Bridgend Council will be updated on the council’s capital spending programme this week (pdf), with signs that several projects are not proceeding as quickly as originally planned.
Projects with a total value of £7.2million have fallen behind schedule, including:
- Arbed home insulation remedial work, Caerau – The council is awaiting funding confirmation from the Welsh Government, which is taking longer than expected. The work is now not expected to start until the 2023-24 financial year (April 2023 at the earliest).
- Sunnyside Wellness Village, Bridgend – Following the insolvency of the previous contractor WRW, the project is back at the procurement stage. Attempts to find an alternative contractor earlier this year via a tendering process have failed, so Linc housing association is set to speak directly to a contractor. A new contractor is expected to be appointed by the end of 2022 with work recommencing on-site in January 2023. The housing element of the scheme is now not expected to be ready for handover until mid-2024 at the earliest.
- Free school meals for primary pupils – “Procurement issues” have seen necessary work at some schools to enable them to provide universal free meals slip back. A contractor has been appointed and this work is set to start during the autumn half-term.
- Bridgend town centre district heat scheme – A contractor has been appointed, but the timetable for work to start has slipped back into 2023-24.
- Community Asset Transfers – The timing of the asset transfer is “hard to predict” but £528,000 worth of projects has slipped back into 2023-24.
It’s not all doom and gloom and there’s been some extra capital funding pumped into some schemes.
This includes £930,000 towards additional learning needs adaptations for post-16 learners; £720,000 towards an upgraded Flower Court at Coychurch Crematorium and an extra £395,000 towards the (itself significantly behind schedule) Maesteg Town Hall project.
