Doncaster Council facing £5.8m bill to refurbish apartment block
St Georges Court was purchased by the council in 2024 for £3.2million – around £58,000 per property
The cost to refurbish a block of 55 apartments owned by the City of Doncaster Council could be £5.8million, decision papers have revealed.
St Georges Court was purchased by the council in 2024 for £3.2million – around £58,000 per property – with tenants living in the building.
It was known at the time that the building would require investment to refurbish and return the apartments inside to a decent standard.
According to a recent decision taken by Doncaster Council’s service director for strategic housing, property and community safety, Yvonne Fox, indicative budgetary costs have suggested £5.8m of refurbishment is needed.
Ms Fox approved up to £500,000 could be spent for the project to progress to a Pre-Construction Service Agreement (PCSA), which would provide a full assessment of the investment required for St Georges Court.
Doncaster Council will choose a preferred contractor to carry out the assessment, due to not having the services needed internally.
Over the course of the works at St Georges Court, funding will be required for a fire engineer, a mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) engineer, and stats fees, according to the decision papers.
The document also outlines the legal requirement for Doncaster Council to act as a “responsible landlord” to the tenants in the building. This includes duties to ensure the building meets various safety standards.
Not meeting those standards puts the council at risk of enforcement action from fire and rescue services over breaches of health and safety legislation.
In February 2025, the council approved a four year budget for works at St Georges Court – a total of £4.16m.
The Local Democracy Reporting Service approached Doncaster Council for a comment on this story, but did not receive a response.