Club Development Plan Update

Club Development Plan Update

Members Advisory

Following on from recent engagement with our Public Representatives and correspondence with the Chief Executive of DLRCC, Ms Philomena Poole the Club met on the 8th December with Mr Frank Austin, Director of Infrastructure and Climate Change (DLRCC) and Mr Richard Shakespeare, Director of Municipal Services (DLRCC).

The Club's representatives emphasised the need for a comprehensive engagement between the Club and Council to address (1) the vital need for the club to retain continuing access at prices we can afford to facilities which we have traditionally been able to access but which is in the process of in one case (Benildus) and may ultimately in another come into the ownership of DLRCC, (2) the vital need for the Council to work with the Club in the context of and acknowledging the Council's responsibility to all sports clubs in the county to maximise the support that the Council can afford to the 2,500 playing male and female members of the club from age 5 to 40 (ish) in terms of access on a fair basis to the playing facilities of the Council generally, and (3) the need to achieve an agreed position with the Council such that the Council can proceed to finalise arrangements as regards its pool site [note: the Club's representatives expressed confidence to the Council that, in the event of the Council deciding to initiate a construction project on the pool site the practical logistics and challenges associated with the execution of that construction project could be overcome on the basis of a co-operative approach).

The Club's representatives emphasised to the Council that ultimately the package of measures which might emerge from engagements across the above agenda will fall to be considered by the membership of the Club at an EGM. The Club's representatives also emphasised the need to ensure that the engagements required would be afforded adequate time to complete without further developments taking place which would impact directly on any possible agreed outcomes.

The Club's representatives agreed with the Council to commence discussions in early 2017 in two parallel work streams to explore the above agenda and to advance understandings to the point, if possible, where comprehensive agreed proposals could be put to the principals on both sides. The principals as far as the Club is concerned are the members of the Club.