Purpose

On 7 May 2025, the Council’s Executive
agreed to progress the Horley Community Centre Modernisation
Project. A delegated decision was given to the Head of Community
Partnerships in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for
Community Partnerships, the Portfolio Holder for Finance, Assets
and Governance and the Chief Finance Officer, to be authorised to
“make any necessary changes to the scope and timeline of the
project provided that it does not require any additional funding
from the Council’s approved Capital Programme”.

The Executive delegation requires consultation with the Portfolio
Holder for Community Development and Prosperity and the Portfolio
Holder for Finance and Assets. They were duly consulted on the
proposed change of scope across a series of meetings which
concluded on 10 February 2026. The proposal to change the scope of
the project to support its delivery within the budget allocation
and agreed programme timeline was endorsed by the Portfolio
Holders. A copy of the presentation given, is attached.

Consultation with the officer level Critical Projects Board (CPB)
that includes representatives from the Finance and Legal teams took
place at their meeting of 4 March 2026 and via email and was agreed
on 13 February 2026. A copy of the options appraisal provided to
CPB is attached.

The Chief Finance Officer, Lisa Nyon, confirmed her agreement on 16
February 2026.

Explain the reason(s) for the decision.

The change to scope has been determined in light of the following
considerations.
Budget. The project has a defined budget allocation agreed at
Executive of £2.2m (£2.3m with CIL inflation included);
after completing and costing the concept design for the fully
scoped project the cost estimate for the construction works was in
the region of £2.2m with the total project cost rising to
£2.9m, circa £600k above the approved budget
allocation. In order to bring the project back within the budget
envelope a process of rationalisation, scope review and value
engineering has taken place to reduce the estimated works costs to
£1.8m and total project costs to £2.3m, with
contingency utilised to allow the project to remain within the
approved budget envelope. 10% overall contingency has been retained
plus an allowance for construction inflation.

Timeline. This approach enables the Council to deliver the project
within the agreed programme timeline to enter into a main contract
in June 2026 and commence works in summer 2026. Appointing the
contractor in February under a Pre-Construction Services Agreement
will support the Council in refining the construction costs and to
work with the contractor to better define construction costs. This
is with a view to replacing the contingency utilised to date by
specifying cost plan items that currently have provisional sums
against them and market testing avoids delays briefing them at a
later stage.

Quality and community value. The change of scope continues to
deliver community benefit through improvements to the layout, look
and feel of the Centre and the increase in the number of hireable
spaces. Moving from a comprehensive remodelling to a simplified
rationalisation still enables the Council to offer a more diverse
range of affordable activities through the delivery of additional
rooms over and above the existing provision.

Decision

The following changes to the scope of the
Horley Community Centre Modernisation project be made in order to
deliver the project within its budget allocation and agreed
programme timeline:
• To retain gas provision within the building thereby
continuing to utilise gas to serve the building to deliver services
including heating, hot water and cooking; this replaces the project
aspiration of replacing gas energy with a greener
alternative.

• To retain the existing building services (mechanical,
electrical, and plumbing systems) and refurbish and upgrade these
as required to improve the building’s current efficiency and
to continue to deliver environmental sustainability benefits
including investing in the building fabric (roof / ceiling
insulation and window replacement or refurbishment) to improve
thermal performance and the comfort of Centre users.

• To simplify the internal remodelling proposals of the
building whilst continuing to improve the building layout and
increase the number of hireable spaces to meet the Council’s
stated objectives to offer a more diverse range of affordable
activities and the retention of well-used large spaces with the
addition of smaller spaces for group and one to one meetings.

Alternative options considered

1. Full scope: this option significantly
exceeds the approved project budget and cannot be delivered within
the agreed budget envelope. The budget shortfall cannot be
addressed without securing additional funding outside of the agreed
project budget. Securing additional funding would have a
significant impact on the overall programme. The time needed to
identify funding sources, approve, and release further funds would
introduce delays that make delivery within the anticipated
programme timeframe highly unlikely.

2. Do Nothing: this option has been discounted on the basis that it
delivers no social, community, or environmental benefits. The risks
associated with leaving the building in its current condition
significantly outweigh those associated with proceeding with a
reduced scope. Retaining the building in its current state would
allow existing building issues to deteriorate further, potentially
leading to higher long-term costs, operational disruption, and
impact the centre’s ability to support the community.