A council leader has given his reasoning behind the need to spend £100,000 more than planned to transform an old Argos block. It is now understood the additional costs came about because there were wishes to better refurbish the building as well as increased labour market costs due to inflation.
The former Argos store in Beeston forms part of the the £50m Beeston Square redevelopment, which has the now-open Arc Cinema and bustling bar, The Beeston Social, as its centrepiece. Within it there are plans for a virtual reality gaming space on the first floor.
Council documents however revealed Broxtowe Borough Council required £100,000 more than planned to complete the scheme. The extra funds are to be financed "from prudential borrowing" the council says.
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Councillor Milan Radulovic, Labour leader of the council, told Nottinghamshire Live: "Largely it is the increase in costs in materials and labour, and to be fair, we are doing more than we were going to initially.
"Beeston Square phase two was to divide Argos into units and we wanted to do some additional work such as the canopy and lighting. For people who are familiar with the building I found the current canopy oppressive and we wanted to go for something more open, bright and make it more environmentally-friendly."
The redevelopment of the town centre is expected to come to a head by the 'end of summer' and had, for the most part, been done within budget. The council had purposely chosen to avoid renting out space to 'national chains', and has instead included places such as Italian restaurant Ottimo and Rassam’s Creamery, and just one unit now remains vacant.
The letting of the first floor of the Argos building to a VR firm is now in the hands of a solicitor and is expected to open shortly after the August Bank Holiday. The Beeston Social also opened recently to critical acclaim.
Eastwood councillor Radulovic described the square as a "sleeping giant" and claimed it would soon become the "sub-regional centre of Nottingham". He added: "It has been so popular that people have been falling over themselves to get leases.
"One of the things I'm greatly proud of is we bought the cinema site and it came in on price and people should not underestimate the work that has been done."
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