Grants will cover over half of tourist centre’s £282,000 cost
Following Monday's story confirming that the toilets had finally reopened following the work that had taken the best part of 18 months to complete, Deputy Mayor Cllr David France provided the latest project figures upon our request.
And while the £282,366 total cost will leave many aghast, he pointed out that more than half of the bill will be covered by grants.
Of the total cost, £150,878 will be covered by grant money from several sources, meaning that the Town Council has coughed up £131,488. The initial Town Council budget was £125,000, so it means an overspend to them of £6,488, which is around 5%.
The drawn-out project has been a thorn in the council’s side over the past year with arguments over the budget and timeline for delivery commonplace in the chamber.
The Town Council initially called for the work to be done so that they could move their offices from Triangle House, representing an annual saving in not paying rent, and also to put in place more welcoming toilets, including a much-needed Changing Places facility for the disabled.
The equipment for the latter came free of charge from the Church in Wales St Asaph Diocese, owners of the former Castle Caereinion Primary School building, which closed its doors last year, who donated the equipment to the Town Council for installation.
The toilets are now operational, with bi-lingual signage being the final job to be completed. There will also be some additional work to the roof costing £3,600 which will enable the council to apply for grants to install solar panels.
Councillors are scheduled to receive an update on all current grant applications at tonight’s full Town Council meeting taking place from 7.15pm.
C in W St Asaph Diocese who own the Castle Caereinion school building
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