Archived decisions

HAMPSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL

BUILDING DESIGN PROJECT APPRAISAL

EDUCATION BUILDINGS ADVISORY GROUP

30 JUNE 2003

EXECUTIVE MEMBER - POLICY AND RESOURCES

17 JULY 2003

BUILDINGS, LAND AND CONTRACTS PANEL

25 JULY 2003

`EXECUTIVE MEMBER - EDUCATION

25 JULY 2003

PROJECT:	AMERY HILL SECONDARY SCHOOL, ALTON
	PROVISION OF BASIC NEED ACCOMMODATION, REFURBISHMENT WORKS AND SYNTHETIC TURF PITCH
COMMENCEMENT DATE:	SEPTEMBER 2003
COMPLETION DATE:	AUGUST 2004
PLANNED YEAR OF START IN ACCORDANCE WITH CAPITAL PROGRAMME:		2003/ 04

RECOMMENDATION:

That the building design project appraisal for the scheme to provide Basic Needs accommodation and synthetic turf pitch at Amery Hill Secondary School be approved.

1. FINANCE

Capital Expenditure	Current Estimate (at current prices) £'000	Capital Programme (at Nov '02 prices) £'000
Buildings	2,637	1,121
Fees	397	179
TOTAL	*3,034	1,300

* The means by which the difference between the Current Estimate and the Capital Programme allocation is to be met is shown in the table below.

Furniture and Equipment: subject to the County Education Officer's assessment of need with the Headteacher, together with the availability of funding, a furniture and equipment allocation will be made from the block vote in the Education Committee's Capital Programme in the appropriate financial year.

Financial Provision for Total Scheme	Scheme £'000	Fees £'000	Total Cost £'000
1. From Committee's own Resources:
a) 2003/04 Capital Programme (Basic Needs)	1,121	179	1,300
b) Modernisation Funding	196	29	225
2. P&R Repairs and Maintenance budget	300	48	348
3. School:
a) Eggar's Trust Fund	688	110	798
b) Devolved Capital	242	31	273
TOTAL	2,547	397	**2,944

** The shortfall will be addressed following receipt of tenders by identifying appropriate savings on the scheme.

Anticipated Devolved Capital allocations £

2002/03 41,100

2003/04 71,000

2005/06 83,000

TOTAL 195,100

Landlord Funded Work connected with this Scheme

Landlord works associated with this scheme comprise replacement of an existing Ballard heater system (£225,000) and replacement of the fire detection and alarm system (£75,000).

Value of Land already acquired for this Project

The land forming the site of the majority of the development is an integral part of the school campus and is incapable of disposal in isolation. The land was acquired at historic cost and its current value to the County Council is as part of the ground of the establishment. Part of the new car park has potential for a housing development disposal, but the DfES will not grant consent to any disposal because the school site area is below standard.

Building Cost - Net Cost: because of the nature of the project combining new build, conversion and refurbishment, it is not possible to report an accurate net cost.

Revenue Implications

	(a) Employees £'000	(b) Other £'000	(a+b) Net Current Expenditure £'000	(c) Capital Charges £'000	(a+b+c) Total Net Expenditure £'000
Revenue Implications Additional /Reductions	-	-	-	Education to provide once funding confirmed
Unit cost (£) (e.g. per place)	-	-	-	-	-
% variation to Committee's budget	-				-
Number of additional Staff (fte)	-				-

(a) Energy Costs

Upon completion of these works it is anticipated that the additional annual fuel cost will be in the order of £4,080 per annum or £4.10 per m².

(b) Maintenance Costs

The detailed design and choice of materials will minimise future maintenance liability.

2. STATEMENT OF NEED/JUSTIFICATION FOR PROJECT

As a result of a successful basic need bid to the DfES, funding was secured to expand the school accommodation. This was necessary to reflect forecast growth in pupil numbers. In addition, funding has been made available from the Eggars Trust to improve the facilities.

3. DETAILS OF SITE

LOCATION

Amery Hill Secondary School is located at Amery Hill, Alton.

ADJOINING LAND AND BUILDINGS

The school site is surrounded on three sides by residential development. It is also bounded by playing fields, and highways on two sides.

