WARRINGTON and Co – the borough’s urban regeneration specialists – look set to take over responsibility for the ongoing development of the £16 million Great Sankey Neighbourhood Hub.
The borough council’s executive board will be asked on Monday to approve updated plans for drive forward the development of the hub.
The project – to transform the existing Great Sankey Leisure Centre into an integrated state-of-the-art facility that provides leisure, health, and cultural services – has been progressing since 2015 with key partners in the town, including LiveWire and Warrington Borough Council, working closely together on its development.
Cllr Russ Bowden
However, during the construction process, complex challenges with the building process have arisen due to the age of the original building.
Therefore, the recommendation is being made to the executive board that Warrington and Co – with their expertise and experience in managing the council’s capital investment programmes – assume responsibility of the project as part of its construction portfolio.
LiveWire will continue to work closely with Warrington and Co and the borough councilin its operational role to deliver a range of services from the building.
The community interest company will also manage the building once it is open to the public.
The executive board will also be asked to recommend changes to how the project is financed.
The council had previously approved a series of loans to LiveWire, but it is now recommended that the local authority funds the project directly and take control of any external grants which have been awarded to LiveWire by national funding bodies to deliver the project.
Cllr Russ Bowden, deputy leader of the council and lead member for corporate finance, said: “We are determined to deliver a fantastic scheme that benefits members of the community, not only in west Warrington, but across the borough.
“With the challenges that have arisen and with the savings that can be made through reduced VAT exposure, it makes sense for the council and Warrington and Co to manage the development of the project to its conclusion, whilst working closely with LiveWire to utilise their expertise in delivering the town’s leisure and health and wellbeing services.”
It is also recommended that leasing arrangements for Great Sankey Leisure Centre be amended to reflect the council’s additional responsibility for the neighbourhood hub development.
The proposal is for the council to accept a surrender of the existing 30-year lease and simultaneously grant LiveWire a new lease for the completed neighbourhood hub for a term of 30 years at an open market rent.
In May, it was announced that the existing leisure centre would have to close to the public for about four months, from mid-July.
3 Comments
So throwing money at this scheme, now way over budget, hasn’t produced the expected outcome? What complex challenges with the building process were not seemingly known about when the scheme was initially embarked upon?
Positron, Page A, Freddie Steele. AKA Lady Tremaine, Anastasia and Drizella. Always available to rip into the council at a moment’s notice. And to think they call me an obsessive! But just who is pulling their strings I wonder?
Do you seriously accept the statement from Russ Bowden: “With the challenges that have arisen and with the savings that can be made through reduced VAT exposure, it makes sense for the council and Warrington and Co to manage the development of the project to its conclusion, whilst working closely with LiveWire to utilise their expertise in delivering the town’s leisure and health and wellbeing services.” without question, bearing in mind the history of this scheme?