Issue - meetings

The Mayor stated that despite claims of bias and predetermination, following the Deputy Monitoring Officer’s advice both he and the Deputy Mayor would take part in both the discussions and vote for this item. The Mayor invited the Executive Member for Regeneration to present his report.

The Executive Member for Regeneration and the Executive Member for Finance and Governance submitted report for Executive’s consideration.

The report sought approval of the recommendations to locate a new community centre on land within Nunthorpe ward.

There had been a long-standing requirement for new community space to be developed within the Nunthorpe area. The need for such space had been communicated by residents, community groups and local elected members for some time.

In 2020, Middlesbrough Council, in conjunction with community representatives developed a series of commitments that were intended to ensure that the local community were engaged in the area’s future and would ultimately lead to the development of a Neighbourhood Plan. Again, the need for a new community facility was clearly communicated as a priority for the local community.

As part of that work, a number of proposals came forward to develop new community space, in different parts of Nunthorpe. One proposal identified a site owned by the Council adjacent to the new GP Surgery off Stokesley Road, and the other identified an opportunity to build on the existing Nunthorpe and Marton Playing Fields Association facilities off Guisborough Road.

Also in 2020 a significant allocation of Town’s Fund resources was added to the existing Council funds to ultimately provide a budget of £966,000 to deliver a new community centre at Nunthorpe.

A process to look at specific proposals for each site was undertaken by the Council and other external stakeholders in 2021, but no formal conclusion was reached. 

A report was subsequently approved by Executive in September 2022, which identified the need for community consultation, and a focus on identifying the most appropriate location for the facility. The report stated that the Council would manage the design and build of the new facility, but a process would also need to be undertaken to appoint an organisation to run it. As there was no revenue budget available from the Council to support the running of the centre, the selected organisation would need to demonstrate a viable, sustainable business plan.  

As a result, a consultation on the location options was conducted between December 2022 and January 2023 for a period of 6 weeks.  The consultation asked members of the public to provide positive and negative feedback for both options and asked which location people would prefer.

A total of 369 individuals responded to the consultation, with 60% identifying a preference for the land adjacent to the GP surgery.

At this point in the meeting the Chair invited other elected Members and the public to express their views about the proposal. As part of those discussions, those invited to comment stated the alternative site to that proposed in the report remained a viable option for several  ...  view the full minutes text for item 105