Denbighshire County Council has announced it is hoping to commence with the demolition of Corwen Pavilion within the next couple of weeks.
The Head of Leisure, Libraries & Community Development, Jamie Groves, made the announcement after the Friends of the Pavilion Group again failed to provide information that was specifically requested by the court on 22nd June 2011.
A further extension was granted to allow the group to present their costs and also provide other relevant details to support their challenge. The deadline of Wednesday 6th July has now passed and although the group provided some costings they did not include in their report any sums to meet statutory requirements relating to Health and Safety and Building Regulations. This gives a false impression that the building could be re-opened for as little as £66,000.
The Council is in the process of applying to the court for a declaration that it can now proceed with plans to demolish the building.
The Pavilion closed in March 2010 as a result of a catalogue of serious health and safety concerns. Since then, council officers have helped form a working group with the purpose of creating a charitable company that would be in a position to have the land transferred over to them and obtain funding for a new pavilion. The decision to demolish was taken in full consultation with this group.
In April 2011, the Friends of the Pavilion group obtained a temporary injunction which restrained Denbighshire County Council from ‘demolishing, damaging, deconstructing or otherwise degrading Corwen Pavilion’. Denbighshire agreed not to begin demolition until the group’s own structural engineer could assess the condition of the building and provide the Council with costs associated with refurbishment.
The group failed to comply with the undertakings of the injunction and provide the appropriate information and subsequently the injunction was dismissed.
Jamie Groves said: “We have been open and honest with the community and Friends of the Pavilion group from day one and it saddens me that the group continues to challenge the council in this matter whereas valuable time and resources could have been put towards establishing a new charitable trust and ultimately a new building for Corwen.
A copy of all minutes and reports from the working groups are available from Corwen Library.
