The Corporate Director – Communities reported on an update on the Maesteg Town Hall Project and sought approval for a revision to the capital programme for 2017-18 to 2016-27.

He reported that following the transfer of management of the Town Hall to Awen Cultural Trust in 2015, feasibility work was commissioned for the restoration and renovation of the building and creation of a modern multi-purpose culture and arts venue.  The scheme proposal had been prioritised by WG for Buildings for the Future Funding and a full business case for the project was now required.

The Corporate Director – Communities informed Council that Mace Group was commissioned in August 2017 to develop the design concept, carry out additional feasibility and provide more accurate cost estimates for the project. The detailed feasibility work was scheduled for completion by March. It was anticipated that the cost of the scheme based on the original ambition would be £5-£6 million, an increase over the initial preliminary estimate of £4-£5 million which reflected the more detailed design work and engineering analysis and will be further refined by the ongoing work.  He stated that until tenders had been received, the cost estimate would remain indicative, albeit informed by design and feasibility work carried out to date. The renovation of historic buildings was complex and until feasibility was complete and all pertinent issues identified a true capital estimate was difficult to predict accurately.   He informed Council that a further report will be presented to Cabinet when the feasibility work and cost plan had been completed.    

The Corporate Director Communities also reported on the complexity of the capital project and it included a number of potential funding sources.  A bid for funding would be submitted to the Welsh Government by March / April 2018 who had confirmed that the maximum available grant would be £2.86m.    

He reported that the Council had previously agreed to allocate £500,000 from the capital programme and Cabinet had previously resolved to ring fence £800,000 of the anticipated receipt from the sale of land at Ewenny Road for regeneration in the Llynfi Valley.   He stated that in order to provide the provide the required funding assurances to Welsh Government and Heritage Lottery at bidding stage, this commitment would need to be made specific to the Maesteg Town Hall project.  Additionally, it would be necessary for the Council to underwrite the receipt to meet programme milestones.  He informed Council that the land at Ewenny Road was originally bought with a grant from the Welsh Government, who had confirmed that they would not wish to clawback the original grant value.  He stated that £206,000 of fees had been incurred to date, covered by a combination of secured corporate feasibility funding and Special Regeneration Fund revenue allocations.  Further fees would be necessary to complete the final detailed design stage, a full suite of additional survey and investigative work would be necessary to satisfy planning and enable tenders to be invited, which was estimated to cost £175,000, which had been incorporated into the capital budget allocation.   

The Corporate Director Communities also reported there would be a requirement for a partnership agreement to be drawn up between the Council and Awen covering project delivery, project risks and financial and management arrangements for the contract and the Town Hall.  It was not clear at this stage when this would be required by the Welsh Government and Heritage Lottery.  It was envisaged that a start would be made by summer 2019, with commencement on site in early 2020, if all funding is secured. 

The Corporate Director Communities reported that a critical part of the funding package is the use of a capital receipt from the disposal of the land at Ewenny Road which is yet to happen.  As the funding is unsecured, an explicit agreement would be required for it to be used for the Maesteg Town Hall project.  He stated that secured match funding for the project will be a requirement for WG and Heritage Lottery Fund prior to final grant approvals being issued.  He stated that the Council would need to ensure that the sale transaction was complete prior to May 2019 in accordance with the project milestones.  He informed Council that Awen had given a commitment to source charitable grant contributions towards the overall project cost to the value of £500,000.  He explained that no capital works would be carried out or capital expenditure incurred until the external funding position had been finalised in line with the Council’s Financial Procedure Rules.

A Member of Council expressed concern that unless the full funding package was secured the redevelopment scheme may not be delivered.  Concern was also expressed that if there was a funding shortfall, and ran assurance was requested from the Leader that the Council would treat this scheme as equitably as it had with the Porthcawl Regeneration scheme by providing match funding.  The Leader informed the Council that he could not provide those assurances as a decision on match funding would have to be made by Council.  He gave an assurance that the Council is committed to redeveloping the iconic Town Hall at Maesteg and was confident that funding would be forthcoming from the different funding mechanisms.

A Member of Council questioned what other schemes would be affected if the capital receipt from the sale of land at Ewenny Road is not generated and the scheme funded through general capital receipts.  The Leader informed Council that the developer of land at Ewenny Road had invested in this development and he believed that project would be delivered. 

A Member of Council referred to the additional items of work identified, namely to wall tiles, beams and electrics and asked whether these works had been identified as urgent.  The Corporate Director Communities stated that the more detailed feasibility will identify the additional works to be addressed and that he was confident that additional funding would be secured.                       

RESOLVED:             That Council approved an increased capital budget of £5.168 million for the proposed redevelopment of Maesteg Town Hall, which includes an additional £800,000 of capital receipts, generated either by the sale of the land at Ewenny Road, or general capital receipts, in the event that the Ewenny Road receipt fails to materialise or is lower than the anticipated receipt together with revised funding from external sources.