Cambridge City look at costs of new stadium at Sawston
Plans to be tweaked in line with rising costs since inception of project
Terry Dunn has reassured Cambridge City supporters that plans for a new stadium are still on track.
City provided an update on their new stadium and community facility at Sawston that outlined that costs for the scheme have escalated because of construction and development costs.
The club were initially granted planning permission in 2014, but the past four years have seen several legal battles, which subsequently led to a second successful application being rubber stamped by the Secretary of State.
In the ensuing period, costs have risen and so City are exploring alternative proposals to deliver the project within the agreed financial framework.
Terry Dunn, City’s vice-chairman, has taken on the role of stadium project director, which will see him report into the board and supporters on a regular basis, while working closely with president Len Satchell, who has been driving the project forward since its inception.
“We feel that the costs have to be tweaked a little bit because the original plans came out in 2013, and there has been quite a considerable increase in costs since then,” said Dunn.
“We have to look at one or two aspects of it all, but at the same time retaining all the function rooms, etc. It’s mainly internal stuff.
“It’s using people’s expertise really and making full use of it.
“I understand the fans’ frustration about it all. It’s been a long wait and we’ve had these appeals to get through and they still can’t see any action, but they can be sure there is nothing to worry about.
“City Stadium, as I like to call it, will be going full steam ahead still.
“As you can imagine, in five years there has been a sizeable increase in the costs of all this. It’s vital that we keep it to an affordable level to build, and also an affordable level to maintain when we’re in there.
“Our communication to supporters can be better and that’s where I come in, and hopefully I can come out now with some monthly statements to show where we’re at and the progress being made.
“It’s a matter of looking at the plans again and tweaking them a bit, and then it should be all systems go. But when that will be, I can’t really put a time on it.”
As well as looking at alternative models and costs, City have been looking at the possibility of grant applications.
“The grant process will be starting again soon, and it’s a matter of using someone’s expertise on that,” said Dunn. “We’ve got some contacts in that field so it’s good to use them.”
