29 July 2022
Media claims that the new North Powys Bulking Facility in Powys has cost an additional £140,000 to build are inaccurate and misleading, Powys County Council has said.
The claims followed a meeting of Powys County Council’s Cabinet on Tuesday (July 26) when additional funding was agreed to develop two new business units on the Abermule Business Park, near Newtown.
Construction costs for the new business units, particularly steel and concrete, have risen sharply during the procurement and construction phase and the Cabinet agreed an additional £140,000 towards the construction costs.
News of the funding was confirmed as part of a planned update on the council’s £133.8m capital programme for 2022/23.
In a report to the Cabinet, Councillor David Thomas, Cabinet Member for Finance and Corporate Transformation said; “During the procurement and construction periods of the Abermule Business Park, there have been significant material and resource price increases, especially steelwork and concrete, which are a significant element of the project, and these have impacted on the original scheme budget.
“Value engineering has been undertaken to minimise the effect of the cost increases, however, this has not fully mitigated the impact. The additional budget of £140k will assist in contributing towards these increases.”
Work on the North Powys Bulking Facility, which is on the same Abermule Business Park, was completed in 2021 and has not been affected by the recent increase in construction material prices.
“Claims that an extra £140k was needed for the purpose-built bulking facility are wholly inaccurate and totally misleading.”
