Hampshire Fire and Rescue Authority

Finance and General Purposes Committee

Item 3

24 April 2002

Copnor Fire Station and B Division Headquarters, Portsmouth: major building defects

Report of the Chief Fire Officer

Contact:

David Howells, Director of Corporate Services

Tel: 023 8064 4000 Ext 203

1

Summary

1.1

Following the Authority's decision not to close Copnor Fire Station, the Committee is now asked to consider how best to deal with the major defects associated with the existing building.

1.2

There are significant financial implications of the various options that are now suggested. To help determine a way forward, Members will need to consider whether to take a short, medium, or long-term perspective on the future provision of fire cover in the area; and whether it would be reasonable in the circumstances for cover to be provided from the existing building and/or site.

1.3

At this stage only very rough estimates can be provided, but it is hoped that this will assist Members to decide which, if any, of the possible options presented should be pursued in more detail and recommended to the full Authority.

2

Background

2.1

At its meeting on 3 April 2001, the Committee agreed that it would be unwise to carry out costly repairs to the existing building in the knowledge that there was a proposal to rationalise the provision of fire cover in Portsmouth.

2.2

The full Authority supported this view and resolved (at its meeting on 25 May 2001) that, "... it did not wish to carry out major structural repairs and refurbishment works to the Copnor Fire Station and Divisional Headquarters building; and that the building be declared surplus to operational requirements and sold on the open market." The Authority further resolved that, "... vehicles and personnel be relocated to Southsea Fire Station, initially on a temporary basis, pending the approval of the Secretary of State ... to their longer-term relocation as part of wider proposals for changes of fire cover in Portsmouth."

2.3

However, in considering the detailed review of fire cover for Portsmouth, the Authority subsequently decided not to approve the recommendation to close the Copnor Fire Station, relocate the resources to Southsea Fire Station, and to dispose of the Copnor site. The Authority passed no alternative resolution at its meeting on 6 February 2002, so this report assumes that it would be the wish of the Authority that the current arrangements for the provision of fire cover in Portsmouth should remain as at present. It means that the previous resolutions of the Authority (summarised in paragraph 2.2 above) are effectively superseded.

2.4

In view of the significant investment now required to deal with the major structural defects and to bring the building up to modern-day standards; the Committee may wish to consider at the outset whether the building and/or site should continue to meet fire cover needs for the short, medium, or long-term. As a guide, and for fire cover review purposes: short-term = 1-5 years; medium-term = 6-10 years; long-term = 11+ years. In consideration of time-scales, the Committee may find it helpful to know that the next major review of fire cover in Portsmouth will not take place for at least five years; and that it is extremely unlikely that any future review would propose the retention of a fire station located in the Copnor area.

2.5

The other significant proposal to affect fire cover in Portsmouth will be the replacement of the existing Cosham Fire Station building which, although smaller than Copnor, is of a similar age. The Cosham site is small and has inadequate practical training facilities.

2.6

The Committee will be aware, from discussions and outline plans considered at previous meetings, that a preferred site has been identified at Portsbridge for a new fire station to replace Cosham. However, although considered as suitable for the location of a fire station in the Draft Local Plan for Portsmouth, development of this particular site is likely to be opposed by local residents.

2.7

Other, higher priority, schemes (including the need for a second fire station in Basingstoke), the lack of sufficient borrowing approvals and funding pressures generally, means that the replacement of Cosham is unlikely to be progressed within the next five years.

2.8

Set out below are four options for the Committee's consideration. They range in scope from rectifying only the urgent structural defects necessary to make the building safe for continued occupation, through to the complete demolition of the building and the construction/development of a new fire station either on the same site or on an alternative site in the immediate locality.

3

Options and Estimated Costs

3.1

Option 1: Structural repairs to the existing

Building

This is very much a short-term option. The works carried out would be the minimum necessary to make the building safe for continued occupation. There would be little or no improvement to the accommodation and facilities. Works would include dealing with the on-going deterioration to the concrete lintels, cills and side closures to the windows and also to the concrete fins in certain parts of the building.

The specialist structural engineers survey and report (first conducted in September 2000 when the estimate for remedial repair works then was between £200,000 and £250,000) has been updated; the revised estimate is between £290,000 and £350,000.

The works will require the temporary relocation of staff for about 10 weeks. As previously suggested, it would make sense to temporarily relocate the fire station vehicles and crews to Southsea Fire Station. Further temporary accommodation would need to be put in place, at Southsea and/or the Headquarters site, for the 20 divisional support staff currently based at Copnor. Provisional estimates suggest that up to £200,000 will be required to meet this need.

In total, this option would cost in the range of £490,000 to £550,000.

