Revamp of Bexhill Town Hall budgeted at £15million is 'effectively stalled'

Speaking at a full council meeting on Monday (December 19), council leader Doug Oliver said that the Town Hall Renaissance Project and other capital projects had ‘effectively been stalled’ as a result of financial uncertainty.

The project, which Cllr Oliver confirmed had cost £730,117 to date, was for the redevelopment of the council-owned town hall site in Bexhill — plans which included the construction of a new civic centre.

Cllr Oliver had been responding to a question from Conservative councillor Tony Ganly. He had asked the council leader whether officers had been instructed to submit a new planning application after previous proposals were voted down in October.

Cllr Oliver said: “All I would say is that all capital projects have effectively been stalled because of the current situation with overall finances going forward.

“So, at this moment in time, the matter is with officers in order to identify where we go from here. The answer is no.”

The council had previously said the scheme was expected to cost around £15m to complete, which it would have had to fund through borrowing.

However, the council also said the project would have been self-financing, with both savings from energy bills and new income from office space rental.

The core proposals had been before the council’s planning committee in October, but were narrowly-refused as a result of design concerns. These concerns were particularly around the height and bulk of the new civic centre.

Unveiling the proposals earlier in 2022, the council said: “The refurbishment to the town hall will be light touch, maintaining its historic beauty whilst enhancing its overall energy performance. The civic centre extension to the town hall will have space for new business tenants, public café, efficient meeting areas and improved pedestrian access.”

But when an application was discussed by councillors in October concerns were raised about the building’s height, the materials to be used during its construction and the reduced number of parking spaces to be provided compared to the existing site.