Hampshire County Council Buildings, Land and Procurement Panel Item 9 30 November 2004 Winchester Cultural Centre Report by the Director of Property, Business and Regulatory Services

Contact:

Steve Clow Ext: 7858 email: [email protected]

Alec Gillies Ext: 5186 email: [email protected]

How the conclusion in this report fits with the Corporate Strategy This scheme will impact on the delivery of all Corporate Aims, focusing most immediately on: Aim 1 - maximising life opportunities: the proposal to provide a Cultural Centre in Winchester will have an immediate benefit for the local community. Aim 5 - improving services: all users of the proposed new facilities will benefit from these proposals.

1	Summary
1.1	At the July 2004 meeting of the Executive Member Recreation and Heritage approval was given to the development of a Cultural Centre in Winchester and to the submission of a design project appraisal for the consideration of the Executive Members' Recreation and Heritage and Policy and Resources. This followed confirmation of support for the scheme from the Cabinet and Winchester City Council.
1.2	Since that meeting the Director of Property, Business and Regulatory Services has, in consultation with the Director of Recreation and Heritage, completed a design solution and a schedule of accommodation for the proposed new Cultural Centre, to be located on the site of the existing Winchester Library in Jewry Street.
1.3	Winchester Cultural Centre will be the flagship Discovery Centre for Hampshire. It will be a dynamic and fresh service of high quality, flexibility and durability, serving the population of Winchester and environs and acting as a resource serving a very wide area. The public library service will be at the core of activities coupled with an exciting range of other public services.
1.4	At the heart of the project will be the restoration of the existing Grade II* listed former Corn Exchange on Jewry Street, originally constructed in 1838. The new facilities will be made up from the existing accommodation which will be sympathetically remodelled and refurbished along with a new extension which will work in harmony with the existing architecture.
1.5	Members should be advised that, as a consequence of these proposals, two County Council services will be displaced and will require relocation to new premises. The existing Library Head Office located at North Walls will be sold and the capital receipt generated from the sale will be used to part fund the scheme. It is currently intended to relocate the Local Studies Centre into the Record Office and feasibility studies are currently being undertaken.
1.6	The purpose of this report is to outline the design proposals and seek approval to the attached design project appraisal, at an estimated cost of £7.25m, including fees.
2	Scope of the Works
2.1	The proposals are to provide an integrated lending and reference library along with new cultural and educational facilities. This will be achieved by restoring the original Grade II* listed former Corn Exchange on Jewry Street, originally constructed in 1838, and by constructing two wings of new accommodation to the north and west elevations of the existing library building.
2.2	The design accommodates a large ground floor `open plan' area which will become the main library. A Children's library, Youth library, work room, meeting room, IT Suite, study room, museum exhibition, education room, express service area People's network areas and a hall/lecture theatre will also be included on the ground floor. The first floor will offer People's network areas, quieter library space, study areas, gallery, art store and staff offices.
2.3	The extension to the northern elevation will form a wing of accommodation that will form a new public space, the `Theatre Square', bounded by the old Corn Exchange to the south, the Theatre to the north and the extension to the west. This area will be re-paved up to the face of the Theatre. The design of the Jewry Street elevation will include a simple elegant transparent façade to complement the existing building and give clear views onto the activities within.
2.4	Members should be aware that the project includes the replacement of the existing public toilets on Jewry Street. It is proposed to demolish the existing male public toilets to make way for the new `Theatre Square' and remove the existing female toilets from the basement of the existing library building. New public toilets are proposed inside the Cultural Centre and extra toilets which may be open 24 hours a day are proposed to the north of the new extension on Tower Street.
3	Procurement
3.1	It is intended to procure this project through the County Council's Major Framework Contract. Two contractors have been selected to submit proposals for a best value selection process. The successful contractor will work closely with the design team to develop the scheme and competitively tender all the sub-contract works. This course of action is subject to the approval of the Executive Member for Policy and Resources at his meeting on 11 November 2004.

