Rutland County Council Rejects Plan to Fund Leisure Centre, Catmose Sports, with Flood Management and Climate Change Funds
At a special meeting held on April 18th, 2024, the council voted to reject a proposal that would have redirected funding allocated for flood management and the Climate Change Officer to leisure services for the management of Catmose Leisure Centre.
The proposal stemmed from a cabinet meeting on April 16th, 2024, where various options for funding leisure facilities were considered (Report No. 55/2024). The cabinet, after considering the council's financial strategy and corporate strategy, recommended that council approve the reallocation of funds.
The reasoning behind the proposal was that in order to finance the management of Catmose Leisure Centre, significant budgetary resources needed to be secured. The cabinet believed that redirecting funds designated for flood management and the Climate Change Officer was the only viable option.
The council, however, voted against this recommendation. The rejected proposal included a series of subsequent recommendations that would have only come into effect if the initial recommendation to redirect funding had been approved. These subsequent recommendations included approving a preferred bidder for the leisure centre contract and delegating authority to move forward with the contract.
The special council meeting presented three recommendations for a vote:
Recommendation 1: Approve the cabinet's recommendation and redirect funding for flood management and the climate change officer to leisure services for Catmose Leisure Centre's operation.
Recommendation 2 (Conditional): If Recommendation 1 passes, award the leisure center's management contract to the chosen bidder.
Recommendation 3 (Conditional): If both Recommendation 1 and 2 pass, delegate authority to the Strategic Director for Places to oversee the new contract's implementation, including the transfer of operations between the outgoing and incoming management.
However, the council voted against Recommendation 1, effectively rejecting the proposed funding reallocation. Consequently, the following course of action will be taken:
