Turning A-listed Capelrig House in Newton Mearns into a centre for excellence to help children recover from traumatic experiences is set to cost the council an extra £780,000.
East Renfrewshire Council has been working with charity Children 1st on plans for a “pioneering” ‘Childs House for Healing’ — billed as Scotland’s first Barnahus, an internationally recognised approach, first developed in Iceland, to protect children’s rights to justice and recovery.
Officials have recommended councillors agree to provide more funding and push ahead with the project as it is of “significant importance”.
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It would be “the first of its kind in the UK”, council officials said, creating a centre for excellence to develop methods which would be shared nationally so “no child victim or witness ever has to endure long delays to secure safety, care, justice and recovery”.
Councillors agreed to lease Capelrig House to the charity, for a minimal rent, in 2021, but progress on the project has been delayed by Covid-19 and soaring costs due to the impact of inflation on the construction industry.
Initially, the whole scheme had been expected to cost £880,000, with the council contributing £418,000. But the council’s input is now estimated to be £1.2m, and the total price could hit £2.3m.
At the centre, child victims or witness interviews will be pre-recorded and the video sent to court. Any court appearances would also be carried out by video link so “any child victim or witness never has to go to court”.
There will also be access to medical attention and examination. “Key to the concept is that the child only has to tell their story once and they can move into recovery as soon as possible,” a council report added.
Initial cost estimates were made before “detailed inspections” of Capelrig House were carried out. Two tenders, completed after inspection, “exceeded the allocated financial provision”, council officials reported.
They added: “Both East Renfrewshire Council and Children 1st believe the project to be of significant importance and wish to continue subject to the approval of additional funding.”
Funding from the council would be used for roofing, external fabric, stone and window repairs and replacement. The cost has increased due to “construction inflation and the need for additional work that was identified during the detailed inspection”, the council report stated.
It added: “It should be noted that this work would be required irrespective of whether this project went ahead.”
Officials also reported Capelrig House was vandalised during the tender process which “resulted in a need for further work”. It is proposed to re-tender the works required, and the £1.2m budget would include “contingency provision”.
The council’s share of the work could be completed by December this year, allowing Children 1st to then complete a refit of the building. It is estimated the charity’s costs will be between £1m and £1.2m.
Councillors will be asked to increase the financial contribution at a meeting on Wednesday, with money set to be taken from unallocated funds from the Scottish Government (£437,000) and from the council’s capital programme (£345,000) either “from savings on projects, transfer of budgets or deferring projects”.
The lease for Capelrig House is proposed to be for 19 years and 364 days at a rent of £1 per year if asked. Children 1st would be responsible for the interior of the building while the council would maintain the exterior.
It has been estimated there could be a cost of £25,000 per year for the council given “the historic nature of the building”, but the lease is “felt to be value for money due to the establishment of a nationally recognised East Renfrewshire-led centre of excellence supporting our most vulnerable children”.
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