3.2

Option 2: Structural repairs and major refurbishment

The Authority's architectural and property adviser has previously recommended that if there is a medium to long-term intention to remain at the Copnor site then the building is in need of other significant repair and refurbishment works to satisfy both current and future operational and basic accommodation needs. These include: the replacement of the mechanical and electrical services (including heating, lighting, toilet/shower, kitchen facilities), roofing and other structural repairs.

A detailed specification of work has not yet been agreed (this in itself will incur fees in the order of £12,000 to £20,000). Previous rough estimates, however, suggest that these refurbishment works would cost at least a further £750,000 to £1.1m dependent on the extent of improvement work. If this was the preferred solution, then the Committee would be presented with fully-costed `sub-options' for consideration. The Committee would, at that stage need to be mindful of whether the Authority is looking for a medium or long-term solution.

In the course of these works it would be possible to make use of the £51,000 Supplementary Credit Approval allocated to the Authority to carry out works which will contribute to improving `equality and diversity' in the workplace. Specifically this would include improvements for access to the building by the disabled, space for community fire safety training, and improvements in facilities for women.

The works would be extensive and would require the complete evacuation of the building for up to 6 months. This would mean the estimated temporary accommodation costs could be higher.

In total, this option would cost at least £1.5m.

3.3

Option 3: Demolition and redevelopment on existing

Site

Given the significant costs associated with bringing the building up to modern-day standards (outlined in Option 2), Members may find it useful to compare this with the cost of demolishing the existing building and constructing a new fire station on the site. This would be a long-term solution.

The cost will obviously depend on the size of the station, the extent of training facilities, and the amount of office accommodation to be retained on the site. Again, the cost of working-up a detailed specification will incur professional fees in the order of £15,000 to £20,000. However, based on the experience gained from the recent redevelopment of the St Mary's Fire Station, the cost of demolition and redevelopment is likely to be in the range: £2m to £2.5m at current prices.

Given the `landmark' status already afforded to the Copnor site in the development brief for the disposal of the site (previously undertaken when it was assumed that the site would be sold) it is likely that a `high quality' building would be preferred by the local planning authority.

It would be possible to utilise the relatively small Supplementary Credit Approval (detailed in Option 2 above) in this scheme, but only if the scheme could be got underway within 2002/03.

The temporary accommodation costs would be no less than those set out for Option 2 and could be as much as £300,000 - largely dependent on the timing and duration of the building works.

In total, this option would cost in the range £2.3m to £2.8m.

3.4

Option 4: Development on an alternative site in the

Locality

Stemming from consideration of Option 3, it is anticipated that the Committee would like to know, at least for comparative purposes, the cost of building a new fire station elsewhere in the immediate locality.

The site would clearly need to be very close to the existing fire station in recognition of the strong public reaction against the proposal to relocate the resources to Southsea.

The prime reason for considering this long-term option would be the possibility of moving to a site where a building of substantially cheaper construction could be considered. Refurbishment of an existing, or construction of a new, `industrial unit' type of building is envisaged - preferably at the nearby Burfields Industrial Estate. Such an acquisition may be in the Authority's best long-term interests as it would probably be a site and building of a type easier to dispose of - should that ever become an option in the future.

The Authority's estates adviser has been making enquiries and, based on current market prices, it is suggested that the cost of acquiring either an existing industrial building and refurbishing it, or constructing one on a vacant plot is likely to cost in the range £1.6m to £2.1m.

This cost could be partly offset by income that would be received from the disposal of the existing Copnor site - estimated to be worth in the range £500,000 to £750,000.

This option is wholly dependent on the availability and suitability of finding a suitable building/site. Timing would be a major issue and it would difficult to determine which would be the most cost-efficient solution for addressing the urgent structural problems associated with the existing building. There would be two choices: deal with the urgent structural defects (essentially Option 1); or, take the risk of vacating the building immediately, and moving to temporary accommodation until such time as a suitable new location is found.

`Temporary' may become longer than is reasonably acceptable - especially from the public's perspective. It may be viewed as the Authority effectively `closing' the Copnor Fire Station for an indefinite period. The best estimate that can be provided at this stage for the temporary arrangements is to assume a `worse-case scenario' figure of about £300,000.

The total, net cost, of this option would be in the range £1.2m to £2.2m.

4

Funding Implications: comments of the Treasurer

4.1

The closure of Copnor, as previously proposed, was the only option which could be recommended in financial terms (but it is recognised that financial considerations were not the basis of the Authority's decision on 6 February 2002). The alternatives all pose problems given the background of limited capital resources. Members will be aware that for example, there has been a longstanding but unachievable desire to move away from lease arrangements purchase of vehicles.

