Issue - meetings

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

This report considers the appointment of a design team to deliver a range of projects on the Broadwater Farm estate, including the development of detailed designs for new homes.

The Cabinet Member for Housing and Estate Renewal introduced this report which considered the appointment of a design team to deliver a range of projects on the Broadwater Farm estate, including the development of detailed designs for new homes.

The Cabinet Member noted that when Cabinet previously took the difficult decision to rehouse residents on the Broadwater Farm estate from Tang mere and Northolt blocks following safety concerns, it also committed to re-providing all homes lost through demolition with new Council homes at Council rents and the right of return. This report followed detailed work by officers to develop a comprehensive brief to appoint designers to support us in this ambition. Through this work the Council would not only develop designs for high quality new homes on the estate but would bring forward proposals to enhance the public realm and maximise the value of existing community assets, such as the community and health centres.

The Cabinet informed that residents and the Council’s partners would play a key role in this work taking forward an iterative design process, which would require their input from the start and through each design stage to achieve the right outcomes. This would ensure that the Council’s plans have resident support which it has committed to put to the test through a resident ballot once plans are ready.

The Cabinet Member closed by extending thanks to members of the Broadwater Farm Residents’ Association who provided resident input to officers when evaluating the tender submissions, despite having reservations prior.

In response to questions from Councillor Dennison, the following information was provided:

• The Cabinet Member confirmed the consultants had experience in handling projects of this scale and type.
• The Cabinet Member confirmed residents would play an ongoing role in the design process moving forward. Officers noted the architects selected had a proven track record of developing estates around the country and co-designing with residents.
• A like for like had been embedded in the contract to ensure there was the same minimum number of social housing provided at Tangmere and Northolt as before.

Further to considering exempt information at item 22,

RESOLVED

1. To approve the award of the contract for the Broadwater Farm Design Architects - Urban Design Framework to Bidder A for the maximum sum of £1,396,357.60, in accordance with the provisions of the Council’s Contract Standing Order (CSO) 7.01 (B));
2. To authorise the issue of a Letter of Intent for an amount not to exceed 10% of the value of the contract;
3. To approve a contingency allowance in the amount set out in paragraph 2.1 of the exempt report delegates power to the Director of Housing, Regeneration and Planning to approve any necessary variations to the contract to accommodate unavoidable cost increases within the contingency allowance.

Reasons for decision

The appointment of the preferred bidder will enable the Council to progress with the delivery of new replacement homes for Tangmere and Northolt sites in accordance with Cabinet commitments made in November 2018.

Alongside the design of new  ...  view the full minutes text for item 112