Agenda item

Report of the Director of Placemaking and Housing.  To be introduced by the Cabinet Member for Council Housebuilding, Placemaking and Local Economy.

A report providing Members with an overview of the Down Lane Park improvement programme in advance of a planning application being submitted and the Phase 1 works progressing to delivery. The report seeks approval to enter into Funding Agreement with the GLA for £0.75m Green and Resilient Spaces funding and to extend the current contract with Levitt Bernstein to deliver all phases of works.

Appendices are attached in a separate pack.

The Cabinet Member for Council Housebuilding, Placemaking and Development introduced the report which set out the proposals for Down Lane Park following the decision made by Cabinet in June 2023 to transform the park into a destination park at the heart of the neighbourhood.

Following consideration of exempt information at item 24 it was:

RESOLVED to

1.            Note the co-designed masterplan, works packages and programme budget of £9.1m for the Down Lane Park Improvement Programme, and the proposed delivery approach comprising Phase 1 being delivered under permitted development (which will be the subject of the GRS funding agreement) and submission of a planning application for the wider masterplan in autumn 2023.

2.            Accept £750,000 Green and Resilient Spaces Funding from the Mayor of London to support the delivery of Phase 1 of the Down Lane Park Improvement Programme, and associated community development workstreams, as part of a total programme budget of £9.1m; and delegate authority to Director of Placemaking and Housing to enter into the Funding Agreement and to approve any future variations to the Funding Agreement.

3.            Approve the variation of the existing contract with Levitt Bernstein Associates Ltd, in accordance with CSO 10.02.1(b), so as to increase the value of the contract, by an additional £456,880 + VAT so that the total contract value will be £954,539 + VAT for the delivery of all phases of work.

4.            Delegate authority to Director Environment and Neighbourhoods to approve the Management and Maintenance Plan for the Park prior to completion of each phase of works on site.

Reasons for decision

Approve receipt of £0.75m Mayor of London Green & Resilient Spaces Funding

The Green and Resilient Spaces Funding for this project is a major investment by the Mayor of London in the park and the Tottenham Hale neighbourhood as a whole. The fund supports large-scale, ambitious projects that future-proof the capital from the climate emergency and the programme was awarded the highest possible grant of £750,000.

This funding will unlock a range of deliverables set out in Appendix 2 alongside a package of Community Development activities to be delivered by the Council’s community partner, Living Under One Sun (see para 6.7). 

The £750,000 GRS funding will supplement the wider programme budget (at Appendix 1) establishing a full budget for the park improvement programme of £9.1m. This will enable the project to progress towards full, rather than piecemeal and longitudinal, delivery of the Council and the community’s vision for the park.

Increase the fee for Lead Designer to reflect increased delivery budget

Levitt Bernstein Associates have built a good working relationship with the community on this project and have the necessary ability and experience to listen and respond accordingly, which is fundamental in building trust and securing positive outcomes from a co-design process. They have been an integral part of the co-design process for 18 months and have been exposed to discussions throughout which must be fully considered and reflected in all stages of the design process.

Their current fee covers the masterplan development for the whole park and the delivery of a first phase of works. Approval of the uplift in their fee, to reflect the full programme budget of £9.1m, will enable them to continue to work on all phases of the programme through to completion of all works on site. 

Progressing to delivery

A decision to accept £750,000 grant funding from the Mayor of London will enable the Down Lane Park improvement programme to secure the funding awarded and proceed towards delivery of Phase 1 with the appointed design team (Levitt Bernstein Associates). It is a requirement of the GLA that ‘a majority’ of the £750,000 grant funding is defrayed by 31^st March 2024, requiring delivery to start on site no later than December ‘23/January ‘24. This requires clarity around the funding, resource and direction of the project now in order to meet these timescales and de-risk delivery of the park improvement programme. A breakdown of the Phase 1 works is provided at para 6.6.

The Community Development outcomes (described at para 6.7) must be delivered within the funding timeline (by March 2025). Any delay to signing the Funding Agreement and commencing this workstream will directly impact on the window of time for delivery of these vital outcomes secured for Tottenham Hale’s community.

Alternative options considered

Three options were considered:

Do nothing. This is not recommended as it would fail to secure the £750,000 Mayor of London grant funding for this project and the resource required to develop the design through to delivery. This would stall the project from realising the full potential to transform the park and risk eroding the positive relationship built with local residents and park users around this project.

Not extend the fee for Levitt Bernstein. This is not recommended. It would result in only the first phase of the project being delivered under the existing contract. It would also require a new procurement exercise to be run for the later phases of design work which would add cost and cause delay to delivery on the ground. The working knowledge and goodwill that has been built up by Levitt Bernstein through the co-design process to date would be lost with no immediate comparable resource available to step in and ensure continuity and timely delivery.

Note the masterplan and secure the funding to deliver Phase 1 and extend the fee for the design team to enable full delivery of the programme.  This is the recommendation of this report.