Agenda item

Report of the Director of Children’s Services. To be introduced by the Cabinet Member for Early Years, Children and Families.

The award of a construction contract to the preferred bidder for the Wood Green Youth Hub main fit out works. This report will inform Cabinet of the procurement process completed to appoint a contractor. The report will also update Cabinet on progress to date, the design development and co-design programme, the programme milestones and the project budget.

Cllr Diakides left the meeting at 19.55.

The Cabinet Member for Early Years, Children and Families introduced the report which sought authority to award a construction contract to Diamond Build Plc for the delivery of the Wood Green Youth Hub fit out works. The contract allowed the project to move closer to the operational opening of the facility.

The Cabinet Member outlined that the facility would create a focal point for young people in the community, allowing the young people to develop practical skillsets, promote creativity, provide a safe space for socialising and to obtain advice and support.

It was noted that Wood Green Young Voices (WGYV) had played a major role in design development, with a full Co-Design programme being completed in conjunction with the development of RIBA design stages 1 – 4 (feasibility to detailed design). The Cabinet Member advised that it had been incredibly important to ensure the users of the facility have had the ability to shape the project to ensure their needs are met.

The Cabinet Member commented that the project had progressed well and was ready to move into the next stage of project delivery to allow the physical works to commence on site. This would allow the operational opening of the facility to be completed ahead of the 2022 school summer holidays.

There was a question from Cllr Hakata on the risk of the Youth Hub not being ready for opening in July 2022. In response, it was noted that there could be issues with the current volatility in the building works market, and risk associated with delivery construction contracts. To mitigate this delay, the Capital Works team would be placing orders for materials as soon as possible. The team would also continue to monitor risks. There had already been some works to remove cross contamination at the premises and also fire safety issues addressed to contain some of the risks.

Following consideration of exempt information at item 26:

RESOLVED

1.           

2.           

3.           

1.          To approve an award of contract to Diamond Build Plc for the sum of £1,069,792.00 in accordance with Contract Standing Order (CSO) 9.07.1(d).

2.          To approve the issue of a letter of intent to Diamond Build Plc, which will be limited to £100,000.

1. 

Reasons for decision

6. 

Young people living or attending school in and around Wood Green are at risk. Noel Park is in the 10% of the most deprived areas nationally with young people disproportionately affected. They are at risk of gang and knife crime with impacts felt across families and communities. Some of the Local Authority’s highest Early Help referring schools are in the west of the borough, with many pupils living in the Noel Park ward. Haringey has been working with a range of community partners and the police to embed measures to tackle issues early.

In addition to pre-existing challenges in Wood Green, young people have been disproportionately affected by the Covid 19 crisis through parental job losses and school closures. The project will deliver a youth hub as young people need a dedicated facility urgently to provide essential support services. The Council is also proposing a new employment and skills focus to the hub, which will help negate the impact of Covid 19 on progression into work for local young people.

In delivering this Youth Hub, the Council will significantly improve the range and quality of youth provision, with an offer that will appeal to young people in the Noel Park and Wood Green areas and beyond. The space will house services designed to support improved outcomes and will be overseen by skilled youth and community workers and will offer a broad range of provision that will support raised attainment and aspiration for young people in the borough.

Delivery of the Wood Green Youth Hub is an action from the Youth at Risk Strategy 2019 – 2023. The strategy was designed to reduce youth crime and support attainment for young people in the borough. The lack of a youth space in the Wood Green and Noel Park areas has been a concern for many years and the youth hub seeks to resolve this problem. Its presence in Wood Green will offer young people the ability to congregate in a safe space designed to support their development and help them to aspire and achieve. The Bruce Grove Youth Hub in the east of the borough is well recognised as a centre of excellence for youth work, (Ofsted 2018), and has therefore been used as a template for the design of the new Wood Green Youth Hub.

The Wood Green Youth Hub project has worked well with local community groups and has founded the WGYV to develop the design of the facility. This contract award allows the design ambitions of the WGYV and the local community groups to become a reality.

The project team have completed RIBA stages 1-4 (feasibility to detailed design) and have developed the design as per the requirements of the Early Help team. The contract award allows the project to move into the next delivery stage by commencing the main construction works on site.

At present, the building is not in a useable state, and if the main fit out works are not completed the building will continue to sit vacant as the lease agreement is already in place. It is considered that this contract award will help the Council to realise best value for money by providing a high functioning attractive site.

The Council has completed a competitive tender process via the Council’s London Construction Programme (LCP) Dynamic Purchasing System – Minor Works – Principal Contractor lot. The project quantity surveyor – Baker Mallett LLP – has interrogated the pricing submissions and has confirmed that Diamond Build Plc is the most economically advantageous bidder.

The construction market is currently in a volatile state due to the adverse impacts of Brexit and the Covid pandemic to the supply of labour and materials. The proposed contract with Diamond Build Plc is a workable solution to project delivery, with the estimated construction programme aligning with the Early Help team’s ambitions for operational opening and the estimated value falling within the constraints of the project budget. Due to the current volatility of the construction industry, failing to approve the current proposal or re-procuring the works could risk increased costs and prolonged lead times for the supply of materials because of the uncertainty.

This report also recommends that Cabinet approve the immediate issue of a letter of intent to Diamond Build Plc. Agreeing the issue of a letter of intent will allow the contractor to place immediate orders for long lead items. As noted above, the construction industry is currently experiencing delays and reduced supplies of materials because of Brexit and the Covid pandemic. The letter of intent will help secure the supply of materials without delay to ensure the construction programme is protected.

When tenders were returned on 9^th December 2021, several bids included qualifications. This required an extended period to clarify costs, which has resulted in a slightly increased programme. However, this contract award still works towards an operational opening before the 2022 school summer holidays.

2. 

Alternative options considered

7. 

There is the option to re-procure the construction works, however, it must be noted that there is no guarantee that re-procuring the works will secure a more competitive price. Baker Mallett LLP has completed a full review of Diamond Build Plc’s submission, benchmarked the prices provided against comparable projects and have confirmed that this price provides good value for money. If re-procurement is to be considered there is a risk that the project programme would be adversely impacted and delay the operational opening of the facility which would put further risk to a much-needed service.

There is an option to decline Diamond Build Plc’s appointment and close the project. However, the lease agreement has been completed and this option would mean the site would be left vacant. Additionally, this would mean that the young people of Wood Green would not be provided with a Youth Hub facility.