Marina centre - costs soar

THE future of a community centre, which will serve thousands of residents at Portishead's new marina development, is under threat - after the estimated costs of the scheme have more than doubled.Portishead and North Weston Town Council had earmarked £160,000 towards the building of a new community centre above the new Trinity Primary School planned for The Village Quarter at the new Ashlands development.But now it has been revealed that the costs for the new centre have spiralled to £375,000.The increase has been blamed on extra groundwork needed for the building, the fact that the school is bigger than initially thought and the need to install a sprinkler system in the community centre.Portishead councillor Arthur Terry said: "Initially we were led to believe that £160,000 would cover the costs of the building."Since the architects have had another look at it, the groundworks required for the build have increased and the costs escalated."There is a need to install a sprinkler in the hall, which is a requirement by North Somerset Council."This increase in costs clearly puts the project in doubt."It is hoped work on the new school, which will have hall, library, ICT suite, kitchen and office and administration area, will get underway next Spring. Councillors said they were keen to see a new centre over the school, but the costs had to be controlled.Cllr Terry added: "What the town council has to decide is whether it feels it can allocate more funds to the project."It also has to look at whether it can legally fund a building which will be used for education purposes."A new community centre in this area, which has lots of new homes and not many facilities, is desperately needed as a place where the local residents can meet."Whether we can go ahead with our plans is a difficult decision we will now have to face."School bosses agreed to come back to the town council with more detailed costs.The matter will be discussed again at a full council meeting on December 6.