AREA INCLUDING COMPARISON WITH LOCAL/NATIONAL STANDARDS

The total site area for the school is 13.45 acres (5.44 hectares). The DfES guideline for a school of this size is between 17.7-19.29acres (7.19-7.81 hectares).

PLANNING POSITION

A formal detailed planning application for the classroom extensions was submitted to the Director of Environment during April 2003.

A formal detailed planning application for the synthetic turf pitch was submitted to the Director of Environment during May 2003.

SUITABILITY FOR PROJECT

These proposals will provide permanent accommodation to replace four temporary classrooms presently on site. Amery Hill currently has 969 pupils on roll, however by September 2003 it is forecast to have a roll of 1,000 pupils. Seven additional teaching spaces, associated ancillary accommodation and enhanced sporting facilities are required to meet the needs of the School.

The synthetic turf pitch will provide an all-weather facility for the school and for out-of-hours community use.

RESULTS OF TRIAL BORE HOLES

A previous ground investigation found that the school is situated in an area of Lower Chalk with superficial deposits of valley gravel. Depth of topsoil and/or fill is 0.35m to 0.85m. Underlying this are clayey gravels, gravel clay mixtures and gravely clay to the full depth of the trial pits (1.6m). No chalk was encountered. No water entered any of the trial pits.

ACCESS

Vehicular access to the school site is from Amery Hill. There are two pedestrian /pupil accesses, one from Old Odiham Road to the east of the site, the second from Amery Hill to the south of the site.

COMMENTS ON SITE LAYOUT

The site is irregular in shape, the school buildings being clustered in the southeast corner, with playing fields to the west. A bus drop-off area is situated to the south of the school buildings, adjoining St Lawrence Primary School. The parking area to the southwest of the school buildings is also used by the Primary School.

MAINS SERVICES POSITION

The existing electricity supply to the site is considered to be inadequate and will be upgraded to serve the classroom extensions and the proposed floodlighting to the synthetic turf pitch.

All other mains services are considered to be of a sufficient capacity to be extended and adapted as required to serve the proposed new accommodation.

MAINTENANCE IMPLICATIONS

The site will be maintained in accordance with current County Council standards.

LANDSCAPE PROPOSALS

Landscaping associated with these works will comprise:

Artificial turf pitch

Dense tree and shrub planting will be undertaken to the north and south of the pitch to shield the area from the adjacent residential areas.

Classrooms extensions:

A `language garden' will be formed between the main school block and the proposed Arts and Modern Foreign Languages building. This will be designed around existing trees and will include low-level shrub planting and paved areas.

An `amphitheatre garden' is proposed outside the new drama block and will similarly feature tree and shrub planting around paved areas.

Car park area:

The proposed car park to the northeast of the site will be planted with trees and shrubs to enhance the area and provide a green boundary to the adjacent residential area.

4. THE PROPOSEDBUILDING/RATIONALISATION/CONVERSION

TYPE OF PROJECT, LAYOUT AND FACILITIES PROVIDED

The two-storey original building which surrounded a courtyard has been extended to form three sides of a second courtyard. It is proposed to construct an extension that will close this courtyard, creating a new social and educational core to the School. Internal and external alterations within the courtyard should improve the pupil circulation in this area.

The proposed drama extension links the existing drama spaces and sports/performance hall together and forms a backdrop to a new external drama space, including a small amphitheatre between these three buildings.

The third new extension will act as pavilion to the playing fields and proposed all-weather pitch, and soften the impact of the existing profiled metal sports hall from the playing fields. It is located on the playing fields side of the hall so it can provide a wet changing area for external sports.

It is proposed to upgrade the existing music facility to provide enhanced acoustics and better accommodation.

It is also proposed to modernise two food technology classrooms and two science laboratories to meet current standards.

The proposed floodlit synthetic turf pitch will provide all-weather sporting facilities for the school and out-of-hours community use.

PLACES PROVIDED

On completion of the project the school will provide 1,000 places.

