13 February 2008

A new entertainment venue for North Lincolnshire will not have a major impact on local taxpayers, the leader of the Labour group on North Lincolnshire Council has today confirmed. 

As residents demand a state-of-the-art facility for the region, Cllr Mark Kirk has revealed the venue will be delivered at a council tax increase less than the four-year Conservative group average.  Next week the council will set the budget for the next three years and agree on detailed plans regarding the Baths Hall. The Labour group made it a manifesto commitment to provide an iconic new venue to provide entertainment for the area and this was backed up by a recent survey that showed 84.7 per cent of people would visit the new venue.

Cllr Kirk said: “We could quite easily have followed the Tories and shut the Baths down and sold the land for private housing.  Alternatively we could quite easily have just given the Baths Hall a lick of paint and opened up a poor, run-down facility.  But that is not what the people of North Lincolnshire want – they have told us, both on the doorstep and in official consultation, that they want a new venue to be proud of.  They want something to put the region back on the map.

“People should not be scared into thinking the cost of the Baths Hall will fall solely onto the taxpayer. It would not be prudent of us to not consult with the private sector and a lot of work has gone on behind-the-scenes. We are also looking into external funding from the likes of Yorkshire Forward and the Arts Council as part of the Urban Renaissance project. And we have also built in council funds – yet council tax rises will still be less than the four-year Tory average.”

Detailed costs have been drawn up and to provide a high-quality new entertainment venue will cost between £9-million and £15-million. This will provide a multi-functional venue with bars and kitchens, a café, conference rooms and space for as many as 2,000 standing people to enjoy live music and entertainment. To put the planned cost of the venue into context, here are the building costs of a number of other entertainment facilities in the Yorkshire and Humber region:

·         Doncaster Dome - £26-million

·         The Deep, Hull - £53-million

·         X-Scape, Castleford - £56-million

·         Magna, Rotherham - £45.6-million

·         New Grimsby Town football stadium - £14-million

·         Grimsby Auditorium - £5.7-million (based on 1995 build price)

The council is working with a team of top independent architects to ensure the cost of the new facility is good value for money.

The budget papers, available to members of the public, state the council is consulting with a variety of partners and this could have a significant impact on the overall cost of the venue.

Cllr Kirk added: “The ethos behind the new Baths Hall can be summed up by a quote left by one resident who filled in the recent online survey. It said: ‘We don’t want more cover bands, we want live, popular acts that attract audiences from around. We need to be national not local and we need to offer choice and variety with pleasant and inviting surrounds’.

“This is what the people of North Lincolnshire are telling us – and we are listening to them.”