URGENT surveys are needed on the Towngate Theatre and Basildon Centre council offices to make sure they meet health and safety requirements.

Council chiefs have given the go ahead to spend £40,000 on surveying what needs to be done to the two centres. ‘The Place’ in Pitsea will also be looked at.

The council has been looking at the three buildings over the last year as they produce building surveys for a number of council owned buildings. However, due to the size and structure of the buildings, in-depths surveys will be carried out. These will cover the buildings themselves and assess air conditioning and chiller units amongst other machinery.

The work is needed so urgently that council bosses are waiving procurement rules to hire GVA Ltd - who will be carrying out the works over the next 12 weeks.

If maintenance works are needed  after the survey the council will schedule them in the months ahead.

Deputy Leader of the Council Phil Turner said: “When the Basildon Centre got built it was dubbed a bit of a waste of money because of its design. However it has proven to be extremely useful and is a fantastic asset for the council. These surveys are totally necessary as if we were to leave it the council would be left in a position of not being able to budget effectively for possible upcoming expenditure.”

The council considered undertaking a formal tendering process but rejected it as the council deemed GVA Ltd offered good value for money. They also rejected producing an in-house survey due to the complexity of the buildings and the urgent need for the survey to be carried out.

Mr Turner added: “There is the possibility of unexpected failure of the building plant, machinery and fabric and this would leave the council unable to address health and safety concerns.”