PRESENT/REDUNDANT BUILDINGS AND FUTURE USE

Most of the existing school buildings are of traditional load-bearing brick construction. The original building was erected in 1938 and additional buildings were constructed during the 1960's-1990's. These buildings are considered to be in good condition for their age and type, although some internal refurbishment is proposed.

TEMPORARY BUILDINGS

There are currently four temporary classrooms on site and the proposed classroom extensions will enable their removal at the end of the contract.

SITUATION ON SITE AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

The proposed extensions have been designed to enhance and complement the existing school buildings. Some trees will be removed from the site of the proposed Arts and MFL building and Drama building, however landscaping in these areas will include a `language garden' and amphitheatre consisting of paved areas and low-level shrub planting.

The siting of the floodlit synthetic turf pitch is close to residential areas and therefore it is proposed to form a dense tree/shrub boundary to minimise the impact of the proposal on adjacent housing. The level of floodlighting provision has been reduced from county standard to club standard to reduce the impact on neighbouring properties.

TYPE OF CONSTRUCTION, FINISH AND APPEARANCE

The main two-storey Arts/MFL extension will be of traditional brickwork with plain tile pitched roof to match the existing building. Windows and doors will be aluminium. Materials for all the extensions have been chosen to complement those already in existence on the School, red clay facing brick, red clay plain tiles, built up felt roofs but with some additional areas of timber cladding.

FACILITIES FOR THE DISABLED

A new lift is proposed to provide access to curriculum areas otherwise unavailable.

New accessible wc's are to be included on each floor of the main two-storey Arts/MFL extension and the changing pavilion. Existing parking facilities in front of the school are to remain unchanged.

The School is investigating access, throughout the existing site, for disabled people, outside the scope of these works.

HEATING AND VENTILATION SYSTEMS

Gas fired underfloor heating to all extensions.

An existing Ballard heater in the music block is to be replaced.

Mechanical ventilation (extract fans) to all buildings.

SPRINKLER SYSTEM

The new buildings are not stand-alone buildings on green field sites and in addition a risk assessment has been undertaken and has concluded that a sprinkler system in the extensions and refurbished areas would not be appropriate.

ENERGY EFFICIENCY OF BUILDING

The estimated annual energy consumption for the new buildings will meet that required by Building Regulations.

ALTERNATIVE STANDARDS OF PROVISION CONSIDERED

These proposals will provide necessary additional permanent teaching accommodation to facilitate the removal of four temporary classrooms from site, modernised music, science and food technology accommodation, accessible buildings for those with mobility disabilities and improved aesthetics and circulation areas throughout the campus.

The proposals also provide an all-weather sports facility for use by the School and the community.

CAR PARKING

Current car parking facilities provide 75 spaces which are used by 96 Amery Hill staff and 16 St Lawrence School staff. This car park is located to the southwest of the main school building. It is proposed that this car park will be reconfigured and used by the Amery Hill School, St Lawrence School and members of the public using the STP.

The school has developed a Transport Plan (March 2003) which concludes that increased numbers in pupils, staff and support staff will mean that an increase in parking facilities is necessary. The proposed works will reduce the parking in the current car park and compensatory parking will be provided to the north of the site, upon removal of the temporary classrooms. The new car parking (32 proposed - net two extra) will be accessed off an existing service access from Old Odiham Road.

CONSULTATIONS

The following have been consulted during the development of the project: School Governors, County Education Officer, Director of Environment, District Council, Estates Practice, Executive Member - Education, Local County Councillor, Access Officer.

5. THE BUILDING DEVELOPMENT

The scheme will provide necessary additional teaching accommodation for the school and facilitate the removal of four temporary classrooms on site.

6. BUILDING MANAGEMENT

CLEANING

Existing arrangements will apply.

CATERING

Existing arrangements will apply.

7. FURNITURE AND EQUIPMENT

From the block vote in the Education Committee's Capital Programme.

8. STAFFING

No effect.

9. FEES

Architectural Services - Property, Business and

Regulatory Services

Quantity Surveying - Wheelers

0 Electrical and Mechanical Engineering - Property, Business and

Regulatory Services

Structural Engineering - Gifford Consulting