“Why are the Parks, Playgrounds and Playing Fields of the Llanelli area being threatened with closure or third party ownership, whilst areas who contribute significantly less financially to CCC coffers are receiving massive annual subsidies e.g. Laugharne Boat House £69,000, Pendine Outward Bound Centre £207,000, St. Clears Leisure Centre £128,000 and St. Clears Craft Centre £76,000.”
Minutes:
Mr Phil Jones, Senior Registration Secretary CAFL, asked the following question:-
“Why are the parks, playgrounds and playing fields of the Llanelli area being threatened with closure or third party ownership, whilst areas who contribute significantly less financially to CCC coffers are receiving massive annual subsidies e.g. Laugharne Boat House £69,000, Pendine Outward Bound Centre £207,000, St. Clears Leisure Centre £128,000 and St. Clears Craft Centre £76,000.”
Response by Councillor David Jenkins, Executive Board Member for Resources:-
“The Council’s policy is to seek local management arrangements for all parks and playgrounds and this has been applied across the whole of the county, not just in Llanelli. In many parts of the county local clubs and Community or Town Councils have been managing these facilities for years. The vast majority of Town and Community Councils, who were previously not managing their local parks and playing fields, have responded positively to the County Council’s call for the assets to be managed locally. This policy was determined back in 2013 initially by the previous administration but we are happy to follow this policy because we are trying to create a level playing field across the county. Why should people who are already managing their playgrounds be subsidising people who are not managing their playgrounds.
With reference to the other facilities you have listed, these along with other non-statutory items, are also subject to the same budget pressures as parks and playgrounds. You seem to have trawled through the 2015/16 budget digest and you have been quite selective in what you have picked. You have highlighted that St. Clears Leisure Centre receives a subsidy of £128,000 but on the same page you will see that Llanelli Leisure Centre receives a subsidy
of £586,000 but you have chosen not to mention this item. From the Outdoor Education Section of the digest, you mention that the Pendine Outward Bound Centre receives a subsidy; from the Cultural and Heritage section of the digest you have chosen to mention that the Laugharne Boat House receives a subsidy of £69,000 and St. Clears Craft Centre receives a subsidy of £128,000. The very next entry in this section is Y Ffwrnes which receives a subsidy of £393,000 but you have chosen not to mention this item. You have chosen not to mention the Millennium Coastal Park which receives a subsidy of £1,058,000, Burry Port Harbour which receives a subsidy of £338,000, the Discovery Centre which receives a subsidy of £69,000. All these facilities have been in place for several years, when times were better. We are facing financial hardship at the moment and the reality of the situation is that we are looking for every penny. Who knows, perhaps in the future we may have to look at these areas as well. All the above facilities make a contribution towards the attractiveness of Carmarthenshire for its residents as a place to live, work and play and also help attract visiting tourists. The Boat House is internationally famous and a nationally important leisure/cultural facility. Each part of the county has different facilities and all parts of the county benefit from the tourists that are attracted to these facilities.
The extract you made is from the leisure section of the budget digest whereas in the asset transfer section parks receive a subsidy of £481,000 and the grounds maintenance service receive a subsidy of £1.5m subsidy and those two items form part of the property services section of the budget. No County Councillor involved in the decision making process is happy at having to make cuts in any service provided by the Authority but in the face of an ever reducing budget coming to us via Cardiff and Westminster, difficult decisions are having to be made. The Authority has a legal responsibility to provide those statutory services imposed on it by Cardiff and Westminster governments. Therefore and unfortunately, cuts tend to be made in those non-statutory services that the Authority provides. We as an Authority think our policy in respect of promoting local management of all parks and playgrounds is a means of retaining these facilities within the county with the management of them being delivered in a different way.”
Mr Jones asked the following supplementary question:-
“Could you explain why these pitches are still on the asset transfer list and I include football, rugby, cricket and bowls, when we have done all we can as far as payment reduction for CCC which resulted in a cut from £288,457 to £22,500. That is how much CUFC local sports governing bodies have saved Carmarthenshire County Council.”
Response by Councillor David Jenkins, Executive Board Member for Resources:-
“I appreciate what you are saying. If you, as a constituted body, can take over these playgrounds and run them, you can still enter a Service Level Agreement with County Council staff where the expertise is there in terms of the ability to do this work. It is just providing the same service but being managed by a different organisation in a slightly different way. The last thing I want is to close down all playgrounds and sporting activities in the county as it is not in the best interests of the county but this is where we are at the moment. The policy is in place and we are following it at the moment. On 31st March, 2018, the decisions will be made as to what is the final outcome.”