Agenda item

The Broadwater Farm Community Centre was located on Broadwater Farm Estate, alongside Lordship Recreation Ground, and is a council asset. It contained and supported sports, leisure, community, voluntary sector, youth, food growing and gardening programmes and spaces and large Council office facilities and is need of urgent improvement works to ensure it was compliant and brought up to standards for all users.

In line with Contract Standing Order (CSO) 2.01 (c) and 0.08, the report sought approval from the Cabinet Member for Housing and Planning to award a contract for the phase 2 improvement works at Broadwater Farm Community Centre.

Phase 1 works involved drainage repairs, repaving, some additional internal decorations and DPC works. Paving on the eastern side had been mostly completed.

Repairs to the lift were part of planned maintenance. A large amount of phase 2 works related to mechanical and electrical items that were either urgent maintenance or ‘end of life’ replacement.

The Cabinet Member RESOLVED 

In line with Contract Standing Order (CSO) 2.01 (c) and 0.08, approve the award of contract to Tenderer A (as set out in Appendix A), to a total value of £810,583.54

Reasons for decision 

The recommended works to Broadwater Farm Community Centre (BWF CC) would make essential safety improvements and undertake much needed building refurbishment works to maintain the building fabric of the centre and the safety and wellbeing of users of the Centre.

Priority/ Year 1 Urgent Maintenance works from the building condition survey form the scope of the phase 1 works (already underway) and phase 2 works, along with refurbishment of key facilities (WCs, Changing Rooms, first floor offices).

Refurbishment works to upgrade the first-floor Haringey Council office in BWF CC are included in the scope of phase 2 works. This office currently accommodated 75+ Housing and Repairs staff, making it the largest staff accommodation site outside of Wood Green. These works were prioritised in 2023 to bring the office accommodation, welfare and accessible facilities for Housing Repairs staff to an equivalent professional standard to council offices at Alexandra House and Station Road.

Alternative options considered

Do nothing: The option to not proceed with works was discounted, given the poor state of BWF CC. The urgent maintenance works to the building were a mandatory requirement for compliance and Health & Safety, which the Council had a legal obligation to undertake. Furthermore, a permanent relocation of 75+ Housing and Repairs staff to a facility of a corporate standard in a reasonable and feasible timeframe was not currently possible, as confirmed by the Strategic Corporate Property team and previous reporting from the Housing Management Board.

Continue with BWF CC first floor office improvement works, progress urgent maintenance works following this: This option was discounted, as the asset would become non-compliant in some areas. It could also lead to abortive work undertaken during the first-floor improvement works, if maintenance issues were not addressed first. This would not provide good value for money nor efficient use of resources and low carbon construction. The Council was also likely to incur increased costs/ disruption through separation of works programmes.

Undertake single phase of works: This option was discounted, as it would have resulted in delay to urgent maintenance works starting and would not achieve immediate impact (user benefit and reputational benefit) of bringing key maintenance elements forwards. Accordingly, a phase 1 urgent works package was commissioned to coincide with the insourcing of the site and is now successfully underway. Further consultation and engagement with users, stakeholders and residents has also been undertaken on BWF CC through a User & Providers Group, which has been able to feed into and validate the scope of phase 2 works and potential future phases of works.

Deliver the works in-house: This option was discounted. The Council did not have the resources necessary to deliver the works services in house. It was therefore outsourced to external contractors.