Water has spread into over 60% of the roof at Dartford FC's council-owned Princes Park. Cabinet is asked for up to £300,000 more from reserves on 29 October.

The roof and timber cladding on the main building at Princes Park, Dartford FC’s ground, have reached the end of their lives. Repairs will cost more than Dartford Borough Council budgeted, and its Cabinet is being asked to find up to £300,000 more from reserves on Thursday 29 October. (Cabinet report, Roof renewal and external wall cladding at Dartford Football Club)

The council owns the building. The report describes the stadium, club and conference centre as finished in 2006, and says the works give “the Council and the leaseholder” long-term certainty.

What the surveys found

The council expected a partial job when it set aside money in its 2025/26 budget. It thought only some of the cladding needed replacing, and only a small part of the roof beneath its waterproof covering. Then contractors opened it up.

The report says:

  • all the larch wall cladding had reached the end of its life, which was designed to be only 15 years
  • the sedum roof covering was stripped off and the whole clubhouse roof was moisture-mapped
  • water had spread into more than 60% of the roof area
  • the insulation was saturated and the plywood decking beneath it “compromised”

So the whole roof covering, insulation and decking, and all the cladding, now need replacing. That means scaffolding the building with a rain cover. The surveyors’ estimate rose to £1.3m.

The tenders

The work went out to open tender. More than 13 contractors came to look at the building, and the report says 15 tenders came back. In the council’s anonymised table, 13 firms priced the job and two did not bid. (Appendix A, tender results)
Lowest price, ranked first overall £800,738.55
Highest price £1,725,648.33
Surveyors’ estimate £1.3m
Money left in this year’s budget £607,000
Extra asked from reserves up to £300,000

The top-ranked bid came in well under the surveyors’ estimate. It is still about £194,000 more than the money left. The report does not break down how it reached the £300,000 figure, and asks for it as a ceiling (“up to”).

Contracts over £500,000 need a Cabinet decision under the council’s rules. The money would come from its financial stability and capital reserve.

Why not patch it

The report looked at two cheaper routes and rejected both.

  • Do nothing. The leaks would go on, parts of the inside would become unusable, and damage to the building’s glulam (laminated timber) structural beams would get worse and cost more to fix.
  • Do less. Leaving some cladding for later would leave a patchwork finish that does not match the new, non-timber cladding planners have already approved. A like-for-like larch job would need doing again in 15 to 20 years.

The full job would use cladding expected to last 50 years, and a roof coating with a 25-year guarantee. The boilers, controls and a new PA system were already replaced in 2025/26.

What it means for you

For fans and anyone who uses the conference centre or clubhouse, the report sets no start date and no timetable for the works. It does say they need full scaffolding. We will report the dates when the council or the club publishes them.

For council taxpayers, this is a call on reserves rather than a new spending line. Cabinet decides at 7pm on 29 October at the Civic Centre, Home Gardens. The same meeting considers the £36m plan for the former Co-op site. (Cabinet, 29 October 2026, agenda)

Sources