Council says cost of moving Bridgend special school has risen by 73 per cent!
THERE are set to be delays to a number of Bridgend County Borough Council (BCBC) capital projects planned for the coming years due to increased costs and issues in finding contractors.
The news was revealed at a recent meeting of the full council, where members approved in-year changes to its capital spending programme for the 2024-25 financial year.
Capital spending is money spent by each local authority on creating or improving assets such as land, infrastructure and buildings, as well as refurbishing and improving existing ones. The programme for Bridgend was last updated in July 2024 and currently stands at a little over £66 million, made up of a combination of council resources and external resources.
Porthcawl’s Grand Pavilion
Most notably, a report given to councillors on the latest changes highlighted how “no affordable tender” was received for plans to refurbish Porthcawl’s Grand Pavilion in recent months – with a “value engineering exercise” taking place to reduce the scheme where possible before going back to tender and £8.688 million being slipped into 2025-26.
A number of school modernisation projects scheduled for the county borough will also be pushed back into the next financial year, with the report showing how the cost for some of these projects had increased significantly since they were first approved.
Heronsbridge School
Plans to move Heronsbridge School from its location on Ewenny Road to a new site about a mile away on Island Farm was initially set to cost £34.504 million, will now cost £59.985 million, due to factors such as energy price increases, de-carbonisation measures, and the war in Ukraine. This represents a rise of 73 per cent.
Mynydd Cynffig school
Additionally, plans for the Mynydd Cynffig school replacement scheme has also seen its costs increased from £12.838 million to £17.508 million, while a replacement school at Ysgol Bro Ogwr will go up from £15.135 million to £17.787 million.
However, officers noted that the Welsh Government had already approved the new cost estimates for these projects, meaning the council can now prepare full business cases for the increased funding.
Recycling and playground refurbishments
Elsewhere in the plans, an additional £8 million of funding was included for replacements to the recycling fleet as well as £1 million for playground refurbishments, while plans for a new highways depot at Waterton and alterations to the Penprysg Road Bridge were removed.
Grass cutting
Other changes included the approval of £340,000 to buy grass cutting equipment, £193,000 for road signs and £45,000 for the replacement of street lighting columns.
Speaking at the meeting, some opposition members questioned whether or not the authority had a firm grip on the capital programme at the moment, though others said they wanted to focus on the positives with the “wonderful” projects that would come as a result of the changes, which were later approved after a vote.
By Lewis Smith, LDRS
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