Many
stories circulate about who finances the Rec and the state of the
building. We've done a helpful summary of the myths and facts...
Myth:
The Council subsidises the Rec. The Council repeatedly argued it could
not afford to continue to subsidise the Rec when it was threatening to
close it in 2012.
Fact:
The Rec users who visit 700,000 times a year generate
considerable surpluses. Under the GLL/ Lambeth Leisure Centres contract,
revenue from Rec users is divided three equal ways. One- third goes to
GLL to cover all day to day costs of running the Rec; one-third goes to
the joint GLL Lambeth Rec Development pot, which for example paid £ 204k
towards the recent Rec refurbishment; and one-third does into general
Council coffers to help fund for example the freeze of the Council Tax.
Last year £500,000 went into each pot.
Myth: The Rec is getting near the end of its life.
Fact: A recent building survey has found that the Rec is structurally sound. It was built to high standards.
Myth: It would cost too much to maintain and bring the Rec up to modern standards.
Fact:
The Rec needs ongoing maintenance and refurbishment as recently with
the boilers and the new entrance. Users pay for this via the Joint Rec
Development Fund collected from user charges. For example the recent
£540K cost of new gym equipment and reception area was paid for from
this fund.
The
Rec also needs major long term capital investment: ventilation and
wiring are coming to the end of their life; external access does not
meet modern standards; and it needs to be made far more energy
efficient. BRUG are making sure users have a voice in this. We has been
closely involved in evaluating initial studies of what and how it is to
be done and to what standards. We held a productive open workshop for
Rec users on the first 'feasibility study' last October.
Lambeth Council is now deciding a proposal to invest £6m. The statement and proposal to Cabinet in late July is
' ...additional investment of £600k in
further improvements is planned for 2015/16. Further maintenance and
repairs in the order of £6m, based on engineers’ surveys, are required
to keep the building open. This is while detailed reports are concluded
to identify the scale and costs of the refurbishment required to secure
the long term future of the BREC, to make it fit for the future and the
next generation of Lambeth’s residents.
It
is proposed that the £6m will be added to the council’s pipeline of
capital investment. Further work will take place to firm up the detail
of the works required from the engineers’ surveys...'
BRUG will keep you informed as this process unfolds.
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