Gov needs new cash source for rejected £3.1m sports centre upgrade

Thursday 11 November 2021

The Government is having to rethink funding plans for its £3.1m Oakfield Sports Centre refurbishment, after planning permission was refused.

Updated plans are expected to be submitted to to the Planning Committee within the next fortnight, and if passed, will see the project go through with a “few months” of delay.

Appearing before a panel of politicians tasked with reviewing Government Plan projects, Infrastructure, Housing and Environment (IHE) Director General Andy Scate said: "I'm pleased to report to the panel that further work has been done on the Oakfield proposal, the team have reverted back to planning to see what the art of the possible is.

"So there are revisions being made to the scheme that was refused in an attempt to resubmit to seek an approval.

"So Plan A has become Plan B at the same site, in the sense that we are confident we would still progress with an Oakfields solution for that decant, albeit with a few months' delay now because we're going to need to go back into planning, but we are hoping to resubmit that planning application within the next fortnight."

Pictured: IHE Director General Andy Scate said that IHE may have to look at "capital funds or capital underspends elsewhere within IHE" if they cannot get an extension on the Fiscal Stimulus funding.

The Oakfield redevelopment project, refused by the Planning Committee in October and blasted as being "cheap" and "temporary-looking", was earmarked for the highest grant from the Government's Fiscal Stimulus Fund, it was admitted by Mr Scate that the delays may mean they also need to go back to the drawing board on that front.

"I think it is fair to say we've got to look at the funding matrix applying to the Oakfield campus," he said.

"So Fiscal Stimulus was paying for some of it, and there were other budgets available funding other parts of the project. So some of the Fiscal Stimulus will still be used, but some of it is now subject to a conversation we need to have with Treasury.

"Either it's a formal request to extend the timeline on that fiscal stimulus which is still open to us to request, or indeed we're going to need to look at other forms of capital funds or capital underspends elsewhere within IHE."

Pictured: Oakfield was to rehouse Fort Regent sports clubs once they decanted from the building.

The original application was one of the first steps in the Government's £100m 'Inspiring Active Places Strategy' to build three new sports hubs, an Island Stadium, and refurbish a number of old facilities across the island.

Oakfield was touted as a home for netball, gymnastics and martial arts - a new football pitch has been put forward too, but is subject to a separate planning application.

The site had also been selected as an alternative facility for the sports clubs currently accommodated at Fort Regent.

READ MORE...

Government goes back to the drawing board with £3m Oakfield plans