The Condition Survey is progressing on schedule. At the start of September all the surveys, testing and site investigations were completed. Based on the information gathered, the consequences are being reviewed by the Quantity Surveyor who will be pricing identified elements of work. The draft report is scheduled to be submitted to Fleet Town Council at end of September. Once received it will be reviewed by the Harlington Working Group (HWG) and any clarifications will be obtained and incorporated into a final report. It is expected that the final condition report and recommendation of the HWG will be taken to Council for consideration during the first quarter of 2020. As a reminder the Condition Survey is to determine any immediate liabilities, the overall state of the building and the integrity of the concrete frame; will it last another 40 to 50 years? 

13 May 19

Consultation Results 

The consultation "Do you support the building of a new Harlington community complex on Gurkha Square?" again failed to excite a response from the majority of Fleet residents. Returns from only 18% of the electorate resulted in 60% of the responses rejecting development on Gurkha Square. 1,874 residents returned a NO vote compared to 1,245 voting YES. 

As a result of the consultation, it was decided at Fleet Town Council's December Full Council Meeting, to withdrawn the planning application for Gurkha Square. 

What now? 

Ever feel you have been there before? At the start of 2017 we had no idea what the preference of the local residents was on the Repair, Refurbishment or the Replacement options for The Harlington. We are now aware that although many residents of Fleet wanted a new building, they were not happy with building on Gurkha Square. At the time this was the only location offered by Hart District Council (HDC). We are continuing to work with HDC who, in November 2018 offered the alternative location of Victoria Road car park. This is just one of the options Fleet Town Council will be exploring. 

To start the process, we have just launched a tender to undertake a detailed condition survey of the overall state of the building and of the integrity of the concrete frame, will it last another 40 to 50 years? We will keep everyone informed. 

12 Oct

Concerns about the New Harlington Centre and the impact on Fleet Library

19 Sep

A parish poll called by Fleet resident Tim Smart and held last week which asked "Do you support Fleet Town Council's proposal to build a new Harlington complex on Gurkha Square" resulted in 199 in favour and 753 against the new development. Fleet Town Council are considering other options with the Hart Council.

17 Sep

Everyone in the Fleet Town Council area should have received a leaflet laying down the proposals to improve the existing Harlington Centre. fleethants is not reproducing this leaflet here, so to obtain the information, if one hasn't been delivered to you, please contact the Fleet Town Centre.

The leaflet includes a voting card. fleethants urges all Fleet Town Council residents to vote and return the card  by noon on 5th October 2018.

Note: There have been some key changes to the plans as show below which are outlined in the leaflet

8 Sep

Have Your Say on the New Harlington Centre Proposal

Fleet Town Council (FTC) has proposed to build a new Harlington Centre on Gurkha Square, leaving the old building almost empty and asking Fleet households to pay more than £2,000 each. If this happens, we will lose 50% of Gurkha Square impacting on how its currently used. You will receive an 8-page brochure (which you're paying for) from FTC to persuade you that this plan is a good one. We're a group of Fleet residents who oppose the plan and want to make some of the facts clear. We've personally paid for the leaflet you are reading so that you can make a more informed choice. 

1. Why does FTC want to build on Gurkha Square? The Harlington building either needs money spent on it, or it needs to be replaced. FTC and Hart District Council cannot reach agreement, and FTC have decided that you want a new building on Gurkha Square, losing most of the parking space, amenities and the trees. 

2. What is the full cost? FTC will spend almost £600,000 every year for the next 45 years building and subsidising the new building. Each Fleet household will pay at least £2,000. Your taxes were increased in 2017 to fund this.
 
3. Why are only Fleet households paying? No-one else in Hart agreed to raise their taxes to pay for the new building. 

4. What happens if the costs for the new Harlington rise? It is likely that Fleet residents' taxes will increase.

5. How will FTC manage the project? They will employ management consultants which were not in the original cost of the project. 

As Fleet residents, we have tried to find a compromise with Fleet Town Council but to no avail. We are convinced that a better solution can be found. Fleet needs a new community facility but not at the financial costs or the cost of losing Gurkha Square, all the events held there and all the businesses surrounding it. We will be saying `No' to Fleet Town Council's question. We will also vote 'No' when Hart arranges a proper official vote via a Parish Poll on 13th September from 4pm — 9pm at the normal polling stations in Fleet. 

Signed, Tim Smart and a group of Fleet residents 

27 June 18

New plans have been submitted to Fleet Town Council.

20 April 18

In spite of growing objections and concerns and with local residents calling for a vote of no confidence in their council, Fleet Town Council have given the go ahead to the new Harlington "Multi-functional Theatre" in Gurkha Square after a report stating it would not affect the character and appearance of the area.

Common concerns from local people are:

• Looks like a glass and steel edifice.
• Waste of taxpayers money
• An eyesore building
• Not needed
• White elephant
• Ill conceived
• Blocks the view of the library from Fleet Road
• Loss of parking in Gurkha Square.
• Frontage up to the pavement in Fleet Rd
• Affect on Fleet Festivities, Remembrance Day services and local markets.
• The existing facilities are perfectly adequate. Lets spend the money on more affordable housing, repairing potholes etc.

It has been stated that objections to the planning application outweighed those in favour by 75 to 6. The costs have risen from £6 million to £11 million which will take 40 years to pay off. The estimated lifespan of the building is approximately 35 years.

Visit www.change.org/p/hart-district-council-petition-to-save-gurkha-square-car-park   if you want to "Save 

Gurkha Car Park"

7 Mar 18

Proposals for a New "Multi-functional Theatre"

Fleet Town Council wants to build a new complex on part of Gurkha Square Car Park. The facility would include a flexible multi-functional theatre with a capacity of 350 seats, a separate multi-purpose dance/studio area, a foyer/cafe/bar with exhibition space, dressing rooms and office space for the council.

