Archived press release

Date Published: 22/04/08

The new theatre in Aylesbury

Aylesbury Vale District Council has agreed that major schemes which provide new facilities and new jobs in Aylesbury town centre, together with affordable housing across the district, will be given priority in its capital programme.

The council expects to have available £110.9 million for investment in capital projects over the years to 2020. The council maintains a forward looking programme of projects which is subject to regular review as part of the process for careful management of its capital funds.

The council has in the past been able to deliver a wide range of projects, including swimming pools, car parks, community facilities, social housing, employment premises and town centre improvements, and this will continue.

This year a longer term view of the capital programme has been taken and the revised programme now runs from 2008/2009 to 2019/2020. The total capital it is likely to have available over that period is projected to be £110.9 million.

Projects planned for early delivery are:
• The new theatre and multi entertainment centre in Exchange Street, Aylesbury
• The expansion of the retail facilities in Aylesbury town centre, working in partnership with Warner Estates Ltd
• Enabling more housing association homes for rent and shared ownership to be built throughout the district

All feature prominently in the council’s new corporate plan which, based on residents’ feedback, sets out its priorities for the next three years.

Other projects across the district also given the green light include:
• The roll-out of the green waste programme and associated purchase of vehicles
• Improvement works to parks across the Vale
• An extension to Wendover car park
• CCTV improvements

The estimated cost of the new theatre is expected to be £41.9 million. This figure has increased from £28 million. Explaining the increase, Councillor John Cartwright, Leader of the Council, said: “We have always been totally committed to providing a high quality theatre with a design which we can all be proud of. Since work started on the theatre, material costs have risen and this is a challenge faced by any major construction project. However, we have worked hard to keep costs down whilst maintaining the integrity of the building. We believe we have set a realistic budget and people will not be disappointed with the end result.”

As part of the review of the capital programme, the council also had to take into account the revised financial proposals based on the exciting new Waterside retail plans. Confidential negotiations with Warner Estates Ltd are close to completion and an announcement is expected shortly which will include details of some of the occupants in the new scheme. Debenhams arrival has already been announced.

Working with housing associations to provide rented and shared ownership homes also plays a significant part of the capital programme. £46.4 million of planned expenditure over the next ten years has been built into the programme. The council’s funding supplements the grant which the Housing Corporation provides to our partner housing associations.

Councillor Michael Edmonds, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Economic Development, explained: “Providing affordable housing is a crucial issue in Aylesbury Vale and our funding is essential to enable housing associations to work with developers on schemes, to bring them to the planning application stage. When they reach this stage, the housing associations can then apply for Housing Corporation funding to enable the schemes to be built and occupied. Taking into account all the funding available, with our partners we plan to complete 325 - 350 properties each year for the next three years.”

The increased costs associated with some projects mean that some previously identified schemes will be deferred or will not go ahead. In reviewing which projects would be affected, the council looked in particular at those projects where contractual commitments had not yet been made and schemes which could possibly be financed through other funding opportunities.

The council’s plan is still to provide a single office site at The Gateway but this has now been reviewed and revised. This means that for the immediate future the council’s offices at 66 High Street and Friars Square will stay open. Other options are being investigated to ensure the most economic and efficient solution whilst still maintaining a town centre presence to preserve customer needs.

At this stage, only a council chamber and conference centre will be built at The Gateway to host council and other meetings, most of which are open to the public. The building could be hired by other people when not in council use.

Where projects which were previously registered are affected by the review the council has tried where possible to ensure alternative funding sources can be accessed to maintain some activity on those items. This includes using capital grant funding from the government, working in partnership with other organisations and using revenue rather than capital to pay for things. One such example is the council’s capital grants scheme which has over the years provided matching funding for many community schemes. The capital budget has had to be taken out of the programme but this was in recognition of the existence of the Community Chest fund and the councils revenue grants scheme, both of which provide similar support to district based organisations.

Councillor Margaret Morgan-Owen, Cabinet Member for Resources, commented: “Reviewing the capital programme has been a tough challenge given there is so much we would like to do across the Vale and it’s important that we take a long term view. Changes in the way we are allowed to use our capital funds have made the task particularly difficult and we have to accept that it is not financially possible to do every project we would like to over the future years. However, our decision to defer the building of a single office site for the council has ensured the capacity to deliver many of the schemes where there is more direct benefit to the local community. There may still be scope for other projects to be considered where business cases are currently being developed, for example improvements to Aqua Vale and the Swan Pool.”