East Suffolk Council
Funding reassurance for key Lowestoft projects in face of rising costs
East Suffolk Council has taken the decision to provide further support for key Lowestoft regeneration projects by reallocating funding to ongoing schemes from the £24.9m Town Deal.
The Lowestoft Town Deal was secured in 2021 to regenerate the town, drive economic growth, and stimulate future investment – and a number of key schemes are now underway. Work has progressed on transforming the town's former Post Office into a creative hub following major restoration as part of the Lowestoft High Street Heritage Action Zone scheme. Additionally, demolition has begun on the former Battery Green multi-storey car park to eventually make way for a new cultural and community hub. Elsewhere, improvements to Royal Plain, as well as the planned redevelopment at Jubilee Parade, will revitalise the seafront area for residents and visitors.
However, to meet these outcomes in the face of rising, inflationary costs, and provide greater financial contingency across the whole programme, East Suffolk Council has decided to reallocate funding from a project which planned to restore a vacant area at the front of the Lowestoft railway station building.
East Suffolk Council has previously agreed terms, and a purchase price, for the station building, and outline plans for the scheme have been presented to the public. The Council, however, has not yet been able to secure ownership of the building from Network Rail and without any guarantee that this would take place imminently, delivery of the scheme within the Towns Fund spending deadline cannot be assured.
Cllr Toby Hammond, East Suffolk's cabinet member for Economic Development and Transport, said:
"This is a decision which we have to take based on external factors beyond our control. In coming to this decision, we carefully considered the progress of all our projects and the overall quality and scope of the programme, based on the current and future costs of contracts and materials.
"With other projects in the programme already more advanced, it was agreed that reallocating £1.96 million of planned funds from the station building, and pausing the project temporarily, would provide the best financial outcome. It will mean we can move forward with increased confidence by ensuring that the current works remain affordable and deliverable in the face of greater pressures.
"We will, however, continue to work with partners to bring forward the station building project in the future. We greatly welcomed a grant award of £206,000 towards the restoration of the building from the Railway Heritage Trust, and we remain committed to featuring the station building project in a refreshed Lowestoft Town Investment plan, which is due for completion at the end of the year.”
Tim Hedley-Jones, Executive Director of the Railway Heritage Trust said:
“We are disappointed that the project to restore the building at the front of Lowestoft Station has been postponed, but we understand the situation. We remain committed to help with any future restoration project for the building. We are grateful to East Suffolk Council for the work they have done to date to save this historic building and show that it can have a bright future.”