Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence.

There were no apologies for absence.

There were no declarations of interest put forward.

Officers introduced the report, which was seeking agreement to increase the award of the contract with City Axis Ltd for Lordship Lane New Nursery works as allowed under Contract Standing Order (CSO) 10.2.1.b and CSO 16.02.

The increase was needed to support funding for: requirements arising from the Planning appraisal, to meet Council objectives on sustainability and to meet the market costs of rising materials.

In response to questions, the following was noted:

·         City Axis was a design, build contractor, and build being undertaken was in a SIP style which brought together timber panelling in a lamination fashion. This achieved better insulation and enabled heat retention. It was reiterated that these were not panels used on housing blocks and they did not contain cladding material such as aluminium.

·         A full background was provided of the close engagement and consultation with the School Head and Early Years lead on the design and build of the Nursery. This included how there had been revision to the designs following changes in management of the school. Assurance was also provided of the close involvement of a client side designer who had expertise of nursery builds.

·         It was also noted that this project was particularly unique in terms of progression and cost. Also the known operational and management challenges of the school had inevitably had an impact.

RESOLVED

That pursuant to Contract Standing Order 16.02 :

To approve a variation of the construction contract for Lordship Lane New Nursery to CityAxis Ltd in the sum of £243,574.84, giving a varied contract value from £1,143,688.61 to £1,387,263.45.

To approve an increase to the contingency allowance totalling 12.5% from £114,368.86 to £173,407.93 offering a varied award value up to £1,560,671.38. The contingency will be managed under strict change control governance

Reasons for decision       .

Following the appointment of CityAxis Ltd some internal design changes were requested by the Client, Haringey Schools and Learning, increasing the scope of the works, to support the developed needs of the school curriculum and community. This required re-design of the internal spaces within the new nursery building, in full collaboration with the School’s senior leadership team, providing a revised package of employer’s requirements to be priced by the contractor. An increase has been realised during this period on material prices which has been taken into consideration with this variation.

The Cabinet Member approval (received on 9 November 2021) to award the construction contact, was subject to receipt of planning approval, which was received on 24 January 2022. Draft planning conditions were included in the tender package for the contractor to price following some pre-planning consultation, as approval was not yet available. The issue of the planning decision with associated conditions resulted in an increase in project scope, with elements to the conditions that had not previously been allowed for (specifically related to ecology and sustainability). The full planning permission with conditions was issued to the contractor, to price the uplift and variance to deliver the full planning approval and manage its conditions.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

The Cabinet Member for Early Years, Children and Families considered a report which sought approval to further vary the contract with Mulalley & This Company Ltd as allowed under Contract Standing Order (CSO) 10.2.1.b and CSO 16.02 for West Green Primary School, to allow for additional condition works to be completed at the site.

It was noted that on 16 February 2022, the Cabinet Member for Early Years, Children, and Families had also approved a variation of the construction contract for work to Bruce Grove Primary School and this report also sought approval to further vary the contract with Mulalley & Company Ltd as allowed under Contract Standing Order (CSO) 10.2.1.b and CSO 16.02 for Bruce Grove, to allow for additional condition works to be completed at the site.

It was noted that both sets of additional works still provided the Council with greater value for money by including the works within the current contract on site, as opposed to returning with a separate contract, which as a result of the current climate – construction inflation and material shortages - would likely result in inflated market rates and cause further disruption to the schools.

The variation amounts and financial details were itemised within Part B of the report as were considered commercially sensitive.

Information was provided to the Cabinet Member of the nature of the works required.

With regards to West Green Primary School, additional condition works were identified that included further building services works and the complete replacement of the hall roof, as it was in significant disrepair to its main structure. The extent of this condition could not have been identified through non-intrusive surveys and was only discovered once the works commenced and the contractor was able to fully access, open up and intrusively inspect the hall roof structure. There was a need to fund the additional costs of the redesign, build and additional time the contractor had already spent on this project.

In relation to the works at Bruce Grove Primary School, during construction and once full access to the roof was available, additional condition works were identified including replacement of roof tiles and detailing and build-up of insulation. Additional glazing works were identified on site that included unexpected difficulties in accessing windows in some areas. These additional works had now been fully detailed and specified, with access arrangements determined and the relative scope of electrical services works revised to accommodate them. It was necessary to undertake some additional works in areas critical to the operation of the school out of hours. To accommodate these works and the resultant extended construction programme additional funding was required.

The Cabinet Member noted that the Children’s Services Capital Programme Budget was sufficient to cover this contract increase.

It was further noted that, going forward, the Council’s Strategic Asset Management Programme would produce a costed asset management works programme that can inform items like this.

In response to questions from the Cabinet Member, the following information was provided:

With regards to considering the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

Item 6 is likely to be subject to a motion to exclude the press and public be from the meeting as it contains exempt information as defined in Section 100a of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended by Section 12A of the Local Government Act 1985); paras 3 and 5, namely information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information) and information in respect of which a claim to legal professional privilege could be maintained in legal proceedings.