The report considered a request by Brentwood Youth AFC to provide the club with long term tenure at Larkin’s Playing Fields, subject to the relevant planning permission being granted and subject to contract with Brentwood Borough Council. In order that Brentwood Youth AFC can secure external funding to improve facilities at Larkin’s Plying Fields, external funders such as the Football Association require a commitment from the landowner (Brentwood Borough Council) that will support their improvement plans and provide the club with long-term tenure at Larkin’s Playing Fields. It is proposed that the attached letter of intent will be sufficient evidence of the Council’s commitment to support improvement to the whole site. The report has been presented to the Community, Health and Housing Committee on 5 March for their consideration, but as this relates to one of the Council’s Assets it was recommended that the report would be referred to Policy, Projects and Resources Committee for their consideration.

Cllr Mrs McKinlay  MOVED  and Cllr Hossack  SECONDED  the recommendations in the report and following a full discussion a vote was taken on a show of hands and it was RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY.

1.         That Members  agree to issue the proposed letter of intent to Brentwood Youth Club AFC.

Reasons for Recommendation

The Council’s Draft Leisure Strategy is also before Members tonight and some of the key recommendations within the Strategy is the improvement to leisure facilities across the Borough and working in partnership to deliver the expected outcomes from the Strategy. Comments received from Sport England as part of the Local Development Plan consultation, stated that a Leisure Strategy is required that assesses Council owned sports and leisure facilities in order that the Council can continue to work with partners to ensure that appropriate provision is made for the residents of Brentwood. The strategy should not only consider how the Council can provide services, but also how other partners can. The strategy should also use current sports facility evidence to identify strategic priorities to then inform what will be included in the Council’s Infrastructure Delivery Plan. Following this feasibility work, the Council will then be able to determine which projects will be funded by the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) and those funded by planning obligations.