Sums don’t add up on demolition
They stand there like three giant tombstones . . . on the Death Row that used be Ayr’s busy Riverside Place.
Locked inside metal fencing, they’ve been stripped of the trees that once surrounded them just as surely as they have been stripped of their dignity.
The executioner – in the form of a company called Central Demolition – await their final instructions to put them to death. Like any prisoner staring out at the gallows – their only hope is a last minute pardon and reprieve.
Saving these contentious tower blocks was part of my local council election manifesto. It was part of the Conservative manifesto as well – one of the reasons I voted to support their bid to lead South Ayrshire’s administration.
Well, we now have a Conservative administration in power.
Whether they have the mindset – and the political muscle – to fufil their manifesto pledge will unfold over the next few weeks.
The administration might have changed but, essentially, the argument over refurbishing – or razing – the Riverside Place flats remains the same.
For me, this is not so much a matter of rocket science . . . it’s pocket science.
Get your mobile phone out, press the calculator app . . . and do the sums for yourself.
Operation Demolition will start at around £3 million. With last week’s news that asbestos is present in many forms – a safe, regulated destruction and returning the tower block footprints to grassland probably won’t see much change out of £5 million.
The 220 Riverside Place flats are to be replaced with 90 new builds – at a cost that is likely to be at least £20 million. Your calculator should tell you that 90 flats at a total cost of £25 million is £277,777 per flat.
Operation Refurb would save the £3 million on demolition but still incur the costs of stripping out the asbestos – I’m allocating a generous £2 million for that alone.
After that work is completed – the flats won’t be winning any interior design awards . . . but they will be safe. And they’ll also be capable of internal adaptation to suit differing circumstances – larger families, those with special social care needs and those with disabilities.
So, how much will it cost to refurbish each flat? I’m not in the construction business – but I know the price of brick and a bog seat!
So let’s have a semi-educated stab here . . .
New windows - £10,000 per flat New kitchen - £15,000 ““
New bathroom £5000 ““Rewiring - £3000 ““
Energy efficient heating - £5000 Plasterwork and painting £3000 Flooring - £3000
Er . .. other stuff that I haven’t actually thought about - £6000. That gives you a total of £50,000 per flat. Yes, I hear you already. “That’s crazy stuff Shields! There will be hidden costs, roofing work etc, penalty fees for cancelling the demolition for example. Your £50,000 per flat will end up averaging double that!”
Ok pal - I said I heard you already. So . . . let’s double it to £100,000 per flat. Happy now?
It’s calculator time again. That’s £2 million for asbestos clearance - and re-modelling 220 flats at £100,000 each. Mmmm . . let’s get to the interesting bit here . .
Operation Demolish – 90 new flats at a cost of £25 million. Rental income approx £432,000 million per year Operation Refurb – 220 new flats at a cost of £24 million. Rental income approx £1.1 million per year
Well, I did base my election campaign on “common sense”!
Two words I’ve quickly learned in my brief foray into local government is “best value”. It’s what every local authority is required – by law – to deliver. On that basis alone, the argument for a reprieve for the High Flats – or at worst a stay of execution pending an exhaustive financial investigation – is irresistible.
Yes, I’m a layman whose figures might be pie in the sky. And there will be those out there who say the high flats are out of date, tower block living is a thing of past and that their lifespan will be too limited for such an investment.
I say – bring on the debate.
The common sense here is to strip out all the asbestos and anything else untoward inside the flats.
That work has to be done anyway – no matter what the future is for the flats.
They certainly can’t be pecked to death like Ayr’s Burns House – releasing asbestos into the atmosphere. The next official step is an Asbestos Report – detailing how much of the stuff is in there . . . and where. That report is due any day now.
After that, SAC will receive an Asbestos Management Report – which will detail the plan, and costs, of safely removing it.
And after that, South Ayrshire’s elected councillors should sit in a room - with “Best Value” stamped on their foreheads – throw party interests aside and decide what is the best, long term outcome for South Ayrshire and it’s growing housing waiting list.