£1m '˜essential' works programme for council buildings

A number of properties including leisure centres, community centres and libraries are due to have thousands spent on them over the next two years.

Hartlepool Borough Council’s Finance and Policy Committee approved a programme of works totalling £517,000 in the coming financial year.

And approval in principle was granted for another £424,000 or works in 2019-20.

Just over £130,000 has been allocated in 2018-19 for works to Mill House Leisure Centre which are deemed essential.

They include mechanical and electrical improvements to lighting and the pool pumps.

The Town Hall Theatre, in Raby Road, has been earmarked £99,000 for essential upgrades of fire alarms, power cabling and new boiler works.

Urgent lighting upgrades totalling £66,000 are said to be needed at a council depot on the Tofts Farm industrial estate

A report of Denise Ogden, the council’s director of regeneration and neighbourhoods, stated: “The proposals in relation to the Capital Building Maintenance Fund commits £941,000 of the available funding to enable services to be provided from corporate buildings while reducing the risk of service disruption due to fabric and building serves failures and health and safety issues etc.

“The risk of large scale failures of building elements will increase significantly without investment being made in the council’s property portfolio to deal with the aforementioned condition issues.”

Lifts are set to be replaced in the civic centre at a cost of £120,000 and £100,000 is earmarked to carry out works as a result of fire risk assessments in council properties and schools.

The programme for 2019-20 includes essential work to the roof of Owton Manor Community Centre, another £91,000 on Mill House Leisure Centre and £9,000 for fire alarms at Seaton Carew Library.

Councillors also approved £50,000 towards the following works; Hartlepool Enterprise Centre windows (£33,000), Carnegie Building boiler replacement (£11,000) and Sir William Gray House toilet and kitchen refurbishment (£6,000).

Approval was also give for roof and window replacements at Rossmere Youth Centre which were put on hold from the 2015-16 programme but are now said to be urgent.

The council says the costs of the various works are estimates and may vary after detailed designs are prepared.

The report added: “This may result in the scope of work being adjusted for an individual scheme or a scheme being removed from the programme.”