Iceland abandons Stuðlar rebuild and redirects funds to Garðabær facility

Iceland has scrapped a planned full-scale renovation of Stuðlar, a treatment centre, and will instead use the funding to build a new centre in Garðabær. The decision follows extensive preparatory work, mbl.is reports.

The renovation plan would have converted all of Stuðlar into a social emergency reception facility, including emergency accommodation for children, remand detention and the first stage of serving a sentence. The work was due to be put out to tender early this year and was fully funded.

An options review found that building a larger, modern treatment centre in Garðabær, with a wider range of uses, would be more cost-effective and better for children and young people needing the service. The estimated cost of renovating Stuðlar was also considerably higher than first expected. A memo from the Government Agency for Child Protection and Family Affairs said the Garðabær option was considered more likely to improve service quality and safety, and ultimately treatment outcomes.

The 1.1 billion Icelandic krónur set aside for rebuilding Stuðlar will go towards the new centre. More than 3 billion krónur has now been allocated to that project, which the government aims to put out to tender early next year.

A 17-year-old boy died in a fire at Stuðlar in October 2024. Necessary renovations were planned afterwards. Design work had been underway since August last year, and detailed preliminary plans and near-final architectural drawings had been completed.