there is money to be made from hosting higher level competition. This is something WFDC appear afraid of for fear of upsetting leisure users, yet the user number of weekend evening isers don't warrant this restriction. (2) Cllr Onslow quoted a £1m cost per lane to move from a 6 lane to an 8 lane specification. Have WFDC considered building above ground rather than digging a giant hole to control costs? I use www.bestswimcentre.c om for warm weather training. This 10 lane 50 metre pool (over 3 times the size by volume of that proposed by WFDC) was built at a total cost of 3.5m Euros (£3m) by www.myrthapools.com proving that thinking outside the box a little in terms of building technology could produce a spectacular facility within the stated budget of WFDC. I have fed into the process at every opportunity, but so far have failed to ignite the interest or enthusiasm of those responsible for delivering this project. The Wyre Forest area has produced many Olympians; Chris Holmes, Todd Cooper, Amy Smith, Claire Cashmore, Fran O'Connor, Steve Boyce and so on. This has been DESPITE the local pool provision not because of it. Unless the new facility is World Class, what hope is there for future swimming stars? In my opinion it is time the Council raised its game and built something above 'ordinary', this chance will not come round again in a hurry and in the meantime other Councils are busy future proofing their new builds through innovative thinking and approach. SlipperyWhenWet

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Stephen Brown says...
12:50pm Sun 17 Mar 13

SlipperyWhwenWet raises some very relevant points.

However:

1. WFDC are not at all interested in the views of the public as he points out, so it is unlikely they will 'reach out' and do anything aspirational in terms of competition facilities. They are already committed to building something most of us don't want in a location that is not ideal for access with compromised facilities. And of course, which many feel is wholly inappropriate in these times and which will have a negative impact on the leisure facilities in Stourport and Bewdley, if nothing else, down to costs alone and its drain on resources subsequently.

2. Worcester City are rushing headlong into transferring all such facilities into the private sector so far as I understand. And so would be highly unlikely to add to or alter any plans they have by doing some joined up thinking. Let's not forget we have the same myopic lot who are both financially challenged and ideologically bankrupt in charge of both of these districts/city as we have running county hall.

Hopefully, their time is running out.

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John Herbert Smith says...
3:07pm Sun 17 Mar 13

No no no to more green space being used.

Put it on the old Sugar Beet site, convenient for all 3 towns. No trees have to be axed (apart from those already gone) and the centre could even have a rail station.

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luke210389 says...
4:07pm Sun 17 Mar 13

yet again the council muppets wasting time effort and money. Complete morons. It doesnt mention about a normal pool. as its leisure facilities what about a pool for the kids with slides etc?

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SlipperyWhenWet says...
7:01pm Sun 17 Mar 13

It is possible to have a proper swimming pool and a 'fun' pool on the same site; Crystal Centre (Stourbridge) and Pingles (Nuneaton) are good local examples I highlighted to 'key players' early on. It is reasonable though that a pool for swimming should tip the list of requirements, particularly if budget is being used as leverage. Of course, there's no reason why a regular pool can't have a slide facility....

The Sugar Beet site was also something that I (and no doubt countless others) suggested. A Severn Valley halt here plus other commercial/amenity facilities would be excellent regeneration. I imagine it'll end up as more unrentable industrial units though!

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luke210389 says...
2:48am Mon 18 Mar 13

if this is going to replace all the local centres then where is the arena going for the shows etc. King charles has just had thousands spent on astro turf so why have more a few hundred metres down the road its a waste. Why not just revamp the glades for cheaper as its still a great facility. to me its just down to people pi**ing money up the wall as usual with no common sense at all. Why not build a football academy on the site ready for summer soccer schools etc and for children to train on etc. would cost a lot less and be used more. so the site still gets used and the glades remains in place but revamped. im pretty sure i could do it all for less than £10 million.

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SlipperyWhenWet says...
8:48am Mon 18 Mar 13

The Glades is a great facility.....but not for swimming.
I am a supporter of facilities provision for all sports, but in this case the emphasis should not be on building the right pool in the right place. I understand the development will have some pitch provision, though can see that will be a squeeze in the proposed site.
Bang on in relation to King Charles; ideal for all pitch related sports hire, no need to replicate what's there.
Make sure you make your feelings known via the WFDC website!!

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Shibdrift says...
12:22pm Mon 18 Mar 13

Yet another case of the council knowing best??, when in fact they actually know bu**er all!!!

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SlipperyWhenWet says...
1:15pm Mon 18 Mar 13

Apologies, my previous post should read 'should be on building the right pool in the right place...'

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FranOb says...
1:18pm Mon 18 Mar 13

Emjaypee: Wyre Forest does not employ in house architects and has not done so for many years. There will be a 6 court sports hall so shows can still be held.

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stour67 says...
3:45pm Mon 18 Mar 13

Have you noticed most of the land sites the council are buying are owned by carpet company's in trouble.

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kjb1 says...
2:10pm Tue 19 Mar 13

Why not build an Olympic sized pool where local people and maybe future Olympians can practise and where competitions can be held to attract people to the town ? Like has been said before OUR council don't listen to anyone this site been bought god knows why as it is not close to town or any reliable transport links like the present Glades is ? Why can't it be put on a brownfield site .

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SlipperyWhenWet says...
6:50pm Tue 19 Mar 13

Shirt sightedness is why a 50m pool won't be built. I raised this with WFDC and have examples of complexes such as Wavertree in Liverpool built to a budget (albeit bigger than that WFDC has). A 50m with a moving boom to create 2x25m pools would work well, allowing a range of uses and events which would more than offset the additional cost over the lifetime of the pool. Unfortunately a 'build it and they will come' mentality is outside the scope of our local politicians.

Planning permission sought for new Wyre Forest leisure centre (From Kidderminster Shuttle)

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