Agenda 2018-0322 Council EOM 56
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WYE WITH HINXHILL PARISH COUNCIL Report to Wye with Hinxhill Parish Council By Cllrs Reece and Bartley Agenda Item 56/18 19 March 2018 To All Parish Councillors APPLICATION FOR A PUBLIC WORKS LOAN BOARD (PWLB) LOAN EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1. Wye with Hinxhill Parish Council (WPC) is proposing to apply to the Secretary of State, Department of Housing, Communities and Local Government (DHCGL), for approval for a fixed rate loan of £100,000 from the PWLB, to give as a grant to Wye Village Hall (WVH) to support their capital expenditure this year. WPC plans to repay the loan over 15 years. Councillors are being requested to make a resolution on this proposal on 1 March 2108. 2. Wye with Hinxhill Parish Council (WPC) is the Custodian Trustee of Wye Village Hall. The Wye Village Hall and Recreation Ground Charity Reg no 302899 is an unincorporated body and operates as the managing trustee of Wye Village Hall, (the subject of this application). 3. WVH successfully completed Stage One of its refurbishment and expansion project (Wye Centre) in October 2017. WVH is now fundraising for Wye Centre Stage Two, for which it has planning consent. 4. The budget for Stage Two is £290,000, based on four quotes: WVH has £80,649 at present in cash or pledges. WVH has asked WPC for a grant of £100,000 towards Stage Two. 5. This leaves WVH to secure the shortfall of £108,694 to be found by other means. WVH has a number of funding applications lodged with public sources, trusts and charities. The expectation is that most if not all of this funding gap will be filled. The picture will be clear by Easter 2018. 6. In the event of a gap remaining before building starts, pre-planned value-engineering has produced a list of economies (see Plan B below – Page 5) which will ensure that all the essentials of the project can be carried out in 2018, so long as the PC grant is approved. 7. This report explains the detail of the Wye Centre project, its importance and relevance to the village, and the exhaustive steps WPC has taken to inform and seek approval from residents for a PWLB loan. The saturation publicity campaign has resulted in one adverse comment (from the next-door neighbour to WVH), and otherwise an impressive level of approval. 1 8. Councillors are requested to resolve to approve the proposal, and to authorise the Clerk to send the PWLB Application form, and other supporting documents, to the Kent Association of Local Councils (KALC), for its approval and submission to the Secretary of State, DHCLG. THE WYE CENTRE PROJECT Wye Village Hall and Recreation Ground Charity 9. WVH consists of two halls, built in 1937 and 1989, a large recreation ground including a tennis club (leased from the Hall charity) a floodlit MUGA for teenagers and equipped children’s play areas for younger age groups. The Hall is the social centre of the village, where people of all ages gather for social contact and recreation, and it is usually fully booked. The Hall is the only amenity in Wye with good adjacent parking. The population is growing and WVH is refurbishing and extending the halls to allow more people to enjoy the facilities, to improve social cohesion and counter isolation. Residents of neighbouring rural parishes in the North Downs also use the community facilities in Wye. 10. A major dynamic is the demand for youth activities in the village. The village has a two- form entry primary school and a three-form entry secondary school. The 2nd Wye Scout Group and the 2nd Wye Cub Scout Group are only two of the new youth-associated groups that are now using WVH. Individual visits to WVH has gone up from around 28,000 in 2015 to over 40,000 in 2017. 11. The changing age profile of the population of Wye is also significant. Over a third are aged over 60, and 16% are over 75. The Wye Centre Project Team 12. The project team comprises 8 of the WVHMC Trustees, volunteers from all walks of professional and vocational life, and other committed and competent villagers. Several local professionals (architects, landscaper, Chartered Accountant, retired solicitor, archaeologist) have done pro-bono work for the project. As with Stage One, the project will be managed by an appointed Quantity Surveyor and Project Manager. WPC involvement 13. WPC has been deeply involved with the Wye Centre project from the outset. The refurbishment of the Village Hall is the top priority in the Wye Neighbourhood Development Plan 2030, led and prepared by WPC and adopted in 2016 by Ashford Borough Council. The formulation of this Neighbourhood Plan started with in-depth surveys of village opinion through interviews, workshops and exhibitions. The preparatory phase took over two years to assemble evidence. The foundation survey which identified the Wye Centre project as the top priority achieved a response rate of 76% of all households in the parish. This survey yielded some 10,400 pages of public responses, which WPC holds for reference. 