Issue - meetings

[Report of the Director for  Housing and Growth. To be introduced by the Cabinet Member for Housing and Estate Renewal.]

This decision is to award a contract to install a new permanent district heating system and works to provide temporary heating system until the permanent system is operational.

The Cabinet Member for Housing & Estate Renewal introduced the report which related to the medium-rise blocks on the estate that had failed a test relating to blocks with piped gas. It was noted that the only way to fully mitigate this risk was to remove piped gas to the blocks entirely. Homes for Haringey had already started the work to achieve this, and this report recommended the approval of a contract to carry out the next stages of the work.

Following questions from Cllr Dennison the subsequent points were noted:

• Regarding the discrepancy between 1.4 and 6.12 of the report, the latter paragraph was intending to indicate the lead in time from January 2018 to October 2018 for fitting temporary boilers.

• The Council would be providing financial assistance to residents who found their heating bills were higher as a result of the use of temporary boilers (as temporary boilers were oil fired which was more expensive than gas). It was the Council’s intention to make sure that residents were not worse off during the period of the temporary boilers. By phase 3, when gas boilers would be replaced by a district system, the Council would be acquiring gas at block prices and this would decrease the prices for residents.

Following consideration of exempt information:

RESOLVED

1. To approve the direct award of the works contract at an estimated value of £12.6m to Engie LTD (formerly Keepmoat LTD) through the LHC framework (N7 – workstream three) for the works required to install and commission a temporary heating system across Broadwater Farm and latterly install and commission the full energy system.

2. To approve as required by Section 1 – Financial Regulations paragraph 5.23 (b) the virement of £3.210m from the HRW leaseholder acquisition budget to the Broadwater Farm heating scheme.

3. To approve as required by Section 1 – Financial Regulations paragraph 5.23 (b) the virement of £4.008m from the Building Regulations Review budget to the Broadwater Farm heating scheme.

4. To agree the budget of £13.0m for the Broadwater Farm heating scheme.

5. To agree not to seek to recharge leaseholders their proportion of the cost of these capital works linked to the provision of temporary heating systems and the full energy centre upgrade.

6. To note that unrecovered leaseholder charges will be no greater than £2m.

Reason for decision

The nine medium-rise blocks on Broadwater Farm (Croydon, Debden, Hawkinge, Hornchurch, Lympne, Manston, Martlesham, Rochford, and Stapleton) have failed structural tests for Large Panel System buildings with piped gas. A gas leak and explosion in one of these blocks could lead to progressive collapse of the building and significant loss of life.

The following steps have been taken to mitigate the risks arising from the findings of

the structural test

• The replacement of gas cookers with electric cookers in 464 flats in nine medium rise blocks (the remaining flats already had electric cookers)
• The installation of gas interrupter valves in all the 728 flats in nine medium-rise blocks which will switch off the gas if a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 52