Southend council approved £581,041 owed to the Cliffs Pavilion builder after it took the late payment to adjudication. Certified work has reached £5.82m.
Southend-on-Sea City Council has approved £581,041 it owed to the builder refurbishing the Cliffs Pavilion, after the firm took the late payment to adjudication. The money covers two certified stages of work that fell due on 22 August and 23 September.
The decision was signed by Cllr Kevin Robinson, Cabinet Member for Planning, Property and Governance, on 11 October. It was published on 12 October and took effect on 20 October (Southend-on-Sea City Council, decision details).
Overview
- What was owed: £352,071 and £228,970, both excluding VAT, for Valuations 24 and 25, plus contractual interest of £6,076.84 and £1,844.31.
- Why it came to a decision: Auburn Group Limited, the main contractor, raised an adjudication over the council’s “late and or non-payment” of the two sums.
- How far the cost has gone: work certified to 8 September is worth £5,819,886, against a contract sum of £4,848,539.21 agreed in June 2024.
- What is still open: the council’s report lists “three main areas of potential Contractual dispute”, in an appendix kept private.
Why the money was late
The two payments had been “properly assessed and issued by the Contract Administrator as sums payable under the Contract”, the council’s report says. They were due on 22 August and 23 September 2026 (Southend-on-Sea City Council, decision report).
Auburn Group then raised an adjudication, the fast-track process for settling disputes on building contracts. The council reached an agreement with the firm, and the adjudication was put on hold until 20 October “to enable the Council to complete its approval procedures”.
The report explains why the decision could not wait. Continued non-payment “would lead to the Adjudication recommencing, which would incur additional legal costs and the Council would still be required to pay the agreed Certified Sums”.
Its legal section adds that under construction contract law, the payer must pay the notified sum on time unless it has served a valid notice to pay less. It warns of “a high risk of payment being directed” whatever the dispute about the value. It also says the contractor could suspend work.
What has pushed the cost up
Auburn Group, a Rochford firm (Trafalgar Tickets), was appointed principal contractor in June 2024. Its contract was £4,848,539.21, excluding VAT. The council says it knew the job was risky:
- the foundations date from the 1930s and 1960s
- the new extension had to be separated from, then reconnected to, the theatre’s existing systems
- the auditorium had to stay open throughout
So it held a contingency on top of the contract. The size of that contingency is in a confidential appendix, which is withheld because it may attract legal professional privilege.
Two problems then slowed the job, and the contract administrator gave the builder more time for each:
| Problem | Extra time given |
|---|---|
| More asbestos found than expected | 4 weeks |
| Problems with the 1960s load-bearing slab | 20 weeks |
A further £150,000 has come from the council’s Fire and Compliance Programme to replace the venue’s public address and voice alarm system.
Where the money stands
The council had paid Auburn £5,064,248 by Valuation 23, excluding VAT. That stage put the gross value of work at £5,220,874, and the council holds back 3% as retention until the end of the job.
Valuation 25, dated 8 September 2026, takes certified work to £5,819,886. That is about £971,000, or 20%, above the original contract sum. The report says more work is still to be completed and certified, so that figure will rise.
Whether the job is still inside its overall budget is not public. The contingency, the uncommitted budget left at 30 September and the contractor’s forecast final account are all in the private appendix. Any spending beyond the approved allocation, plus the £150,000, would need money moved from elsewhere in the capital programme or a new addition to it, the report says.
What the decision allows from now on
Cllr Robinson’s decision gives the council’s Executive Director (Finance and Resources) three powers:
- to pay the two overdue sums and the interest
- to pay future sums certified by the contract administrator, within the approved budget
- to contest, with the council’s monitoring officer, any adjudication Auburn brings over sums the contract administrator has not certified
The report says no other options were considered.
Who is paying for the revamp
The refurbishment is funded by the government’s Levelling Up Fund, the council and Trafalgar Entertainment, which runs the theatre. £5.5m came from round 1 of the Levelling Up Fund, according to Trafalgar Theatres’ project page (Trafalgar Tickets, Cliffs Pavilion refurbishment).
The council report warns that if grant milestones are missed, funding conditions could be breached, “which could impact further funding”.
The scheme got planning permission on 20 October 2023 (reference 23/01216/BC4). It includes:
- a bigger restaurant
- a new entrance and lobby
- a new outdoor piazza
- better bars, lifts and access
- new toilets, including a Changing Places facility
- upgraded ventilation
What it means for you
- The Cliffs Pavilion stays open, with tickets on sale as normal. Trafalgar says some foyer spaces are closed during the works and some food and drink services are limited.
- The finish date is “autumn 2026” on Trafalgar’s project page. The council report, dated October, says works are still to be completed.
- The money is public money. The decision was open to call-in by councillors before it took effect on 20 October. The full figures stay private, but the decision record and report are on the council’s democracy site.
Have your say