It was initially meant to cost up to £7.06m, but developers were assigned an extra £1.07m by Waltham Forest Council last week, bringing the total budget to £8.5m, reports Sebastian Mann, Local Democracy Reporter
The cost of a new centre for excluded pupils in Waltham Forest has ballooned by more than £1million due to an increase in construction costs.
The McAvoy Group took on the contract to build a ‘high needs and family resilience centre’ in North Birkbeck Road, Leyton, in late 2022.
The centre, which finished construction in 2024, offers “counselling, therapy, education and skills development” for attendees, in addition to a sports hall, café, classrooms and art and music rooms, according to a report by the McAvoy Group.
The developers were assigned an extra £1.07m by Waltham Forest Council last week, bringing the total budget to £8.5m.
It was initially meant to cost up to £7.06m, but the contractor was given a separate bump of almost £249,000 last October following negotiations about delays.
Councillor Ahsan Khan, the cabinet member for housing and regeneration, said: “Issues emerging during the project’s construction phase – including poor ground conditions and the need to install a new electrical substation to power the site – have contributed to this uplift.
“This in no way detracts from the value of having a single purpose-built, accessible facility, its proximity to the Youth Offending Service, and the council’s statutory duty to provide education and support for young people excluded from school.”
A council officer wrote in a report: “Due to market conditions, exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic [in 2020/21], the contractor subsequently asked for an uplift due to inflation linked to materials and labour prior to entering into contract in November 2022.”
Waltham Forest says the additional expenditure is “met and managed” within the schools project budget of £10.6m.
“Increased costs relating to the much-needed high needs and family resilience centre development remain within the scope of the original project and our Schools Capital Programme budget,” co-deputy leader Cllr Khan added.
No news is bad news
Independent news outlets like ours – reporting for the community without rich backers – are under threat of closure, turning British towns into news deserts.
The audiences they serve know less, understand less, and can do less.
If our coverage has helped you understand our community a little bit better, please consider supporting us with a monthly, yearly or one-off donation.
Choose the news. Don’t lose the news.
Monthly direct debit
Annual direct debit
£5 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else, £10 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else and a print copy posted to them each month. £50 annual supporters get a digital copy of each month's paper before anyone else.
More information on supporting us monthly or annually
More Information about donations
