Wednesday’s meeting of Bradley Stoke Town Council’s (BSTC’s) Finance & Leisure Committee was told that the cost of the new Jubilee Green play park is likely to be £50k more than had been originally estimated.
The March meeting of Full Council had been told that tenders for the project would be opened on 3rd April and that work should start within three weeks of that date. The work was expected to take about five weeks, meaning that it could be completed a couple of weeks before the Community Festival in mid-June, the main part of which takes place on the Jubilee Green.
The cost of the scheme had been estimated at £110k, with £55k coming from a grant made by the Big Lottery Fund to South Gloucestershire Council’s (SGC’s) Beacon Play Park programme.
Town Clerk David Chandler told Wednesday’s F&L meeting that the lowest of the five tenders received is £160k, meaning that an extra £50k must be found if the original specification is to be retained.
Mr Chandler said he had been given “provisional assurances” that SGC can fund the shortfall, although he stressed that there has been no official confirmation of this. He added that there might be scope for “shaving a bit off the estimate”.
The three SGC Councillors present at Wednesday’s meeting were tasked with taking up the matter with SGC officials.
The Town Clerk expressed concern that the funding difficulties could delay the project, meaning that the play park might not be ready in time for June’s Community Festival.
The Journal Comments
Neighbours of the Jubilee Green who fear that the new play park will attract vandalism and anti-social behaviour in the evening are likely to be surprised at how easily SGC has been able to find extra funding.
Their request that the park be secured by a high fence, so that it could be closed at night, was rejected by SGC officials on the grounds that no further funds were available.
