PUBLIC funds totalling more than £700,000 will be needed to complete a new community building on the former Molson Coors brewery site in Alton.

Although housebuilder CALA is making money from building homes on the vast area of land, it is only paying to build the shell and core of the community building – a cost of £219,088.

That leaves £714,854 to be met from public funds, and a contribution of £150,339 in neighbourhood community infrastructure levy (CIL) cash for fitting out was expected to be given the green light by Alton Town Concil last Wednesday night (April 27).

Nicky Branch, chairman of The Alton Society at the time the project was approved, said the society felt it was “a complete waste of good CIL money” because it was being spent on “a white elephant”.

The total cost of the building – including construction, fitting out, fees and contingencies – is £933,942.

Last August the town council set aside £49,468 in neighbourhood CIL money to meet its share of the fees, of which £34,412 has been spent so far. The district council has earmarked £47,769 for fees.

On March 16 the town council asked the district council for £467,278 in district CIL money to partly fund the fitting out once the shell and core are complete.

The outcome of that bid will be known within eight weeks, but the town council debated whether to approve the £150,339 in neighbourhood CIL cash last night so that if the district CIL money is approved the project would be fully funded and ready to advance to the fitting out procurement stage without needing further town council debate.

Procurement was to have started within the next two months, but with a potential delay to the community building that process may be paused until CALA can confirm a date.

If the district CIL cash bid fails the project will go back to the town council to consider other funding options, but the town council believes having the neighbourhood CIL funds approved would help its officers show money is committed to the building if they need to seek cash elsewhere.

At the end of the 2021-22 financial year the town council had neighbourhood CIL funds totalling £30,607, but next week the district council will give it £180,718.69 for the period October 1, 2021 to March 31, 2022, boosting its available balance to £211,325.69.