Costly plans to upgrade the Dumfries Ice Bowl have been unveiled
The final cost is £4.5 million
Major works to upgrade Dumfries Ice Bowl and bring the building into the 21st century will cost £4.5m, it has been revealed.
A large plan of action has been developed which will see the 33 year old building being renovated and made more energy efficient.
Dumfries and Galloway Council will receive a £2.5m “decarbonisation grant” from the Scottish Government to improve fuel efficiency and reduce the sports facility’s carbon footprint.
This will be added to £1.25 the council had already set aside in its budget for a long overdue upgrade of the ice bowl.
However, this will still not be enough to cover the total project costs.
A report, which is due to be tabled at the council’s economy and resources committee next Tuesday, states: “Following the development of the design, it became apparent that the electrical switchgear is beyond its life expectancy and will not accommodate the capacity of the new equipment.
“The returned tenders demonstrated that the mechanical and electrical packages were higher than previously estimated. As previously reported to this committee, the project budget includes £2.5m decarbonisation grant from the Scottish Government and £1.25m contribution from the Council, totalling £3.75m.
“The most economically advantageous tender return resulted in an outturn full project cost inclusive of professional fees of £4.48m, leaving a shortfall of £730k.”
Councillors are now being asked to approve shuffling funds around in the council’s asset class programme to direct the needed £730,000 for the ice bowl renovation works to progress.
This will be subject to the Scottish Government either carrying their promised £2.5m funding forward to 2025/26, or the council being allowed to drawdown the funding before the end of the 2024/25 financial year.
Dumfries Ice Bowl was opened in 1992 and requires several phases of improvements. The first, which will see the replacement of old doors, rendering work to external walls, and the replacement of pipes, will be presented at Dumfries and Galloway Council’s planning committee on Wednesday.
Councillors will review the plans and have been asked to approve a series of alterations and upgrades at the King Street facility.
These include the application of an external wall render on the building, replacement external doors, infill works to existing openings, and the installation of energy efficient air source heat pumps.