Council to borrow £3m to complete theatre work

Arun District Council’s planning committee approved an additional £3m to be added to the project budget

Arun District Council is set to borrow a further £3m to cover the costs of the Alexandra Theatre regeneration.

The initial budget for the project was £15,780,000 mostly funded by a £12.1m central government levelling up fund (LUF) grant and a £3m contribution from the council.

The council’s planning committee approved an additional £3m to be added to the project's budget.

Around £1m of the funds is to account for additional project costs and £2m as contingency money due to instability in the construction sector.

'Not an ideal situation'

The £2m contingency money will remain under direct control of the council rather than in the construction contract, which the council says will give it an "added layer of budgetary control".

Money is likely to be funded through borrowing and could see the council pay £175,000 in financing costs a year on top of the £3m.

The report said the alternative to not approving the funds was to discontinue the project and take on the costs of paying back the LUF grant to the government and any fees incurred as a result.

Leader of the Council Martin Lury told the Local Democracy Reporting Service it was "not an ideal situation" to be in and that he was "frustrated" by the increase.