Extra £500,000 needed to top up Levelling Up funding for Colne Muni Theatre

Pendle Council is having to dip into its reserves to rescue Colne's Municipal Hall Levelling-Up funded project from collapse. The last meeting of the council’s Executive agreed to pump half-a-million pounds into the scheme to keep the project alive.

Originally due to reopen in January, the Muni's refurbishment has been beset by delays after contractors found ceilings unsafe and the balcony at risk of collapse. Additional re-roofing work and replacement of obsolete electrics has also had to be carried out. In addition, no fire-risk assessment had been done out before work began, requiring extra fire safety work.

Thursday's meeting had to decide between stumping up extra cash for work, drawing a line under the scheme leaving it unfinished, or taking funding from Colne's Market Hall project.

Liberal Democrat councillors persuaded Executive Committee members to fully fund the extra work required to complete the Muni's refurbishment.

Coun. David Whipp said the LUF programme in Colne had been grossly underfunded from the get-go. “The previous administration bid for £6.5m., but the average allocation for round 1 LUF was £16.5m. and the council should have been bidding for that amount of money.

“There was inadequate consideration of what the true costs of these projects would be. We now find the Muni is costing half-a-million more than planned. With a condition survey before bidding, it would have been possible to anticipate these increased costs.

“Working on old buildings always cost more than you expect. Here we have a litany of additional costs, but we’ve started and we've got to finish.

“If we hadn't been constrained by the ridiculously low bid in the first place, the whole of these schemes could have been properly budgeted for.

“There are a whole series of questions, but we have to approve the overspend and find the funding to see the works completed.”

Colne colleague, Coun. Dorothy Lord added: “From the start the previous administration rushed into this, hadn't thought it out. Outside the Muni, the banner on the railings says ‘A Bit More Drama’, and this is it.

“I'm embarrassed. It's in danger of becoming an embarrassing project. We need to find the funding, we can't be in a position where the work can't be completed and the building is left empty.”

Executive councillors heard that progress reports on the project had been made to the Colne and District Committee on a monthly basis, but the overspend hadn’t been spotted at the Conservative run committee.

Some councillors refused to support the extra investment, but the Liberal proposal was eventually passed. Including additional finance for Colne's Market Hall, another LUF project, the additional investment from Pendle Council to rescue the project adds up to £699,000.

The Muni Theatre was allocated £1,563,300 for a major refurbishment, including new roofing and windows, along with new heating and lighting to improve energy efficiency.

New energy-efficient boilers have been fitted, old windows have been replaced with energy-efficient glass and wooden frames and important structural work on the balcony has been completed.