£4.5m pavilion redevelopment approved amid row

A defunct pavilion is to be remodelled using £4.5m of funding from developers.

Hertsmere Borough Council's cabinet agreed on Wednesday to turn the building at Aycliffe Park in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire into "a welcoming space for all ages" using money from the Community Infrastructure Levy.

Conservative opposition councillor Harvey Cohen described the spending as "outrageous" and said his party had "a lot of concerns".

However a public consultation on the pavilion found residents "consistently" wanted somewhere for a "broad range of community activities", a council report said.

Following the funding decision by the Labour-Liberal Democrat cabinet, the council will submit a planning application in March.

Councillors said the revamped pavilion would be able to house youth activities, health and wellbeing programmes, sporting and exercise sessions and events.

Labour's Chris Myers, portfolio holder for parks, said the current pavilion "simply isn't serving the community anymore".

"It has deteriorated considerably, suffering from vandalism, graffiti and anti-social behaviour.

"We have the opportunity to create a genuine community hub in an area where it is needed the most," he said.

Work would begin in October 2027 and be completed by March 2029.

The money is coming from the Community Infrastructure Levy, a planning charge local authorities can issue to developers to help deliver infrastructure to support development of their area.

A budget of £6m had originally been earmarked, but it has since been reduced to £4.5m following further design and feasibility work.

Cohen criticised the spending plans at Wednesday's meeting, saying: "We always said £6m was outrageous. We think £4m is still outrageous.

"We have a lot of concerns. How can we trust the figures that were given to us? How do we know this is what is needed? Have we spoken to any end users?

"Do we know any end users are going to sign a lease with it before we spend this money?"

A final decision on the redevelopment will be made at a full meeting of Hertsmere Borough Council.

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