Bowling Pavilion Project Archive
Bowling Pavilion Project Archive
Why do we need to change the pavilion?
The reality is that the Todmorden Bowls Association continues to face increasing charges from Calderdale MBC for use of the four crown green and the pavilion and financially this could be unsustainable for the future.
With the Tennis Club wishing to base themselves also at Centre Vale Park once existing courts are improved and a fourth one added, this now presents an opportunity for both clubs to use the pavilion. By increasing its size and functionality this will enable more ancillary income generating use to be gained.
What is the proposal under the Town Deals Fund?
At this initial stage, two schemes have been considered and priced for the purposes of the Business Case submission.
Whilst a drawing of the lower priced version is detailed below, this will not be the final version submitted for planning approval and asset transfer.
Further consultation will be carried out with the Tennis Club ,Bowling Association and Friends of Centre Vale Park before a final version is agreed upon and submitted for planning approval.
The intention is also to provide some form of external seating area to enable a cafe/kiosk type of operation to be delivered, thereby encouraging further visitor use in this area of the park.
Is this fully funded under Town Deal?
No. As with all of the Centre Vale Park Projects under the Town Deal there is a gap in funding.
The projected cost for extending the pavilion is c £646k of which £351k has initially allocated towards this from the Town Deal Fund leaving a shortfall of c£100k to be found from other sources.
The reality is that this scheme is likely to be reduced in size should other schemes not attract additional funding.
What else will the project involve?
As with all of the Centre Vale Park Projects it is not just about delivering an element of physical new construction and or renovation , but how it will be sustained in the future, how it will be managed and what outputs are expected to be delivered that will benefit Todmorden residents.
The Todmorden Bowling Association already delivers an active programme of activity with regular use but has ambitions to increase use and membership further and to position the unique four crown greens together in one area to be able to attract regional and international competitions.
The Tennis Club will also seek to introduce further use into the pavilion as its own casual and competition playing focus increases and tennis coaching schemes become established.
What else will the project involve?
As with all of the Centre Vale Park Projects it is not just about delivering an element of physical new construction and or renovation , but how it will be sustained in the future, how it will be managed and what outputs are expected to be delivered that will benefit Todmorden residents.
The Todmorden Bowling Association already delivers an active programme of activity with regular use but has ambitions to increase use and membership further and to position the unique four crown greens together in one area to be able to attract regional and international competitions.
The Tennis Club will also seek to introduce further use into the pavilion as its own casual and competition playing focus increases and tennis coaching schemes become established.
Who will own the Bowling Pavilion once it has been restored/extended?
Todmorden Town Council has agreed “in principle” to assume ownership on completion of building works where it is anticipated that a 25 year lease will granted from Calderdale MBC by way of Community Asset Transfer.
By agreeing to do this Todmorden Town Council is seeking to support both the Tennis Club and Todmorden Bowls Association by taking on the legal responsibility of building ownership.
Who will manage the Bowling Pavilion and all of its activities?
The Town Council in offering its support by way of delivering the construction nature of this project, and on completion, property ownership, but is looking to the Bowls Association to jointly manage the operational and financially delivery and be responsible for the day-to-day management of the Pavilion.
Who will manage the Bowling Pavilion and all of its activities?
The Town Council in offering its support by way of delivering the construction nature of this project, and on completion, property ownership, but is looking to the Bowls Association to jointly manage the operational and financially delivery and be responsible for the day-to-day management of the Pavilion.
Will Todmorden Town Council help to meet the Pavilion’s running costs?
Initially pending the group getting up and running and generating further income from use of the Pavilion ,Todmorden Town Council will provide some revenue support.
The intention is for the group to become financially self-sufficient as soon as possible and through a Management agreement a recharge arrangement put in place to reimburse Todmorden Town Council for such building related expenditure.
Why will Todmorden Town Council not run the Pavilion and Bowling Greens?
Todmorden Town Council does not run services direct that are usually provided by Calderdale MBC unless can done so at minimum risk and cost e.g the Wheelspark
It does not have expertise to do so and the cost of employing this resource and additional administration cost, plus providing cover within a small team would be substantial and require funding through an increase in taxpayers Precept charge.
In this instance Todmorden Town Council is acting as the bridge between Calderdale MBC and the community and users of the Bowling Greens and Pavilion This “private and or community” sector bid was made for funding on the basis of voluntary ongoing management arrangements and the role of Todmorden Town Council is to try to make this all happen and then handover day to day responsibility.
The same approach will apply to all of the Centre Vale Project Groups in that Todmorden Town Council will only act in this facilitating and enabling role, not post construction delivery of services.
When will grant applications be made?
Todmorden Town Council has agreed to act as the grant applicant for this project.
Grant funders often apply specific conditions some of which could be that certain permissions must be in place already, formal designs completed, land already owned and other matched funding in place. Others are less restrictive.
Each Grant application will need to be considered on its qualifying criteria at the time of submission.
In this instance it is likely that any formal grant application will need to be made once a revised reduced cost scheme has been decided upon and possibly when proceeded at risk to obtain formal planning approval.
When What are the next stages for the Bowling Pavilion project?
Approval of the Overall Business Case for Centre Vale Park Projects will trigger the formal next steps and start to determine the extent of Town Deals Funding available for this project.
Pending approval there are key areas to be progressed apart from seeking grant funding and they relate to:
Agreement with Calderdale MBC of lease terms for Community Asset Transfer
Understanding the need or not to obtain /Environment Agency agreement.
Seek Deed of Covenant approval from Environment agency
Obtain Fields in Trust “In Principle” approval
Formalising Management Agreements to take on operational and financial responsibility.
One of the major grant opportunities identified for funding of up to £100k requires the project to be “shovel ready” with all permissions in place.
Without funding agreed there is risk in taking the project to this stage given further costs that will be involved.
Timing will depend upon when the Business Case approval from Government is received but it is anticipated to commission these works by the end of January 2023 at the latest with then further grant funding sought once Planning Permission and all other permissions/agreements are in place.
When would construction start?
We need to be realistic that just grant applications on their own can take several months to be processed and approved and even applied for only at certain times of the year. Whilst we are aiming to have grant support by March 2023 there are no guarantees on this.
Other permissions will also take time to be obtained and hence why we are starting on several of these already ahead of the formal Business Case approval.
In terms of construction the ambition is to be in a position to start construction by Feb 2024.To do so we will need to be in a position to issue tenders for potential contractors to respond to by Sept/Oct 2023.
Is there a group in place to take this forward once the Bowling Pavilion has been restored?
We are fortunate that both the Tennis Club and the Todmorden Bowls Association have been established for over a 100 years and have both an active existing membership and plans to grow such membership.
What are the project timelines ?
These are all subject to funding availability and permissions where and as require but the Outline Project Plan is as detailed below:
