Glastonbury Town Council could borrow £850k for health hub

As part of the £23.6m Glastonbury town deal, the town council is working to deliver the St Dunstan’s House community health and well-being centre, constructing a new atrium to link the building to the town hall.

The project – which was granted planning permission in October 2023 – will see internal renovations carried out within St Dunstan’s House (located on Magdalene Street) to allow different groups to make the best use of the space.

The town council is now seeking to borrow up to £850,000 from the Public Works Loans Board (PWLB) to complete the project, as well as asking local residents for their thoughts on how the space should best be utilised once the building work has been completed.

The health and well-being centre was allocated £1.52m from the town deal grant, following the government’s approval of the final business case for the project in September 2022.

As part of this business case, the remaining match funding for the project was expected to be raised by the town council, either through borrowing or securing other grants.

The overall budget of the health and well-being centre was originally set at £2.8m, leaving the town council to source around £730,000.

St Dunstan's House. (Image: Google Street View)

But the overall cost has now risen to £2.4m in light of high inflation within the construction industry – with the town council now seeking up to £850,000 to make up the difference.

A spokesman for the Glastonbury town deal board said: “The town council has secured some match funding and is waiting for decisions on other bids which, if secured, would mean a loan may not be required.

“It is worth noting that since the Covid pandemic, the UK construction sector has experienced 50 per cent plus increases in the cost of materials due to inflation. This is still impacting construction projects of all sizes across the country.

“Fortunately, the St Dunstan’s House health and well-being centre project cost has seen a much lower increase in costs.”

Town clerk Conor Ogilvie-Davidson said that the council was awaiting the outcome of grant applications for £850,000 – including a £500,000 to the government’s community ownership fund, which is currently paused.

He said: “Contractors are already on-site. We need to ensure we have the funds to complete this project, and delaying now would only increase costs.”

If the town council secures a loan from the PWLB (which forms part of the Treasury), it will pay the loan back out of its future revenue budget at a rate of just under £67,000 a year.

A spokesman for the town council said: “We have forecast that the new facility will cover its costs from year two of operation, with the deficit in year one being covered by reserves.

“The loan will not have an effect on the precept.

“Loans from PWLB are subject to a rigorous process of check and challenge from the Somerset Association of Local Councils, through which the application is made to the government.

“The resolution for Glastonbury Town Council to seek this loan for the project was unanimously agreed.”

If the loan is successfully obtained, the new hub is expected to be completed by late-summer 2025.

If the loan is not forthcoming, the project would have to either be scaled back or carried out in phases over a longer period of time.

The spokesman added: “The town council does not want to de-scope the project as it would reduce the full health and well-being benefits for the community.

“If phased, this would both increase the total cost of the project and delay the full health and well-being benefits for the community.”

All grant funding from the Glastonbury town deal must be spent by March 2026.

To give your views on the future use of the health and well-being hub, visit the Glastonbury Town Council official Facebook page and fill in the survey by Friday (October 13).