Buildings & Leases Committee, 8 December 2025

The disclosure must include the nature of the interest. If an interest becomes apparent to a member during the course of a meeting that has not been disclosed under this item, the member must immediately disclose it.

Members of the public, and Members with prejudicial interests on items on the Agenda, may make representations, answer, ask questions and give evidence at this meeting in respect of items on the Agenda. (This is the only opportunity for the public to make a contribution during the meeting.) Both public and Members are limited to three minutes each to speak, and the total time allocated for public questions shall not exceed 15 minutes unless directed by the Chairman of the meeting.

The new committee is formed to oversee the buildings monitoring, maintenance and compliance, and consider all matters, administration, maintenance and use of the Town Council’s owned properties and to provide and maintain to a high standard for:

• Doggetts Barn
• Rickards Hall
• Church House
• Pavilion (Recreation Ground)
• Tractor Shed (Recreation Ground)
• The Depot
• Market Yard Public Toilets and Mess Room
• Mowshurst Barn
• Mowshurst Garage
• Forge Croft Mess Room

Attached is copy of the Terms of Reference as adopted by Council at its October meeting. Members are asked to receive and note its remit and delegated authority – see the attached committee TORs

Do members have any questions?

Church House:

Following recommendations in a damp report in 2024, and a subsequent report earlier this year to Council, work is being carried out on the exterior of Church House to address the damp issue.

Works included:

• Removal of cementitious rendered plinth from the facade, taking it back to the original brickworks.
• Where bricks have been damaged throughout the removal of the rendered plinth, defective bricks were carefully cut back to a sound core and repaired using specialist repair mortar, back to original line and detail.
• Using a sand and cement mortar with a waterproof additive, a low-level plinth has been formed, finished 200mm high, styled to resemble brickwork to match the original colour as closely as reasonably possible.
• Defective pointing has been raked out to a depth of 18mm, joints have been flushed out to remove dust and debris and repointed using a lime-based mortar.
• Two coats of a high-quality permeable water-repellent treatment will soon be applied to the front elevation brickwork.

Rickards Hall:

A full redecoration took place in Rickards Hall, kitchen, toilets and reception area in August, including removal and replastering of damp effected areas of the walls, removal and replacement of damp effected sections of wood panelling and replacement of rotten shelving in the cupboards.

Alongside the above works, sections of flooring have been replaced due to rotten joists that were causing dips in the floor level.

Next phase will be to obtain quotes for the flooring to be sanding and revarnished – part of 2026 programme of works.

Pavilion

Council has received reports and made recommendations for the buildings new heating and hot water boilers, as well as a investigations to removing the water tanks (legionella risks) to be solely mains water fed. These projects will now be overseen by committee. A full tender has been carried out for the full replacement of the current heating and hot water system. This work will be carried out in 2026 (refer to agenda item 9).

Other works at the Pavilion:

• Redecoration of the gutters and downpipes was carried out earlier in the year, changing from red to green to match the shutters.
• The Rugby Club also reported issues with one of the shutters, faulty wiring prevented it from working correctly. This has now been resolved.

At the November Open Spaces meeting, Committee supported a CIL (Edenbridge Town Council) bid for the improvement to the disabled access at the Pavilion, which was approved by the CIL board on 1 December. Currently, the approach to the building lacks sufficient width and turning space for wheelchairs and mobility scooters. This makes it difficult for users to manoeuvre safely and independently when arriving at or leaving the pavilion. This work will be carried out in the new year and an update will be provided at the April meeting.

Doggetts Barn, Mowshurst Barn, Depot, Tractor Shed and Public Toilets :

No major works undertaken other than routine maintenance.

10 & 30 Year maintenance plan:

No works outstanding for 2025/26. However, funding has been allocated to create reserves for:

• Church House – £6,000 allocation of funds for lime mortar and interior renovation heating replacement, this was cross funding to moved in to earmarked reserves for 2026-27.

1 & 10 Year maintenance plan:

• Doggetts Barn – Treatment of external wood cladding to be reviewed next year. 
• Rickards Hall – Cost for preparation, sanding and re-staining/varnishing of the floor to be investigated in the new year. 
• Church House – External re-decoration to timber windows and doors to be reviewed in 2026. 
• Pavilion, Depot, Tractor Shed, Toilets, Mowshurst Barn, Mowshurst Garage and Allotment Shed – Nothing to report other than routine maintenance. 

The maintenance plans for 2026/27 will be presented to committee at the April 2026 meeting to review.

