Agenda item

The Chair of Overview and Scrutiny has been informed that it was impracticable to give 28 days’ notice of the decision. The Wood Green Library project is combining two separate, small projects into a single piece of work. This is due to practicalities, safety, and value for money considerations. It is impracticable to give 28 days’ notice because delay to the work on the 3^rd floor of Wood Green Library would have a knock-on impact on the council’s accommodation programme which, in turn, would lead to higher costs.

Given the above, it is not practicable to comply with the 28-day notice requirement in Part Four, Section D, Rule 13 of the constitution. This is set out in Part Four, Section D, Rule 16, of the Constitution.

The Cabinet Member for Finance and Transformation considered the report which sought approval to award a contract for the 2nd& 3rd floor office and Mechanical & Electrical refurbishment at Wood Green Library to improve the office and service provision facilities for Haringey Works on the 2ndfloor; and to enable the interim relocation of departments currently occupying Alexandra House to the 3rdfloor.

It was noted that a number of services operated in Wood Green Library and that this included the Cabinet Member for Early Years, Children, and Families, Cabinet Member for Customer Service, Welfare, and the Public Realm, Cabinet Member for Employment, Skills, and Corporate Services, and Cabinet Member for House Building, Placemaking and Development. It was confirmed that the Cabinet Members had been informed and did not have any concerns about the proposals.

The Cabinet Member RESOLVED

1.    In accordance with Contract Standing Order 16.02, to approve the award of the Contract for works at Wood Green Library to Contractor A for the contract sum of £539,603.18 excluding VAT.

2.    To approve the contingency sum as set out in the exempt section of this report (Part B).

Reasons for decision

To improve the Employment and Skills offer, creating a flagship service for vulnerable resident

The Employment and Skills Recovery Action Plan identified that the current Haringey Works Hub in Wood Green Library was unfit for purpose for a flagship service working with vulnerable residents. This proposal will create private interview rooms, a space for delivering group sessions and a welcoming more environment with improved equipment and facilities.

The proposed improvements to the Haringey Works Hub would provide a professional and welcoming base where residents can have private one to one meetings with their employment advisor or finalise employment checks if they are joining the Temp Recruitment talent pool, a space to carry out job search with support of the team, and to participate in group employability and upskilling workshops.

Heating and ventilation improvements for library users

This package of works includes some improvements to the heating and ventilation systems and associated control systems. This will resolve some longstanding problems with ensuring the library is kept at a comfortable temperature for staff and visitors alike.

It will also deliver financial savings and environmental benefits by reducing energy consumption.

To deliver the Council’s Accommodation strategy objectives

In November 2021, Cabinet approved a proposal to refurbish Alexandra House and 48 Station Road, and to tender the associated works packages. The report set out that, in addition to the appointment of a main contractor, it would be necessary to undertake some of the works at an earlier stage.

To support the delivery of the Accommodation programme, it is intended to relocate the Council’s Digital Contact Centre from Alexandra House to the 3rd floor of Wood Green Library.

The relocation of the Digital Contact Centre to Wood Green Library is an interim arrangement to allow the realisation of the wider consolidation of the Council’s core office accommodation into Alex House and 48 Station Road. This interim arrangement does not impact any long-term decisions that may be taken separately over the future use of the Wood Green Library site.

To deliver service management improvements within Customer Services

This location will provide co-location and synergies for Customer Services colleagues located on the ground floor of Wood Green Library and those working in the Contact Centre.

The renovation works proposed in the office section and break-out area on the 3^rdfloor of Wood Green library will provide an improved working environment and re-allocation of space to current occupants: Libraries management team, libraries stock management, Home library service and Haringey Adults Learning Services (HALS) back-office.

Alternative options considered

Do Nothing

Haringey Works, being a front-line service, offering essential reemployment advice to local residents following the end of the furlough scheme urgently need a dedicated, and far improved space to offer their services. Not undertaking this part of the works will hinder Haringey Works in providing a professional and essential service which is essential to the prospects of some of the most disadvantaged residents in the borough.

Not to upgrade to heating and ventilation systems has been discounted as the Council has a statutory duty to ensure all our building are fit for purpose and safe for all users. Ventilation control is at the forefront of building design following the COVID-19 pandemic. By doing nothing, we are not fulfilling this obligation.

The option not to move the Digital Contact Centre is not recommended, as the Council would not be able to meet its Accommodation Strategy objectives. A variety of factors have been considered when determining how to allocate space to services. Moving the Digital Contact Centre to the library, frees up half a floor of Alexandra House, which will be better suited for use by other departments.

Refurbish 3rdFloor as part of the main Accommodation programme

This option would be for the Council not to commission refurbishment of the 3rd floor of Wood Green Library at an early stage. This work is currently programmed to start in early March 2022 subject to approval. The refurbishment of the Haringey Works area could go ahead as a smaller works package.

This would significantly delay the relocation of the Contact Centre and Customer Experience management team occupying the 3rd floor of Alexandra House. The 3rdfloor of Alexandra House is due to be vacated by 20 May 2022 for refurbishment works to commence on 23 May 2022. Delaying this would have knock on implications for the whole programme.

As the contractor for the main programme would need to consider works for an additional site, this would add considerably to the overall cost.

Separate Construction Contracts for 2nd & 3rd Floor Refurbishment Projects

The option to tender the 3rdfloor separately was discounted at an early stage. The refurbishment works on both floors are of a time-critical nature and this would have meant that both contracts would have needed to run concurrently. This would have resulted in two contractors, working alongside each other, to complete the refurbishment works.

This option would also contravene the Construction Design and Management Regulations 2015 and create a number of significant H&S issues, as two contractors would be sharing the same site. As a result, one of the contractors would need to become the Principal Contractor, overseeing the other contractor. This would have resulted in a cost uplift for the contractor chosen as the Principal Contractor.

This option would also result in higher charges (Preliminaries) overall, as each contractor would charge for work that would only be needed once in the preferred option.