4	Funding and Timing
4.1	It is intended to submit a planning application, a conservation area application and an application for listed building consent by the end of November 2004. Pre-application consultants have taken place with the County Council and archaeologists. English Heritage and the City of Winchester Trust have also been consulted.
4.2	Subject to the necessary approvals and satisfactory contractor's price, it is anticipated that work will commence on site during April 2005. In order to maintain a library service at the Jewry Street site during the building works the construction programme will be phased. This will be carefully managed to ensure that the health and safety of the public, visitors and staff is a priority. The first phase will encompass enabling works to divert existing services. The second phase will involve the construction of the new extension while the service continues to operate in the existing building. The third phase will follow a decant of the library service to the new extension as a temporary facility so the existing building can be renovated. There will be a final decant back into the existing building on completion of the renovation. The whole project will be completed and opened in early 2007.
4.3	As reported to the Cabinet in June 2003 £4.8m has been allocated for Discovery Centres in Hampshire in the Recreation and Heritage Capital Programme. Of this amount £2.8m has been allocated for the Winchester Cultural Centre. During June 2004 a full Council meeting of Winchester City Council agreed to contribute £1m towards the cost of the project and to release the required land in the existing car park, on which the Cultural Centre will be built. The remainder of the funding will come from the capital receipts generated from the sale of the North Walls site and the Alton Library site.
4.4	The Cabinet, in July 2004, approved the funding of £6.6m for the project to be the capital programme provision based on the estimated capital receipt for North Walls and Alton library, together with the contribution of £1m from Winchester City Council. The current estimate is for a project value of £7.25m. This cost excludes inflation to the projected start on site next year. Before a contract is let the estimate for the receipts will be further evaluated and a contract reconciled to cover building cost inflation. The final scope and extent of the scheme and fit out will therefore be matched by the funding available, in line with the principles which have already been agreed by the Cabinet that any additional costs above £6.6m be met from additional receipts or Recreation and Heritage's existing resources. Any surplus will be used to fund related projects outlined in para 1.5.
4.5	Winchester City Council has agreed to release the required land in the existing car park on which the Cultural Centre will be built to the County Council at nil cost. The County Council will retain the freehold of the existing building and the new extension and will take overall responsibility for the management of the Cultural Centre.
4.6	It should be noted that, in exchange for their financial and land contributions, Winchester City Council has made a number of specific requests which have been incorporated into the scheme. These include: the museum exhibition space and associated storage areas as dedicated spaces under the programming control of the City Council; the provision of a study room and teaching area for class sized groups (these facilities will be integrated with the County Council uses) and the provision of some workstations for their staff in the open plan office area.
5	Public Consultation
5.1	Earlier this year an extensive public consultation exercise was undertaken by the County Council to gauge public reaction to these proposals and more than 65% of people stated their support. Also, almost half of the car park users questioned supported the plans.
5.2	Further consultation with the public and other interested parties is planned for the autumn to confirm the detail of the content of the Cultural Centre.
6	Consultation with Local Member
6.1	Councillor Peskett, the local Member for this area, has been consulted on this scheme and is satisfied with the proposals.
7	Conclusion
7.1	These proposals will enable a new flagship Cultural Centre for Hampshire in Winchester with an integrated lending and reference library along with high quality cultural and educational facilities.
Recommendation
1	That the Buildings, Land and Procurement Panel advises the Executive Member for Policy and Resources that the design project appraisal for the Winchester Cultural Centre, at an estimated cost of £7.25m, including fees, be approved.
2	That the Buildings, Land and Procurement Panel advises the Executive Member for Policy and Resources that authority be given to the Director of Property, Business and Regulatory Services to settle terms for, and complete the transfer of land surrounding Jewry Street Library from Winchester City Council.

Section 100 D - Local Government Act 1972 - background papers

The following documents disclose 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 this report.

NB the list excludes:

1 Published works

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

Title Location

Architect's plans PMIS file

Building Profile Reports TMH

Hampshire County Council

Building Design Project Appraisal

Recreation and Heritage Policy Review Committee

Executive Member - Recreation and Heritage

18 November 2004

Buildings, Land and Procurement Panel

30 November 2004

Executive Member - Policy and Resources

9 December 2004

Project:	WINCHESTER CULTURAL CENTRE
	EXTENSION AND ALTERATIONS TO JEWRY STREET LIBRARY TO FORM NEW CULTURAL CENTRE
Commencement date:	APRIL 2005
Completion date:	EARLY 2007
Planned year of start in accordance with Capital Programme:		2005/06

Recommendations:

1. That the Buildings Land and Procurement Panel advises the Executive Member for Policy and Resources that the design project appraisal for the Winchester Cultural Centre, at an estimated cost of £7.25m, including fees, be approved.

2. That the Buildings Land and Procurement Panel advises the Executive Member for Policy and Resources that authority be given to the Director of Property, Business and Regulatory Services to settle terms for, and complete the transfer of land surrounding Jewry Street library from Winchester City Council.

1 Finance

Capital Expenditure	Current Estimate £'000	Capital Programme £'000
Buildings	6.561	2.523
Fees	689	277
Land to be purchased	-	_
Total	* 7.250	2.800

* 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.