14. WPC has sponsored and paid for four separate planning applications for different parts of the Wye Centre project. For Stage One, WPC contributed £25,000 from the precept and £5,000 from reserves over two years: in effect this represented a grant of £36,000 once 2 VAT was repaid. The WVH governing document requires two Parish Councillors to sit on the WVH Management Committee to ensure close liaison. The Wye Centre project leader is one of these Parish Councillors. Wye Project Stage One 15. (Planning Consents 16/01839/AS, 17/00976/AS, 17/00785/AS.) In Stage One WVH replaced the roof of the large hall (built 1937), extended and upgraded the storage, and re- organised and improved rear gardens/play areas. Stage One cost £262,300. WVH completed the project within budget and on time. The surplus of around £20,000 is part of the funding for Stage Two. Wye Centre Project Stage Two 16. (Planning Consent 17/01178/AS). Stage Two will add a new front entrance and lobby and a new meeting room, replace the WCs and provide dedicated parent-and-child facilities, and an enlarged storage area. The project will re-organise the busy carpark, with a safer marked pedestrian pathway, clear sightlines and disabled car spaces near both halls. 17. The addition of sound-mitigation material will greatly improve the awful acoustics in the large hall. This will benefit hall users of all ages, in particular the significant proportion of people who have a hearing disability and some autistic children. In summary, Stage Two will convert the original 1937 hall into an attractive, energy efficient and flexible 21st century community facility. Project Funding 18. Project Funding Requirement - Table One. Item Amount Notes Stage Two build £233,143 Selected from 4 bids on recommendation of QS Includes £12,000 margin Professional fees £15,200 Architect, Quantity Surveyor, Project Manager and consultant fees Building Controls £2,000 Based on Stage 1 Removal of four trees £1,500 Preliminary. Provision Temporary insurance £1,200 Based on Stage 1 Celebration for villagers £800 Provision and promotion for new facilities Permanent benefactors £800 Provision display panel Acoustics £11,600 4 quotes PA system £6,000 3 quotes Flooring £17,000 3 quotes. Could take lower quality if nec Total £289,343 ALL PRICES INCLUDE VAT 19. Project Funding Plan - Table Two. 3 Source Amount Amount Notes to date WVH funds left £40,339 £40,339 SECURED from Stage 1 and donated since WVH Financial £15,000 £15,000 SECURED Transferred to Wye Centre reserve Nov 2017. Individual pledges £11,250 £11,250 SECURED Incl Gift Aid. More to come? Sect 106 £6,000 £6,000 SECURED by Ashford BC when small local building development complete Apr 2018 Our own £5,000 £5,000 SECURED, based on experience. Quiz fundraising Night, Magic Evening, and other smaller (ongoing) fund-raising ones. WPC grant from £100,000 WPC has voted and agreed in principle PWLB loan to apply for a PWLB loan, subject to community support. Kent County £50,000 Successful bid for £50,000 for Stage 1. Council Village Outcome depends on number of Hall grant competing bids. Decision Mar 2018 Ashford Borough £10,000 Bid pending. Decision Apr 2018 Council Awards for All LEADER Rural £45,000 Pre-application accepted. Bid to be Development considered Mar 2018. Decision Apr 2018 BIFFA £10,000 Landfill. Bid Mar 2018. Result uncertain Bids to 10 £10,000 Estimate. Some Trusts gave to Stage charitable Trusts 1*. who normally give Bids outstanding to: de Haan*, Sunley, £1,000 - £5,000 (if Garfield Weston at all). £3,000 Recent from Cantiacorum Foundation Total £302,649 £80,649 Total success here exceeds the sum required. However, the big unknowns are the KCC bid (where we have previous success); and the LEADER bid. This picture will be much clearer by Apr 2018. Current shortfall £208,694 Before WPC grant From £289,343 (Total Table 1) 20. Plan B. WVH is conscious that it may have to ‘value engineer’ the project. This approach was necessary on Stage 1, when WVH deferred one store room (the Green Room) until Stage Two, saving £35,000 from the builder’s quote, as it could not be built while retaining a prudent margin of safety. Plan B shows the Green Room carried forward as a dispensable 4 element in Stage Two if necessary. Alternatively, some attractive items such as the acoustic improvement or new flooring could be deferred until funds become available, but also at a negative impact to the project.