Report of the Lead Member For s1

PART 1 (OPEN TO THE PUBLIC) ITEM NO

REPORT OF THE LEAD MEMBER FOR ARTS & LEISURE

TO THE SOCIAL SCRUTINY COMMITTEE ON 12 SEPTEMBER 2001

TITLE: DISPOSAL OF SURPLUS EQUIPMENT FROM PEMBROKE HALLS

RECOMMENDATIONS: i) That Members note the report

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: The report i) Provides a report on the actions leading to the disposal of surplus equipment from Pembroke Halls.

BACKGROUND DOCUMENTS:  Relevant memorandum  Relevant Lead Member reports

CONTACT OFFICER: Steve Brown, Assistant Director ( Arts & Leisure ) 0161 736 9448. [email protected]

WARD(S) TO WHICH REPORT RELATE(S): All wards

DETAILS

Please see attached report. 1. Introduction

1.1 Pembroke Halls closed on 31 March 2001 and this coincided with the decision to allow the City Venues Manager, David Heyes to leave on voluntary severance on 1 April 2001.

1.2 The new owners of the Pembroke Hall site allowed the Council access until 18 May 2001. This allowed only a limited time to clear the facility.

2. Disposal

2.1 The main categories of equipment were disposed of as indicated below.

2.2 A decision not to auction the entire contents was made because the only items of significant value that were not to be re-distributed within the City Council were the sound and lighting system.

2.3 An option to hold an auction of the remaining items was considered but rejected when, after a visit by the auctioneer regularly used by the City Council, the likely income figures and associated costs were assessed and considered not viable.

2.4 SOUND SYSTEM

2.4.1 Bids were invited from 5 specialist firms and the equipment was sold to the highest bidder.

2.5 CARPET

2.5.1 A roll of unused carpet was inspected by the auctioneer and he stated that it had no real value because of the ‘PH’ monogram.

2.5.2 The carpet was offered to the Salfordian Hotel from whom a contribution was requested

2.6 CHAIRS

2.6.1 The red chairs from Pembroke Halls were used to replace the chairs at other facilities. This action left a surplus of 278 red chairs plus the replaced chairs from the two other halls, 137 green tapestry from Worsley Court House and 130 turquoise from Buile Hill.

2.6.2 A request for 150 red chairs at £8 per chair and 50 folding chairs at £4 each was received from Dance World UK just prior to the Halls closure. 2.6.3 Approval for the sale was given in consultation with the Deputy Lead Member for Arts and Leisure.

2.6.4 It was then agreed by Lead Member that the surplus chairs would be sold to the interested parties who had written in and expressed an interest, and arrangements were made for a viewing day.

2.6.5 Prior to the viewing day it became known that other parties especially Community Groups with Local Authority connections were also interested in the chairs and it was agreed by Lead Member to limit the viewing to interested community groups. Any chairs remaining would then be offered for sale to other interested parties.

2.6.6 Subsequently, the remaining chairs were disposed of to various Community Groups, two private sector concerns and Community and Social Services as per the attached list.

3. Missing Items

3.1 Upon checking the inventory, it became clear that 2 radio microphones and a CD player were missing and a report was prepared and sent to the Internal Audit team. Investigations are ongoing but one of the microphones has subsequently been found. REPORT TO THE DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION & LEISURE, LEAD MEMBER AND DEPUTY LEAD MEMBER OF ARTS & LEISURE

SUBJECT: DISPOSAL OF SURPLUS FURNITURE FROM PEMBROKE HALLS

1. A report was submitted to Lead Member on Tuesday 5 June 2001 outlining the recommended sale of surplus chairs from Pembroke Halls.

2. In the absence of any other bids, it was recommended that the remaining red stacking chairs from Pembroke Halls be offered for sale, at a price of £8 each, to Mr Gua who owns the Chinese Restaurant and to Mr Baird who owns Flixton Dance Studios.

3. A request for folding chairs from Councillor Garrido was also received but due to the fact that all the folding chairs were to be used for the Directorates own use, none were available for sale.

4. At the present time, Mr Gua and Mr Baird have not been officially informed of their recommended allocations.

5. In the past fortnight, it has been brought to the Directorates attention that a number of other parties are also interested in purchasing stackable chairs at the price offered by Messrs Gua and Baird.

6. The interested parties are Councillor Pennington on behalf of Walkden Congregational Church and Councillor Payne on behalf of Emlyn Hall. Councillor Garrido, on behalf of Worsley Civic Trust has also expressed an interest in the stackable chairs now that there are no folding chairs for sale.

7. The majority of red stacking chairs from Pembroke Halls were used to replace older chairs at Worsley Court House and at Buile Hill Banqueting Suite.

8. The older chairs have been stored at Lancastrian Hall and the total number of chairs now available for disposal are as follows:-

Red – from Pembroke Halls 98 Red – on loan to Mr Gua 30 Green tapestry – from Worsley Court House 137 Turquoise – from Buile Hill 130

9. The Director of Corporate Services has been consulted and has agreed to the Directorate holding a viewing day at Lancastrian Hall for interested parties and for these parties to submit written sealed bids for the chairs on offer.

