Senior Independent Councillors have expressed their concern over further delays and escalating costs associated with the regeneration of Maesteg Town Hall.
At a meeting of Bridgend County Borough Council (BCBC) today (22nd November 2023), Councillors were told that an additional £1,173,530 of interim funding will be required to complete the Maesteg Town Hall project, money which will be transferred from the Waterton Depot scheme. The new estimated capital project costs will now reach £9,958,660 compared to an initial contract value of £6,199,387.
The Leader of the Opposition and Group Leader of Bridgend County Independents, Cllr. Amanda Williams (Coity Higher); Cllr. Alex Williams, Chair of the Corporate Overview & Scrutiny Committee (Pencoed & Penprysg); and Cllr. Freya Bletsoe, Chair of Overview & Scrutiny Committee 2 (Oldcastle) issued the following joint statement which has also been supported by numerous Members of their respective Independent Groups.
They said:
“We all want this project to be completed and for this iconic building to open at the earliest opportunity so that the people of Maesteg can make the most of the positive socio-economic and cultural benefits which the regeneration of Maesteg Town Hall will bring to the town and the whole Llynfi Valley.
“However, as scrutineers of the BCBC administration, we have a duty to ensure that public funds are invested in a responsible way to achieve value for money for the public purse. We must also express our concern and disappointment that this historic grade 2 listed building is still not open to the public, four years after the beginning of the project and at a cost which is pushing £10 million.
“While we support the enhancements to the project which were commissioned by the County Council including the refurbishment of the clock tower, the unforeseen issues of extensive dry rot and lime plastering works are nothing new.
“The County Council reported these issues to Councillors in 2022 and confirmed that the majority of the high-risk areas of works had been completed and that the likelihood of further high-cost unforeseen elements being discovered was “minimal” because they had done the majority of deconstructive and repair works, and that they were getting the building ready for opening in Summer 2023.
“They went on to say that there is confidence that the project would complete comfortably within the secured financial envelope of the project and that it was anticipated that some money would be returned to the Council’s capital programme. In short, this overall contract envelope was described as a “worst case scenario” but one year later, we now find that the building is still not complete and an additional £1.173 million of interim funding is required.
“Where does this stop? We are concerned about the words “interim funding” which suggests that they could well be coming back to Councillors in due course to say that they need yet more funding to complete this project. At the moment, it seems like we are writing a blank cheque and that the project will be delayed further. This would be unacceptable, and frustration is growing among the residents of Maesteg who dearly want this building to be open at the earliest possible opportunity.
“After what will be expenditure of almost £10 million of public funds, there is probably no option but to complete this project, but we will ensure that on the completion of this project, it is scrutinised in detail to examine where we can learn the lessons from the clear mistakes which have been made, so that they aren’t repeated on other multi-million-pound projects such as the regeneration of Porthcawl Pavilion which is on the horizon.”
