£1.4m extra is needed
New bill for Ravenscraig civic site
Councillors were told this week that the bill for a new civic greenspace at Ravenscraig had shot up by £1.4 million.
The estimated cost of the project is now £4 million, following investigations that revealed more needs to be done “to provide stable and sound ground conditions”.
And a report that went before North Lanarkshire councillors yesterday (Wednesday) stated that “a considerable degree of work” is required to “address the substantial amount of existing structures and large voids below ground”.
Members of the Enterprise and Housing Committee were told: “Whilst the investigations have not identified significant unforeseen contamination, they have identified a considerable degree of work required to address the substantial amount of existing structures and large voids below ground.
“This work, being greater than anticipated, is to break out some structures and to appropriately fill voids and is required to provide stable and sound ground conditions upon which to develop the park and to create the conditions for a sustainable natural environment.
“The council is working to mitigate and limit cost increases and is identifying sources of suitable soil or other safe material within North Lanarkshire or other close areas, that may be available at low cost and that can be used in the ground works.”
The report added: “Alongside this, and in view of the significant proposed forthcoming investment by the council under various programmes in new schools, housing and infrastructure, the council is keen to ensure that it can deliver an appropriately highquality park that: complements these investments; acts to increase and accelerate developer interest; and provides a critical element of the community infrastructure for those already making Ravenscraig and the surrounding areas their home.
“The impact of these is to increase the estimated project costs to £4 million, excluding land, and the council estimates the shortfall in current budget and funding, which to date has been made available solely through existing Vacant & Derelict Land Fund allocations, to be in the order of £1.4 million.”
In the first instance, the council proposes to meet the shortfall through external funding and is in ongoing discussions with Scottish Natural Heritage and intends to make an application for £1.4 million funding under the forthcoming Green Infrastructure Fund.
And the report goes on: “In the event that the application to the Green Infrastructure Fund is unsuccessful, and other external funding cannot be secured through, for example, the next round of the Scottish Government’s VDLF Programme, the service will seek approval from the Strategic Capital Delivery Group for the shortfall to be met through the council’s Capital Programme and specifically as part of the Ambition Programme.”
It adds: “It is envisaged that the maintenance of this asset will have some ongoing revenue implications which will need to be met through NLC revenue budget.”