Financial Provision for Total Scheme	Buildings & fit out £'000	Fees £'000	Total cost £'000
1 From Own Resources:
a) Capital Programme 05/06 (as above)	2.523	277	2.800
2 From Other Resources:
a) Capital Receipts	3.138	312	3.450
3 From External Resources:
a) Winchester City Council	900	100	1.000
Total	6.561	689	7.250

Building Cost - Net Cost = £ 1,771 per m²

- Gross Cost = £ 1,996 per m²

The Cabinet, in July 2004, approved the funding for the project to be the capital programme provision plus the estimated capital receipt for North Walls and Alton library, together with the contribution of £1m from Winchester City Council. This, on current estimate, will provide for a project value of £7.25m. This cost excludes inflation to the projected start on site next year. Before a contract is let the estimate for the receipts will be further evaluated and a contract reconciled to cover building cost inflation. The final scope and extent of the scheme and fit out will therefore be matched by the funding available, in line with the principles which have already been agreed by the Cabinet.

The net and gross costs of the new build extension are in line with recent costs associated with other new library buildings and recognise the nature of the site and its particular constraints. The costs also take into account the imperative to suitably respect the adjacent Listed building, constructing the extension in materials and to a specification which will have an appropriate longevity and quality. Refurbishment costs are not expressed in costs per m² terms as this would be misleading and can never be used as comparison with other projects.

Landlord Funded work connected with this scheme

There are currently no Landlord funded works included in these proposals. Working within the existing building may identify liabilities which are currently not known. If any such identified, then due consideration would be given to undertaking works at a future date based on priorities in relation to other work. Good Property, as with Management and Stewardship, is a County Council priority and this would be considered in this context.

Value of land already acquired for this project

The County Council owns the existing library building, which was acquired at historic cost. Although valuable to the County Council it has limited realisable value due to planning policies which protect facilities and which seek to resist the loss of premises or sites currently or last used for the provision of facilities or public services.

Winchester City Council has indicated that it will transfer a long term interest, subject to certain conditions being met, in land surrounding the library building to the County Council at nil consideration. The land currently comprises the car park and is required to enable the existing building to be extended.

Revenue implications

The staffing structure for the Cultural Centre has not yet been finalised so the figures included below are best estimates based on the increased size of the new building and the wider range of services that will be delivered. No account has been taken of increased opening hours at this stage. As no additional running costs were approved at the time the scheme was added to the capital programme the extent of any additional running costs allowable within the base budget will need to be considered in this budget cycle.

	(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	140	80	220	375	595
Unit cost (£) (e.g. per place)	-	-	-	-	-
% variation to Committee's Budget	0.4	0.2	0.6	1.0	1.6
Number of additional Staff (fte)	6

Energy costs

The estimated annual energy consumption for the new accommodation will meet that required by current Building Regulations. It is anticipated that the fuel cost for the completed Cultural Centre will be in the order of £ 6.6 per m².

2 Details of site and existing infrastructure

Location/adjoining land and buildings

The new Cultural Centre will be located on the site of the existing Winchester library in Jewry Street. The building is bounded to the north by the Theatre Royal and shops beyond. To the west is residential accommodation and to the south are further shops. Jewry Street runs along the length of the eastern elevation of the building with a church and shops opposite the library.

Area including comparison with local/national standards

The total site area is 0.37 acres (0.91 hectares). There are no local/national guidelines for this type of site.

Access

Vehicular access, from Jewry Street, will lead visitors to the car park situated to the southern and western elevations of the building. In addition to the existing stepped library entrance, level access for pedestrians will be facilitated from the new Theatre Square and from the car park to the rear. There is a bus stop immediately adjacent the building.

Existing buildings and temporary buildings

The existing library is housed in the former Corn Exchange which is a grade II* listed building in a designated conservation area. Any changes to the existing building will satisfy the strict conditions of the planning regulations and listed building permissions. There are no temporary buildings on site and none will be required for these proposals.

Results of trial boreholes

A site investigation, including a watching brief from the City and County archaeologists, was undertaken in August 2004. Preliminary trial pit borehole information has been made available and further testing to ascertain the nature of the soil is awaited. Final results are expected in November.

The initial information indicates that there are areas of fill, from 2m to 6m in places, overlying chalk. There are also several underground air raid shelters that will need to be bridged. For the new build extension to the rear and side of the existing building piled foundations into the natural chalk will be the most appropriate solution. The length of the piles is likely to be in the order of 10m to 15m long. The floor slab will be an in-situ concrete slab spanning between the piles, which will also be designed to support construction traffic during the building works.