4.2

There is about £1m of capital as yet uncommitted in 2002/03, and a further £500,000 uncommitted in 2003/04. The intention to date has been to carry these amounts forward in order to fund the new Basingstoke Fire Station, which is estimated to cost some £3 million in total and on which work could be expected to be started in 2004/05, and completed in 2005/06. Unless the position changes, any significant capital expenditure on Copnor would cause delay in being able to make a start at Basingstoke.

4.3

There are three possible ways in which additional capital might be obtained:

· Borrowing credit approvals from constituent authorities, which could facilitate any significant early spending on Copnor, but would not change the underlying equation. This would require the formal approval of the County Council. The County is in a position to lend BCA, but would require it to be returned by the end of 2003/04. As stated before, it is estimated that the Authority would have £1.5m at the end of 2003/04. This would therefore just bring forward a possible £500,000 to the current financial year and still not fully support Options 2 or 3.

· The Government has announced that borrowing controls will be replaced with a system of prudential guidelines to prevent the cost of repaying borrowing exceeding what the revenue budget can reasonably bear. However, although this may come into force in April 2004, it is likely to be later; and, even if this does increase borrowing power, the effect on the revenue budget must be taken into account. The move towards making the combined fire authorities precepting bodies is part of the same set of Government proposals: that, equally, may increase flexibility in some ways but will not of itself if it help to find the resources.

· Attempts could be made to incorporate a programme of building fire stations within the Public Finance Initiative (PFI); but given the generally accepted guideline that schemes must be worth at least £10m, the high set up costs and the reduction in future flexibility which are entailed, this has not been a route favoured by the Authority to date.

4.4

The simplest way to look at the options from a funding perspective, then, is that:

· Option 1 is reasonably straightforward in funding terms, but could be expected to defer the ability to progress Basingstoke by 6 months to a year.

· Option 4 is feasible in funding terms if the Authority is prepared to borrow credit approvals from the County Council, but would lead to further delays in progressing Basingstoke.

· Options 2 and 3 would be difficult to fund immediately, and would then be effectively equivalent to replacing the Basingstoke station with the new Copnor in the programme and deferring Basingstoke indefinitely. That would be very poor value for money should Copnor prove not to be a permanently required station but must also be open to doubt on the fire cover grounds, given that the additional Basingstoke station has been assessed as necessary in those terms

If the previous decision is not to be revisited in the light of the assessment of overall priorities against some capital resources, then Option 1 makes the most short-term sense. That said, if the Authority is not to be left with the same problem in five years' time but having spent £0.5 million extra, then an exploration of medium-term options should be actively pursued as soon as possible.

5

Conclusion

5.1

Determining the best way forward is highly dependent on what long-term view the Authority wishes to take about the future of fire cover in Portsmouth. It has been made quite clear, following the detailed review of fire cover, that excellent standards of fire cover can be maintained for the foreseeable future without the need to locate a pumping appliance and crew in the Copnor area. Nevertheless, the Authority, in response to the concerns expressed by local residents in the Copnor area, were not minded to support the recommendation to relocate the Copnor resources to Southsea Fire Station.

5.2

This Committee will be aware of the Authority's current view and needs to anticipate whether this position will maintain in the long-term - especially, perhaps, whether future consideration of replacing the existing Cosham Fire Station might have an impact on the situation.

6

European Convention on Human Rights and the Human Rights Act 1998

6.1

The proposals within this report are compatible with the provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights and the Human Rights Act 1998.

Recommendation

That the Committee determines which, if any, of the four options for dealing with the major building defects at the Copnor Fire Station and B Division Headquarters, Portsmouth, it wishes to recommend to the Authority for final approval.

Section 100D - Local Government Act 1972 - background papers

The following documents disclose the facts or matters on which this report, or an important part of it, is based and has been relied upon to a material extent in the preparation of the report.

HFRA 23 5 2001

Copnor Fire Station & B Div HQ - Major Building Defects

HFRA F&GP

18 7 2001

Copnor Fire Station & B Div HQ - Major Building Defects - Note: Oral report

HFRA F&GP

24 10 2001

Copnor Fire Station & B Div HQ - Major Building Defects

HFRA 5 12 2001

Reviews of Fire Cover: Basingstoke, Winchester, Portsmouth - Progress Report

HFRA 6 2 2002

Review of Fire Cover - Future of Copnor Fire Station

NB The list excludes:

1 Published works

2 Documents that disclose exempt or confidential information as defined in the Act

Dir.fin HFRA FGP 24 4 02 Copnor DH/JMW/17/4/02