North Lanarkshire Council is to implement cost recovery measures for cafes at its various venues, including annual price increases and seeking to rent out operations at three parks to private companies, as these services are currently losing substantial amounts of money.
A review found that income generated from sales was around £2 million while operating costs were almost £2.7 million, although these figures included Motherwell Concert Hall which was closed due to the presence of RAAC and is now scheduled for demolition.
Councillors also agreed to annual price increases at their venues of between eight and ten per cent over the next three years.
Staffing of the service has not changed since hospitality services were brought in-house in 2021, with 34 full time catering assistants supplemented by casual staff at busy times. However two vacancies are due to open in January and these will be reviewed.
The council intends to seek private operators to take over catering at three of its facilities on a leasing basis, namely at Colzium Cafe, Drumpellier Cafe and the food and drink space at Strathclyde Country Park.
In all three cases the rising costs of providing an in-house service, such as staffing and inflation of food prices, led to a recommendation to invite branded food chains by offering premium locations and increasing footfall.
Councillor Allan Stubbs (SNP, Coatbridge North) queried the pricing, noting that soft drinks are currently cheaper than sparkling water, and asked if the increases would lead to the council pricing itself out of the market, turning away customers and costing revenue.
He was advised that the examples provided in the report would not be applied without local benchmarking to make sure the council would not be putting itself outside the market.
SNP group leader Tracy Carragher (Coatbridge South) requested a change to one recommendation on the report, emphasising that this review was a result of the Labour administration’s 2024 budget, and council leader Jim Logue agreed.
The council’s policy and strategy committee unanimously agreed to implement the cost recovery measures, and an update on their effectiveness will be presented in June.
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