Decision details

Demolition of Liscard Municipal Building and Community Centre, Seaview Road, Liscard

Decision Maker: Director of Regeneration and Place

Decision status: Recommendations Approved

Is Key decision?: No

Is subject to call in?: No

Decision:

The Director of Regeneration and Place has approved that a direct award is made to J. Freeley Limited (Company Number 01719179) via Lot 1 of the Procure Partnerships Framework to undertake the demolition and site clearance of Liscard Municipal Building and Community Centre for a contract value of £492,963.27 and for a contract period of 18 weeks.

Reasons for the decision:

The disused Liscard Municipal Building and Community Centre, have been boarded up for many years and attracts regular vandalism at a cost to the Council. The Municipal buildings form part of the wider redevelopment opportunity for the Seaview Road Car Park in Liscard, which is allocated for housing under Policy RA 9 in the Council’s Local Plan and is a key priority of the Liscard Regeneration Framework.
This decision supports the regeneration of Liscard and provides a unique opportunity to provide quality housing in a significant area within the Liscard district. The scheme fits the targets of the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) and has enabled the council to bid for Brownfield land release funding, which in turn will support the delivery of new housing.

To support the redevelopment of the Seaview Road Car Park site and the regeneration of Liscard the Council has secured £10,788,000 from the DLUHC Levelling Up Fund Round 3 against a total programme of £12,043,000. The Council has approved £1,255,000 match funding via the Councils Capital Programme.

The costs for the demolition of the Municipal buildings were excluded from
the DLUHC Levelling Up Fund bid as Full Council approved the £250,000 required for the demolition of these buildings under the Councils Capital Programme Health and Safety Capital Code (Conditions Surveys) for demolition works budget. If the value of the works exceeds £250,000 the DLUHC Levelling Up Fund Round 3 budget could be drawn down to fund any additional costs.

Alternative options considered:

The retention of the Municipal buildings as office accommodation has been excluded as the costs to refurbish the buildings to current standards is excessive as the buildings have fallen into disrepair. There are significant ongoing repair and maintenance costs in addition to building check costs which will continually increase, and it is therefore not in the best interests of the Council to retain these buildings.

Publication date: 27/01/2025

Date of decision: 27/01/2025