Agenda item

UPDATE ON THE OUTDOOR EDUCATION OFFER IN CARMARTHENSHIRE

Minutes:

The Committee considered an update report presented by the Cabinet Member for Cultural Sport and Tourism, on the Outdoor Education offer within Carmarthenshire, following a previous site visit by the Scrutiny Committee to the Pendine Outdoor Education Centre. The report provided a backdrop to the current offer, including a review of assets, financial resources, staffing activity and purposes together with highlighting the impact and challenges of dealing with Covid -19 and to how the service would need to re-model and evolve both in the short to medium and medium to long term within existing resources. The report also contained 8 recommendations for the Committee’s consideration.

 

The following questions/issues were raised on the report:-

 

·       The Committee referred unanimously to the value of the existing facility at Pendine to the whole of the County and to the experience it provided for school children. It whole heartedly supported its continued operation and the need to identify capital, and other funding sources, to secure its provision for future generations

 

The Head of Leisure referred to the report presented to the Committee and to one of the options being to examine the purpose of its provision. The centre at Pendine was clearly defined as an education resource for children within Carmarthenshire which, in turn, provided its own difficulties and challenges in accessing grants and external funding. There were potential commercial opportunities for people to use its facilities outside of school terms which may provide an avenue to access tourism and regeneration grants. An assurance was provided that all potential sources of grant funding were pursued when an opportunity arose.

·       With regard to the centre’s re-opening post covid, a consultation exercise had been undertaken with users providing a positive feedback who valued its provision and supported its continued operation. While it was hoped the centre may be able to reopen from April 2022, that was reliant on Welsh Government regulations and the schools having confidence to use the facility.  Any such re-opening could also be different to previous operations at the site with single school use as opposed to multi school use.

·       While recognising the centre as a valued asset, the Committee was reminded that it was an ageing resource and a previous condition survey had estimated works in the region of £5-6m would be required to meet modern requirements. It was therefore essential the Council explored other options to provide facilities off site and not limit its use to purely educational. The next step required an agreed asset plan and in the long term examining its potential re-purposing and potential partnership arrangement, possibly with the new hostel at Pendine. It was anticipated the asset plan would be completed over the coming months with a view to finalising the centre’s future direction as soon as possible thereafter

 

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED

8.1

that the report and recommendations for the Outdoor Education Offer in Carmarthenshire be adopted.

8.2

that every effort be made to identify alternative funding / grant sources to assist with funding improvements to the Pendine Outdoor Education Centre and if, appropriate, that include examining the centre’s definition as a purely educational resource.

 

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