At the first informal meeting of the new Alderley Edge Parish Council, Chairman Geoff Hall provided an update on the medical centre project confirming that they will probably need to raise another £500,000 to complete the project.
Having been involved with the medical centre for over two years, helping the doctors with their side of it, Geoff Hall had the advantage of knowing quite a bit about the project before joining the Parish Council. However, himself and his colleagues have had a lot of information to get up to speed with in a very short period.
Soon after taking over as parish councillors they got the £2 million loan in place from the Public Works Loan Board, signed an agreement of lease and the building contract, which the previous parish councillors had been working on.
However, Councillor Hall explained "There are still some issues on the funding side, quite significant ones which we need to address.
"Although we have a fixed price contract for the building of the medical centre, which is just under £2 million, that doesn't cover the cost of building the new entrance and toilets at the side of the festival hall and it doesn't cover the professional fees, although we had previously understood that it would.
"That means that actually we have a projected budget at this stage of £2.26 million so we are going to have to find additional funding to cover that. We believe we can do it, that said this is very early on in the building project so we must expect there may be additional costs as well."
He added "The drawings for the medical centre and the site show a 7 ft security fence round the outside, the cost of that I understand has been taken out of the budget but nothing has been put back in to cover alternative security arrangements and those security arrangements are required by the Area Police Liaison Officer under Security by Designs Scheme.
"So there are costs like this we have to anticipate, so we are expecting that we may have to raise up to another half a million pounds. We have initial indications that that money will be available but we don't know for sure. Nonetheless we felt that under the circumstances we had no alternative but to go ahead with the project because the second potential whammy we have it that the NHS has said you have to complete this building by 31st March 2016, if you don't you lose half a million pounds worth of rent."
"So that is potentially a very significant cost for us. We are looking at ways of mitigating that, including lobbying with our MP, because whilst we have a high level of confidence in Jones and they have assured us they are going to do everything they can to complete it on time there are obviously certain risks."
Alderley Edge Parish Council are also having ongoing negotiations with Cedrics about the letting the pharmacy, which is on the ground floor of the new medical centre. The second floor of the medical centre will be available to let to other organisations.
Regarding the actual works, Cllr Hall said "We are told that they will be pouring the foundations in the next few days, within just a few weeks you will see the steel structure of the building go up and the plan then is to be water tight by October time - so the buiding work can then go on through the winter months protected from the weathers."
He was also keen to point out that "The community owes a considerable debt of gratitude to Jones Contracts, they have actually been working on promise, on a letter of intent, and have carried out a considerable amount of work on behalf of the community on the premise it was going to happen. I am sure when they heard about a change in the Parish Council they were extremely nervous but fortunately they didn't show and we have been able to deliver what was needed."
Comments
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The main bomb shell dropped was this funding deficit(nothing to do with the new council)
It makes one wonder how much has been spent on professional people?only to find a cock up like this makes them look pretty inept.Either that or their has been a lot of figure juggling to make the scheme look a lot sweeter than it really is.
I have every confidence that our new Parish Council will do everything in their power to ensure that the new Medical Centre and refurbished Festival Hall are delivered on time. They demonstrated at the meeting yesterday that not only do they have a detailed understanding of where we are and the challenges ahead of them, but they are clearly determined to keep this community involved and informed. In my mind, that is how to maintain the highest level of moral and practical support. What a great start.
The projected shortfall in funding is a worry and has the potential to pinch harder if the NHS deadline of next Spring isn't met.
Obviously a lot of hard work was done by the previous PC and there is little point now in slinging mud at them; as someone said last night "We are where we are!"
If ever there was a time to put people before politics it is now.
Last night we were given a vision of the new Medical Centre and Festival Hall. It is without doubt a once in a lifetime opportunity to achieve something very special for the Village that will be of enormous benefit and value for generations to come.
It would be fantastic if everyone, irrespective of loyalties to this PC or the last PC, could get together to make absolutely sure that this stays on track.
Section of Article.
Alderley Edge Parish Council has agreed to spend over £500,000 on the refurbishment of the Festival Hall.
Whilst work takes place to build a new medical centre at the front of the Festival Hall, the Parish Council will be pressing on with internal works to reshape and refurbish the hall.
The builders have produced a quote for £540,000 for the renovations to the hall and the extension, which is not a guaranteed price, and the councillors voted unanimously to approve this sum of money at the Finance Meeting on Monday 13th April.
Cllr Frank Keegan commented "What we are doing is approving a sum of money which can later be adjusted but the adjustment comes back to the Council for ratification."
He added "We are working on that figure now and if there is a change to that we come back just justify the change or not later."
Was this referenced at the meeting? If it is the same it can hardly be described as a "bomb shell". In the comments following the above article Duncan Herald explained a large part of the money could come from the balance still due from the dowry from Macclesfield Borough Council.
The £540,000 is for the refurbishment of the festival hall, i.e. the rest of the building. I have an update regarding the hall refurbishment to publish to shortly as this was also covered at last night's meeting.
The new parish council have stated that they want people to attend meetings an engage. You might like to go along and seek clarification for yourself, if you have questions I am sure they will be answered.
As you say Duncan Herald has expressed his belief regarding the dowry, however his information may have not been correct. Just in the same way that the cost of the medical centre, reported by the previous councillor in charge of finance, was incorrect and incomplete.
If you want accurate information, just go along to a meeting of the new parish council. I think it might be very enlightening for you.
I'll run my own diary, thank you.
You appear to be suggesting that the only way I'll receive, or even be entitled to receive, "accurate" information is by attending meetings. I can't imagine that is the view of the nine new Parish Councillors, I would think they are looking at ways to address the communication issue, on the basis that, even if there was the interest, they can't get 3,700+ electorate into the Scout Hall or even the refurbished Festival Hall. I feel sure they recognise the value of using 21st century technology, and that they will be looking at not being disengaged from people who do not use it, or can't attend meetings.
Perhaps you could recommend a suitable method of communication to Councillor Mike Dudley Jones who is looking after the communication for people not able to attend meetings.
The new PC are in favour of process improvement so help them with your suggestions please.