Bridgend Council has approved a request for extra capital funding to be released for the renovation of Porthcawl’s Grand Pavilion (pdf).
£4million (before Land Transaction Tax) is expected to come from an Owners Agreement with the Welsh Government, whereby both BCBC and the Welsh Government will have joint title over land at Sandy Bay and Coney Beach (previously owned by the Evans family). The terms of the agreement mean that funding can be used towards any regeneration project in Porthcawl.
Fit-out works “will cost £2.9million”
As of November 2024, there were two work packages put out to tender for the Grand Pavilion project subject to a price cap.
The first package – worth £16.8million – is related to the building’s structure/watertightness and services. The second package – worth just over £ 3.5 million – would be for work to ensure the Pavilion complies with building regulations. A tender bid has been successful and come in under the price cap, but was subject to funding from the Owners Agreement being made available.
Also, further contracts worth just over £2.9million will be needed to fit out the Pavilion. Any money not spent from the first two packages will carry over to help fund this, though BCBC is working to secure grants from the Heritage Lottery Fund, Awen Cultural Trust, Arts Council for Wales and others to help cover these costs.
If this funding can’t be secured, there’s a chance that parts of the Pavilion (the rooftop areas and dance studios are mentioned in the report) would need to remain closed, with priority given to re-opening the auditorium, reception and toilets first.
Work expected to be completed by Spring 2027
Officers warned that if the council didn’t approve the extra capital funding the project would be “at risk of failing”, as the tender contract couldn’t go forward and the UK Government’s Levelling Up Funding could be lost. BCBC would potentially face having to repay the UK Government the £1.3million they’ve spent to date. The Pavilion “would be left empty and unusable”.
During the meeting, the Council were told that the initial preparation/strip-out work had finished. Having learnt lessons from the Maesteg Town Hall project, this work has revealed issues (with the bedrock) that would’ve caused problems later on if not picked up now.
Work on the renovation proper is due to start in May. Fortunately for BCBC, the UK Government is set to extend the deadline to use Levelling Up Funding (which is providing the bulk of financing for the project) until 2028. The previous deadline was March 2026.
There’s now an expectation that the renovation will be completed in Spring 2027.
