Press Release, issued 17th February 2022
Published: 23 February 2022
New Romney Town Council Commits to New Community Hall/Sports Pavilion Redesign
At its Full Council meeting on Wednesday 9th February 2022, New Romney Town Council decided to change its approach to the building of the Community Hall and Sports Pavilion and the enhancement of the adjacent Nursery building, due to a massive post-pandemic increase in building costs.
In October 2021, the Council received seven tender returns for the project, ranging in value from £3.9 million pounds to over £5 million pounds. This compares to a March 2021 cost estimate of just over £3 million pounds.
In November 2021, the Council selected three of these tenderers to present their detailed, costed project proposals to the Project Steering Group (PSG). Following this exercise, the Council selected a preferred tenderer to work with the Project Team to attempt to bring the building cost down to the available budget, using a value engineering approach.
At the Full Council meeting on 9th February 2022, the Project Team report was presented with an amended cost proposal but this still exceeded the currently available budget by nearly £200,000. The Council considered a range of options to address this shortfall including use of reserves and borrowing additional money but these solutions were rejected in order to mitigate the potential for negative financial impact on local taxpayers. Consequently, the Council decided to move forward with a project re-design that would deliver the new building within the available budget.
The Council accepts this will introduce further delays to the project but it will ensure the new design is deliverable within the available budget.
Council Chairman, Cllr Paul Thomas, said: "The Council remains committed to delivering a high quality, fit for purpose facility that will meet the needs of the community. The Council has a very healthy budget and has the benefit of the previous project work to act as a solid foundation for success. The Council will be providing each home with an explanatory leaflet on the current situation and the future plans".