On Monday, 27th July, a number of Parish Councillors, together with Keith Lowe, Chairman of the Alderley Edge Music Speech and Drama Festival, visited the Festival Hall to view progress on the new Medical Centre and the refurbishment of the Hall itself.
After the visit, Craig Browne confirmed that both parts of the project are progressing well and are reported to be on schedule.
Councillor Browne said "Our first priority is to see the Hall reopened by late October. This first part of the project has seen the careful removal of asbestos in some areas and dealing with wet rot in the underfloor area. Inside, the old steps down into the Hall and the disabled lift have gone, as has the raised stage at the other end, which is being replaced by a new bar and larger level floor area. Piling is now being completed to allow the construction of the new side entrance and toilets, all on the same level as the Hall floor."
Keith Lowe, added "It's great to be invited to see the progress on the Festival Hall. There will be far more space for our performers as a result of the internal changes. After missing out on using the Hall last year - for the first time since 1928 - we are looking forward to returning to a newly refurbished Festival Hall next year for what will be our one hundredth Festival"
The project has however presented the new Parish Council with some significant funding challenges, as Geoff Hall explained: "Within days of being elected we identified that the £2m 'guaranteed' price for the Medical Centre did not include construction of the new side entrance for the Hall. Other costs had also been omitted or unedrestimated. Those who attended our first public meeting back in June and readers of alderleyedge.com will already be aware of this."
As a result, the Parish Council met on Thursday this week to approve an application for an additional £500,000 from the Public Works Loan Board to complete the Medical Centre project.
Geoff noted that the project remained financially attractive for the community over the life of the project. "The NHS lease runs for just over 21 years and provides a guaranteed rent with regular uplifts, and we have parties interested in becoming tenants in the new building. There is no question, however, that it would have been better to provide for the extra costs in the original loan application."
Read my article 'Parish Council has to borrow an extra £500,000 to complete new medical centre' for more information regarding the financing of the project.
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There is huge potential with that building if it is developed in the right way.