Do members have any questions?

Legionella Management:
I am currently obtaining quotations for the remedial works identified during the recent legionella inspections. I expect to receive these shortly, with the intention of appointing a contractor to undertake the required works early in the new year. In the meantime, new policies for written scheme and management were adopted by Council in October. Instruction has also been given to have the water tanks at the Pavilion drained and clean as it will be a while before we are able to proceed with potential transition to mains water only.

Fire Safety Compliance:
I have reviewed the latest Fire Risk Assessments for all Council buildings and have commenced the necessary remedial actions to support compliance. Where feasible, these works are being completed in-house to reduce costs and improve turnaround times. This is ongoing works.

Emergency Lighting:
During recent emergency lighting tests, two units in Rickards Hall were identified as non-compliant. These have now been replaced, and the system is functioning correctly.

Fire Alarm Testing:
Weekly fire alarm tests continue to be carried out at Doggetts Barn and Rickards Hall. Minor issues identified during recent inspections have been addressed and resolved in-house.

Buildings six-monthly and annual visual checks will be taking place over the coming months.

Following a legionella assessment earlier this year it was identified that the water tanks at the Pavilion were badly stagnated and required cleaning and disinfecting. At the Full Council meeting in July, it was resolved to approve the expenditure of £1,439 plus VAT for the cleaning and disinfecting of the water tanks. This has been booked in and is expected to take place early in the new year.

Do members have any questions?

At the May full Council meeting, Members resolved to appoint Intrinsic to oversee the preparation of the heating and boilers replacement specification at the Pavilion, manage the tender process, report on outcomes, and oversee delivery of the project. All tenders have now been received and analysed, and Intrinsic have made their recommendation as (attached, confidential). The competitive sum threshold was rationalised to that of £110,000.00 to £150,000.00.

Town Clerk, Buildings Manager, Open Spaces & Buildings Officer, and Cllrs Baker, Stockdale and Todd, met with the Intrinsic (the independent engineer overseeing the project) recently to discuss the 19 tender submissions. Following this, a short list of six was analysed further (see the attached report).

Having analysed the tenders, and sought clarification on some aspects of the tenders, Intrinsic has narrowed its recommendation between two contractors:

• Contractor A – £123,305.89 plus vat
• Contractor B – £128,265.00 plus vat

These are the two most competitive tenders. Contractor A has allowed for reasonable costs against each tender discipline including specialist’s elements. Intrinsic are confident that they have understood both the requirements of the specification, Edenbridge Town Council and The Pavilion.

Do Members confirm to proceed with Intrinsic’s recommendation of Contractor A to carry out the heating and hot water system replacement project at a cost of £123,305.89 plus VAT funded by SDC and ETC CIL award?

Following a recent Legionella inspection and independent evaluation it has become apparent that the cold water storage tanks located in the roof space are inadequate, with ill-fitting galvanized steel lids, some of which have holes and are generally in a poor state. Three of the five tanks do not comply with current HSE ACOP L8 (Health and Safety Executive's Approved Code of Practice for the control of Legionella bacteria in water systems). It has been recommended that the best course of action would be the provision of new underground mains water supply to serve all fittings and water heaters, making the water tanks redundant. The existing five cold water storage tanks would be removed. An area of the ceiling would need to be removed and reinstated following the removal works.

Due to the specialist nature of the work and the need to go out to public tender under the procurement procedures it has been determined that it would be best to engage an independent engineer company to oversee the specification, design, and carryout the comparison of tenders, as per the heating and hot water project. Intrinsic carried out the initial technical appraisal report. They have provided a quote (attached, confidential) to undertake a performance specification, procurement through competitive tender and project management for the replacement of the cold-water storage and supply, at a cost of £9,150.00 plus VAT. It has been confirmed by the Infrastructure Delivery Officer at Sevenoaks District Council that CIL funding can be used for these professional fees, and CIL Board recently confirmed an additional award towards the mains water phase of the heating, hot water boiler and mains water connection project.

It is estimated that the total cost of the project would be £91,500.00, excluding Intrinsic costs.

Do Members support proceeding with the replacement of cold water storage and supply systems project at the Pavilion?

Do Members support the appointment of Intrinsic to carry out the specification, procurement and project management of the replacement cold water storage and supply systems at the Pavilion at a cost of £9,150.00 plus VAT, and for this to funded from CIL award for the Pavilion heating and water project,  rather than buildings earmarked reserves (EMR)?