Mains services position

All mains services will be extended or adapted as necessary to serve the new accommodation. A recently upgraded electrical sub-station, serving the adjacent Theatre, has sufficient capacity for the new Cultural Centre. An existing sub-station in one of the underground air-raid shelters near the library will be decommissioned as part of these works.

A surface water sewer currently crosses the site and this will be diverted into Tower Street to enable the construction of the new extension.

3 Scope of the Project

Type of project, layout and facilities provided

By way of internal reconfiguration and remodelling of the existing building, along with extensions to the north and west elevations, the following accommodation will be provided:

Ground Floor:

· main entrance / lobby

· main lending/reference library (with People's Network, information desk and study area)

· children's library

· youth library

· meeting room

· study room

· IT Suite

· education room

· museum exhibition area

· express service area (with information point and coffee area)

· hall (180 seat lecture/140 seat theatre)

· hall store

· male, female and accessible public WCs

· changing areas

First Floor:

· art gallery

· art store

· library area

· staff offices

· staff room

· meeting room

· study areas

· IT area (with public access)

· control room

· plant room

Places provided

Current usage of the lending and reference buildings is in the region of 315,000 visitors per year. The Cultural Centre is expected to significantly increase this number, particularly amongst currently under represented groups.

4 The Proposed Building

Type of construction, finish and appearance

The new extensions will be of a steel frame construction with walls of light coloured hand-made brick and cast stone. The roof will be a metal standing seam type The northern extension will have a glass and cast stone elevation onto the Theatre Square.

Accessible facilities

Two level pedestrian access points will be provided to the building from the Theatre Square and the car park, where three disabled car parking bays will be provided. Assisted WCs will be located on the ground and first floor of the building.

Heating and ventilation systems

A new gas fired boiler, in the plant room on the second floor of the new building, will provide heat via a combination of under floor heating and radiators to the library areas. Warm air heating and ventilation will serve the education spaces, hall and art gallery. The art gallery and IT areas will also have the necessary environment controlled mechanical cooling. Mechanical ventilation will be provided to the WCs and changing areas.

Fire risk assessment

A fire risk assessment consultation with Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service has been undertaken. The assessment concludes that the risk of loss of life is low and of damage to the property from fire is medium but the value of the loss of the service and of the heritage asset is high. Therefore it is recommended that a property protection sprinkler system is installed.

Health and safety

A designer's risk assessment and a design health and safety plan, in accordance with Regulation 15 of the Construction Design and Management Regulations 1994, have been undertaken for the proposed scheme

5 External Works

Car parking

The proposals will provide a car park with 42 spaces, which includes three disabled spaces.

Landscape proposals

The newly created Theatre Square will be re-paved to provide an inviting approach to the building. External ramps, handrails, new signage and lighting will ensure a safe arrival to the building.

Situation on site and environmental impact

The external appearance of the existing structure will remain unaltered as much as possible to maintain the original features and qualities of this grade II* listed building.

The reconfigured car park will enable a better organised car parking facility with level pedestrian access to the building.

6 Planning

Extensive discussions have been undertaken with County Council and City Council Officers regarding the planning application for these proposals. Other parties (see Consultees listed below) have also been included in these discussions and their comments and advice taken on board.

It is anticipated that a full detailed planning application will be submitted to the Environment Department before the end of November 2004.

7 Building management

Existing arrangements will apply to cleaning, local management and maintenance arrangements. Arrangements for catering have yet to be finalised but are likely to be one of three options; in-house provision, franchised or provided in partnership with the Theatre Royal.

8 Furniture and equipment

The centre will be furnished and equipped to a high standard reflecting the best current policies in public library provision. The cost estimate includes for furniture and equipment as this price is an all inclusive cost.

9 Professional resources

Architectural Services }Property, Business and Regulatory

Quantity Surveying } Davis, Langdon and Everest

Electrical and Mechanical Engineering } White, Young and Green

Structural Engineering } Gifford and Partners

10 Consultations

The following have been consulted during the development of the project: Director of Recreation and Heritage, Environment Department, Access Officer, local County Councillor, Theatre Royal, City of Winchester Trust, Winchester City Council and English Heritage.

An extensive public consultation exercise was undertaken earlier this year to gauge support for the scheme. Over 65% of the respondents supported the creation of a Cultural Centre and almost half of those questioned in the car park also supported the plans.

EMR&H1104 - Winchester Cultural Centre