Decision

To amend the approved schedule for the drawdown of the £4m to the Winter Gardens Refurbishment Project, to enable the release of tranches of £125k on delivery of the following project milestones:

1. Approval of planning and listed building consents, and
2. Completion of RIBA 4 technical design.

Reasons for the decision

The release of tranches of the approved £4m at key points will enable the delivery of the project to proceed at pace. RIBA 4 technical designs and costs are required to secure external match funding for the project and to enable the confirmation of the construction works contract.

Alternative options considered

Not amending the previously agreed grant drawdown schedule was considered, however this would have resulted in a delay in the project delivery timelines, due to the need to secure alternative funding for the completion of RIBA 4.

The additional tranches will mean that a total of £850k of the approved £4m grant will have been released on completion of RIBA 4. This is comparable with industry standard costs for projects of similar complexity and capital cost at this stage.