RECOMMENDATION

That all the chairs, which are surplus to Education & Leisure requirements, be offered for sale to interested parties by means of a viewing day and the submission of sealed bids. REPORT TO THE LEAD MEMBER AND DEPUTY LEAD MEMBER FOR ARTS & LEISURE ON 31 JULY 2001

SUBJECT: DISPOSAL OF CHAIRS FROM PEMBROKE HALLS

As instructed, interested local community groups were given the opportunity to view and make a bid for surplus chairs made available by the closure of Pembroke Halls. The chairs are priced at £8 each.

Although there are three different types of chairs, the groups were only interested in the red chairs and, as a result, these chairs were oversubscribed – requests for 290 chairs and only 128 available.

Following consultation with the Audit section, a decision was taken to pro rata the chairs available against the bids submitted which meant that each group would receive approximately 44% of their bid.

Each group was contacted and they confirmed that they would be happy with their allocation.

Only two of the groups decided to purchase another type of chair to increase their allocation to the amount of their original request.

A letter will be sent to each of the groups confirming their allocation together with an invoice for the chairs. The letter will also state that as soon as payment is received, they will be allowed to collect their allocation.

As can be seen from the attached table, there are 137 green tapestry chairs and 75 turquoise chairs left for disposal.

RECOMMENDATION

(1) That the two commercial organisations that originally expressed an interest in the chairs be invited to make a bid for the remainder.

(2) That, in the event of the remaining chairs not being sold, they be offered to the Community and Social Services Directorate for use in their establishments. Community Group Contact Chairs Number Number Available requested Allocated

Cruise Playgroup – Emlyn Hall Cllr Payne 128 red 60 137 gn tap 130 turq Walkden Cong. Church Cllr Pennington 128 red 40 137 gn tap 130 turq Worsley & Boothstown Community Cttee Mrs B. Howard 128 red 35 Worsley Library 137 gn tap 130 turq Worsley & Boothstown Community Cttee Mrs B. Howard 128 red 35 Boothstown Community Centre 137 gn tap 130 turq Worsley & Boothstown Community Cttee Mrs B. Howard 128 red 30 Beesley Green Community Centre 137 gn tap 130 turq Salfordian Hotel Cllr Lancaster 128 red 40 137 gn tap 130 turq Hr Broughton Community Group Fr D. Macfarlane 128 red 50 137 gn tap 130 turq TOTAL 290

red 128 CHAIRS FOR DISPOSAL green 137 tapestry turquoise 130 TOTAL 395 REPORT TO THE DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION AND LEISURE, THE LEAD MEMBER AND DEPUTY LEAD MEMBER FOR ARTS AND LEISURE ON 5 JUNE 2001

PEMBROKE HALLS – DISPOSAL OF EQUIPMENT

Further to the decision at Lead Member briefing on 21 May 2001, further decisions now need to be taken on how the surplus equipment can best be disposed of. The principle to be used is to generate the maximum amount of income to the City Council.

The following written bids have been received:-

RED STACKING CHAIRS ( 128 available, of which 30 are on loan to the Chinese restaurant owner, Mr Gua )

BIDS RECEIVED PRICE BID NUMBER SUGGESTED REQUIRED ALLOCATION £ Mr. Gua – Chinese Restaurant 8 50 42 Owner

Mr Baird – Flixton Dance Studios 8 100 86

TOTAL 128

These chairs have been valued by Charles Taylor Auctioneers at between £4 and £5 each plus vat.

Recommendation: that the 128 chairs available be offered for sale to Mr Gua and Mr Baird pro rata to their original bids.

FOLDING CHAIRS ( 61 available )

BIDS RECEIVED PRICE BID NUMBER REQUIRED £ Worsley Village Community 2 50 Association

These chairs were relocated to City Leisure establishments upon the closure of Pembroke Halls and are currently in use. Recommendation: That the chairs not be offered for sale but continue to be used by City Leisure.

CARPET ( 12 ft by 35 metres emblazoned with PH motif )

According to Charles Taylor Auctioneers, the carpet is of no monetary value and The Salfordian Hotel has expressed an interest so that they can re-carpet some of their bedrooms.

A donation to the City Council was requested but this would have to be put to the Trustees.

As the site has to be vacated by 31 May 2001, the Salfordian has agreed to collect the carpet on Wednesday, 30 May 2001.

Recommendation that the carpet be given to the Salfordian Hotel and a request for a donation be sent to the Trustees.

Community Group Contact

Cruise Playgroup – Emlyn Hall Cllr Payne

Walkden Cong. Church Cllr Pennington Worsley & Boothstown Community Cttee Worsley Library Mrs B. Howard

Worsley & Boothstown Community Cttee Boothstown Community Mrs B. Howard Centre

Worsley & Boothstown Community Cttee Beesley Green Community Mrs B. Howard Ctre

Salfordian Hotel Cllr Lancaster

Hr Broughton Community Group Fr D. Macfarlane

Mr Baird Chinese Restaurant

Mr Gua Flixton Dance Studios

Community & Social Services

TOTAL AVAILABLE