Concern Over Cost Of Civic Hall Extension
Uppermill Civic Hall. The planned extension would be round the back.
Plans for an extension to Uppermill Civic Hall seem certain to be scaled back, after concerns were again raised about the possible cost of the work. Saddleworth Parish Councillors were warned at a meeting on Monday night that the price of the project was likely to be well above the £200,000 spent on the first part of the upgrade a decade ago.
The new plans involve a three-storey extension at the back of the hall, which would provide new civic offices, various other rooms, toilets and improved disabled facilities. Although the tendering process for the work isn’t yet complete, Cllr Brian Lord told his colleagues the cost of the whole project looked like being “considerably more” than £200,000. He admitted the proposals “may be beyond our means.”
Cllr Ken Hulme has been a long-standing critic of the plans, and told the meeting he felt he had been “proved right” by what he called an “entirely predictable” and “very disappointing” situation. He said it was time to “go back to the drawing board,” adding that while he agreed the hall needed updating, a vast revamp wasn’t required. Cllr Hulme also questioned the amount of money already spent on an architect, arguing that well over £20,000 had effectively been wasted when a surveyor could have come to a similar conclusion.
Cllr Lord denied the Parish Council was already wasting money, and in an apparent dig at Cllr Hulme said: “Let’s not listen to the whingers who’d have us back in the 18th century.” He defended the scale of the plans, saying “we ought to have our aspirations… we want the best we can get for Saddleworth people.” That point was echoed by Cllr Mike Buckley who said: “Things are expensive nowadays. I agree it seems outlandish… but let’s not do something second rate.”
The Parish Council’s outgoing chairman, Cllr Alma McInnes, argued that it was “beyond the time” for an update to the hall. She said improvements to toilets, disabled facilites and the council’s own offices were “not frivolous” things to spend money on. Cllr John Hudson expressed a similar view, saying “it is necessary to keep abreast and update.”
More details will be presented to councillors next month, but it seems likely the proposals which are put before them will be more modest than the original scheme. Cllr Lord admitted as much when he told his colleagues, “we may need to cut our coat according to the cloth.”
Author: Jude Gidney - Editor
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