Funding challenge easing for new cricket facility

THOUGH they’ve worked hard to raise thousands of pounds towards building a brand new Club house that could benefit the whole community, Thame Town Cricket Club is hoping that the town council will provide some of the extra money needed to get the project started.

The project could need up to £200,000 more to be completed but with further cost savings already planned by making changes to the original specification, and further funding opportunities on the horizon, the underwriting of the project by Thame Town Council could see work begin within six weeks. Failure to do so would mean the loss of one promised funding stream with a date limit.

The hike in the estimated cost of the project, from £800,000 to up to £1.4 million, is mainly due to extra features such as a lift, a disabled toilet and additional features to make the the first floor suitable for community use, and an extra £90,000 for the foundations needed following a ‘geotech’ investigation.

Responding to concerns about any future increase in costs arising, expressed by Cllr Paul Cowell at Tuesday’s meeting of the council’s Community, Leisure and Recreation committee (CLR), Town Clerk Graham Hunt said that, although up to now the pricing had been a ‘moveable feast’, the eventual contractor would be tied to a cost, including a bit for contingencies to cover any ‘creep’.

After much discussion the CLR committee voted to recommend to the Full Council that it goes ahead and underwrites any remaining costs necessary to see the project underway.

The Full Council meeting is on November 14, 2017.