Issue - meetings

Report of the Director for Housing, Regeneration and Planning. To be introduced by the Cabinet Member for House Building, Place-Making and Development.

The award of contract to Lilstone was granted by Cabinet Member signing on the 1st of April 2021. A discrepancy with the boundary line position required an adjustment to the design which delayed the commencement of works. This variation is to primarily accommodate a change in market conditions for materials and labour as a result of the Covid Pandemic.

The Cabinet Member for Cabinet Member for House Building, Place - Making and Development introduced the report, which sought avariation of contract award by the sum of £128,518.16 in accordance with Contract Standing Order 10.02.1 (b). This would result in a revised total contract value of £1,027,414.08 to allow the continued refurbishment and restoration of the Bruce Grove Toilets into a new café and community hub. This decision would further allow the Grade II listed former public conveniences building to be removed from Historic England’s ‘Heritage at Risk’ Register

The Cabinet Member commented that this would a good new asset for the borough and the delays in the project had been for relating to: Covid, a boundary issue with Network Rail and increase in construction costs.

In response to questions from Cllr Hakata and Cllr Barnes, the following was noted.

-      Regarding, designing in and including public conveniences in the borough, especially when encouraging more walking, the issue would be the ongoing maintenance and ensuring public toilets were not used for anti-social behaviour. The Director for Housing, Planning and Regeneration added that for this new café and community hub, the end operator would need to make the toilets publicly available.

-      There was a further comment from Cllr Davies about considering schemes in European cities, which allow access to public conveniences through existing high street provisions.

-      With regards to market pressures continuing to increase costs as already the case in this restoration project and the impact this could have, there were precautionary measures factored and contingency available. The Assistant Director for Capital Projects & Property added that this scheme was tendered retrospectively and the report already took into account the market factors outlined.

Following consideration of exempt information at item 28,

RESOLVED

To approve a variation to the original Cabinet Award to Lilstone Limited from £898,892.64 to a revised total contract value of £1,027,414.08.

Reasons for decision

On the 1st of April 2021, Cabinet approved a Contract Award to appointment Lilstone Limited to deliver the refurbishment and extension works at the disused Bruce Grove Public Convenience (BGPC) pavilion building for the total contract cost of £817,175.13 plus a 10% contingency of £81,717.51.

A letter of intent was issued to the Contractor in June 2021, with construction works due to commence on site on the 16th of July 2021. However, as part of the easement negotiations with Network Rail (Neighbouring Landowner), it became known, prior to construction works commencing on site, that there was a discrepancy between the title boundary line and the line used for the design of the new extension to BGPC.

On review of the Council’s and Network Rail’s Title Plans it is believed that the position of the proposed extension exceeds the Council’s boundary, which has led to the construction phase being put on hold on the 30th of June 2021, and the rear extension being redesigned, (as detailed in section 4.5 of Part B).

The time required to complete the revised design and delays  ...  view the full minutes text for item 711