2025 Update

Plans

Please click on the following links to view our current plans. Alternatively view the whole planning application on East Hampshire District Council's website by clicking the link beneath the plan links.
Elevations
First Floor
Elevation
Proposed ground floor
Aerial view
East Hants | East Hampshire District Council | Application | 181304

Business Case for Borrowing to Fund the Benians Pavilion Improvement Project

Below is the business case considered by the Parish Council when it decided to apply for borrowing approval to fund the Benians Pavilion Project

The Proposal

To apply to the Secretary of State for permission to borrow £1,000,000 to fund the Benians Improvement Project at a cost of approximately £68,000 a year over 50 years representing a 17% increase in the precept for the financial year 2026/27 being £16 a year for a Band D household.

Background

Four Marks Parish Council sees the improvement of community facilities in the village to meet the requirements of the growing population of Four Marks as a priority. It has been so for several years and the iterations of a project to provide a new community building for the village are well documented on the parish council’s website. A planning application to build a completely new facility to the north of the football pitch was withdrawn in August 2024 because of the inability to overcome Sport England’s objections to the proposal. Since that time a masterplan has evolved which identifies three existing community buildings for improvement: the Benians Pavilion, the Village Hall and the Scout Hut. Of these the first project to be developed is the refurbishment and extension of the Benians Pavilion.

The Need

Community buildings in Four Marks were built when the village was significantly smaller and are inadequate for the needs of an expanding population. The village needs more space and facilities for a wider range of activities.

The Proposed Improvement of the Benians Pavilion will:

Provide an additional two function rooms and a second kitchen providing three function rooms each with kitchen access and capacity to seat 100 people.
Expand the range of community activities that can take place in the building.· Increase the use of the facility by children and young people.
Enable the return of cricket and the expansion of football provision
Bring the changing rooms up to the latest specifications for both cricket and football
Include the installation of energy-efficient lighting, heating, and insulation.
Ensure full accessibility, with upgrades to include ramps, accessible toilets, and signage.
Enhance and modernise the building exterior and external areas
Provide more and improved parking
Provide a self-contained parish office

Benefits

Community Wellbeing: A modern, accessible pavilion will foster greater community cohesion, support physical activity, and reduce social isolation.
Economic Impact: Enhanced facilities can attract more bookings from local organisations, businesses, and private hire, generating additional revenue to make the premises financially sustainable
Environmental Sustainability: Improved energy efficiency will lower running costs and contribute to the council’s environmental objectives.
Inclusivity: Ensuring accessibility will enable all residents, regardless of age or ability, to benefit from the Pavilion.

Financial Considerations

An estimate for the overall cost of the Benians improvement project is £2.75m and a breakdown of those costs is below:

Breakdown of Build Costs	£
Pre-Construction Costs	59,900
Planning Costs	40,000
Site Set Up & Prelims	252,694
External & Enabling works	370,400
Utilities & Services	6,000
Main Structure	742,600
Abnormals	576,671
Sub-total	1,948,365

Contractors OHP	389,673

Client Contingency	350,706

Total Build Cost	2,748,644

The project would be made possible with a mixture of funding and the proposed package includes £1.25 million of strategic CIL granted by East Hants District Council; and £1m to be borrowed by the Parish Council. The balance of funding to come from Neighbourhood CIL, S106, Parish Council reserves and additional partnership contributions.

The sum of the predicted funding is:

Source	£
Parish Council Borrrowing	1,000,000
EHDC Strategic CIL Grant	1,250,000
Parish Council Reserves:
Benians Fund	40,000
Youth Fund	10,000
Community Fund	75,000
Developer Contributions:
Neighbourhood CIL – current and expected	239,993
S106	90,439
Partner Contributions:
Benians Association	80,000

TOTAL	2,785,432

The cost of borrowing is anticipated to be in the region of £70,000 a year. £35,000 of this is already provided in the council's budget from when the precept was raised in 2023 to fund the new building project. The costs of borrowing from the PWLB have doubled since that time and an additional precept increase is required to fund the borrowing costs - this additional cost of £35,000 represents a 17% increase for the financial year 2026/27 being a £16 increase per Band D household. The way in which this impacts on the Council's budget is shown in the budget projection figures which can be found at this link: . These figures show a precept increase of 20% for 2026/27; a further 4% for 2027/28 and 5% for 2028/29.

Risks and Opportunities

The figures include anticipated income from Neighbourhood CIL (less than 10% of the total funding) – these figures are based on data from the planning authority but the timing of that income is uncertain – developers may not build out planned developments to the timescales currently envisioned. Further CIL itself is politically contentious, and the level and nature of developer infrastructure contributions may change before the project is complete. On the other hand the volume of planning applications currently in progress for the parish area indicates that Neighbourhood CIL income will be higher that the levels included in the projections.

The projected build costs contain generous allowances/contingencies but costs remain uncertain until competitive tendering for the project is undertaken.

The precept projections assume that the taxbase remains constant, it is likely that the taxbase will increase over time (given the anticipated building of new homes) and should that happen – the percentage increases in precept at Band D will be less than the percentage increases in the cash sum of the precept given above.