Many local residents have called the proposed new building as a glass and steel edifice and a unaffordable waste of taxpayers money. But some supported the project saying it would be a great asset for Fleet. The proposals will take up 21 car park spaces leaving 48.

The latest overall project cost is £11,024,200.

Hart District Council has until April 24 to make a decision on the plan.

23 Oct 17

It may appear that nothing has been happening since the announcement at the Annual Residents' meeting when Option 3, the replacement of The Harlington on the northern part of Gurkha Square, supported by the majority of respondents to the public consultation, was adopted as the preferred scheme to be developed to the next stage of design. 

Primarily, for administrative reasons, it was proposed and agreed to proceed with a Design and Build, contractor-led delivery method under what is termed a Framework Agreement. This means the contractor selection process and the stringent requirement of a European wide tender (OJEU) had been completed by the Framework Group, called SCAPE, in this particular circumstance. It gives the pre-selected contractor exclusive rights to deliver the project, having gone through the pre-selection process, there is no further competition.
 
The first stage of the process is the preparation of a Feasibility Study which assesses the financial and practical 
delivery of the project. The Study should have been delivered at the end of July, but following requests for 
extensions of time the final report was only presented on 14th September 2017.
 
The major delay it turned out was as a consequence of the contractor not being able to deliver the project within the budget. The contractor had employed the architects and the theatre specialists who had advised the Town Council, to review the design to look at cost savings. Some significant changes were developed which improved the functionality of the building and reduced the cost of construction; still the cost was too high. The problem appears to lie in the contractor's on-costs and risk allowance.

Very recent, similar projects have been delivered at unit build prices well within the budget presented at the public exhibition. Further research shows that significant theatre projects have been delivered at total project costs within our budget. The issue the therefore appears to be the delivery model. 

One issue that concerned the Town Council staff was the tendering process for the work (OJEU); it is highly bureaucratic and time consuming. Fortunately, a solution has been found. Rushmoor Borough Council has a procurement department well versed in the OJEU process and they will contract to undertake the process on behalf of the Town Council. 

A conventional design, tender and construct method of delivery under the RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) Work Plan can be progressed. This will result in a competitive tendering process against a detailed design prepared by independent architects and engineers. 

This work can be completed in discrete stages and it is proposed to proceed immediately to RIBA Stage 2 (Concept Design) which will develop the design sufficiently to submit an outline planning application. This work is projected to take three months. At the end of that period we will have a more detailed design and associated costing and have submitted the first planning application. 

From this we will know if the scheme remains viable and that it meets all the requisite planning policies. All being well, we will progress to the next level of design and preparation of detailed contract documents. Failure to jump over both the hurdles will mean that it is back to the drawing board and back to the public for further consultation. 

24 March 17

Conservative councillor Steve Forster is concerned that the cost of the three options described below has increased dramatically. According to FTC option 1 (to repair) was shown as costing around £1.5 million but is now £6.3 million a 400% increase. Option 2 (to rebuild) is now £9.9 million taking up to 45 years to repay.

10 Feb

October 2016

Extracted from "Town Talk"

At last things are really moving ahead on the Harlington development. Back in June we received a very positive Feasibility Study from theatre design specialists, Charcoal Blue, who confirmed that a functional and attractive purpose built theatre could be developed within the existing envelope of The Harington. As ever it is always good news with a "but." The "but" in this instance being the difficulty in fining all the supporting rooms and facilities around the theatre core. There will need to be some compromises. 

A new build theatre/centre on Gorham Square could accommodate all these supporting facilities, but again raises its own issues regarding alternative uses of Gorham Square and the proximity of the new building to the Library. Again working with Charcoal Blue, a document was prepared inviting tenders from experienced architects to develop designs, produce drawings and cost estimates for three options suitable to go out to public consultation. The three options are defined as: 

• Essential maintenance to the existing Harington, what needs to be replaced, repaired or refurbished to provide a sustainable building that functions in accordance with modern day building standards and has a medium to long term life span. 

• A major refurbished Harington that contains a new purpose built theatre with a 250 tiered and retractable seating auditorium and a minimum 100 seat balcony. A new stage with state of the art lighting and sound systems. The acoustics to be designed to accommodate a variety of performance types. The theatre to be supported by a full suite of back stage and front of house facilities together with a dance studio and second performance space. 

• A new Harington complex built on Gorham Square to accommodate all of the above facilities but configured to deliver the maximum visitor experience unrestrained by any internal constraints. 

The Tender advertised on the National Contracts Finder Data Base attracted a total of 17 submissions, all of a surprisingly high quality. The Harington Working Group worked tirelessly over three days including a weekend to assess every tender against a standard assessment sheet. The rankings of the nine assessors were consolidated into a single ranking and the top four firms invited to an interview. 

The interviews held over two days at the end of September were very interesting and highly informative. Two firms stood out as being of exceptionally high quality and fully appreciated the demands of the project. The final decision was a difficult one to make, but Burrell Foley Fischer (BFF) have been selected to take the Harington Project forward. BFF Impressed the Working Group not only with their knowledge and experience, but their clear understanding of the need to develop a sustainable business plan and how The Harington complex integrated into the local setting and added more value to the community than just being a theatre complex. 

The programme that is in place will see the preliminary designs and castings together with the development of the presentation material complete by the end of January 2017. The public consultation will be held through February and early March. The final choice of scheme will be announced at the Annual Residents' Meeting on 2811March next year. Once that decision is made the implementation of Final Designs and the preparation of contract documents for construction work will commence.