Hampshire County Council Executive Member - Recreation and Heritage Item 11 17 November 2005 Leigh Park Crafts Initiative , Havant Report by the Director of Property, Business and Regulatory Services

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: by providing new, modern facilities for undertaking exciting and challenging crafts initiatives. Aim 3 - achieving economic prosperity: by creating an environment appropriate for training and skill development and providing access to lifelong learning.

Contact: Steve Clow Ext: 7858 e-mail: [email protected]

1	Summary
1.1	At the July 2003 meeting of the Executive Member for Recreation and Heritage approval was given to the development of a Community Crafts Teaching building to provide dedicated facilities for craft based activities. The new facility, to be known as Leigh Park Crafts Initiative (LPCI), is part of a larger programme of crafts development in the County of which The Making (formerly known as the Museum of Modern Crafts (MOMC)) is an integral part. The Making provides a craft development role which will expand across the South East region, as well as working towards providing a new facility for contemporary crafts.
1.2	The LPCI scheme has been established by Hampshire County Council (HCC) in partnership with Arts Council England, South East and Havant Borough Council. In 2002 the Leigh Park Crafts Initiative Trust Limited was set up to manage and run the facility. They are now operating under the name `Making Space'. The land on which the building is to be constructed is owned by Havant Borough Council (HBC) and will be leased to HCC for 125 years at a peppercorn rent. Once constructed the new building will then be let to the LPCI Trust and the use will be shared between community teaching and studio accommodation for craft makers.
1.3	The proposed site for the new building is located on an area of land between the existing Sure Start/Community Centre and the Apex Centre at Bishopstoke Road, Havant. The site is currently used as a private car park for the Sure Start/Community Centre. The site has been allocated for development by HBC as their contribution to the scheme and planning permission for the development of the craft centre on this site has been granted by HBC.
1.4	Successful applications for funding have been made by HCC to Arts Council England and the Single Regeneration Budget (SRB) through the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA). HCC has allocated funding from the Recreation and Heritage Capital Programme and further funding has been awarded by the Henry Smith Charity, providing a total of £662,000, excluding fees, for these proposals.
1.5	The Director of Property, Business and Regulatory Services has progressed the design of the proposed centre and the purpose of this report is to seek approval to the attached building design project appraisal with an estimated cost of £662,000, excluding fees.
2	Scope of the Works
2.1	It is proposed to construct a single storey building of some 278m2 comprising two teaching workshop studios, 7 craft studios, a facility office and ancillary spaces.
2.2	The building will be arranged around an external courtyard with accommodation to all four sides. The building will provide a covered walkway to three elevations with the fourth being internal to the building. The accommodation offers two teaching studios and ancillary accommodation (including an accessible toilet) to the north wing, the main entrance and office at the north west corner with seven craft studios arranged to the east, south and west wings.
2.3	No vehicular parking provision has been made as part of these proposals as HBC will provide a private car park to the southern elevation of the building, which will be shared by the various adjacent community facilities. The pedestrian entrance to the building will be from Bishopstoke Road which runs the length of the northern elevation of the proposed new building. Perimeter paving and pathways to the new building will link the car park and main entrance.
3	Funding and Timing
3.1	Funding for these proposals is as follows (excluding fees): £ Arts Council England 346,000 Single Regeneration Budget (SRB) 195,000 Recreation and Heritage Capital Programme 05/06 34,000 Henry Smith Charity 87,000 662,000
3.2	Subject to the necessary approvals it is anticipated that tenders will be invited during December 2005, work will commence on site during March 2006 and be completed during September 2006.
4	Consultation with Local Member
4.1	Councillor Buckley and Councillor Edwards, the local members for this area, have been consulted on the proposals.
Conclusion
These proposals enable a community facility which achieves economic prosperity through the availability of flexible training accommodation and access to lifelong learning.

Recommendation

That the Executive Member for Recreation and Heritage advises the Executive Member for Policy and Resources that the design project appraisal for the Leigh Park Crafts Initiative scheme, at an estimated cost of £662,000, excluding fees, be approved.

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

Executive Member Recreation and Heritage

various reports July 2003 - May 2005.

Hampshire County Council

Building Design Project Appraisal

Executive Member - Recreation and Heritage

17 November 2005

Executive Member - Policy and Resources

6 December 2005

Buildings, Land and Procurement Panel

7 December 2005

Project:	Leigh Park Crafts Initiative, Havant
	New Community Crafts Teaching Building
Commencement date:	March 2006
Completion date:	September 2006
Planned year of start in accordance with Capital Programme:		2005/06

Recommendation:

That the building design project appraisal for the Leigh Park Crafts Initiative scheme be approved.

1 Finance

Capital Expenditure	Current Estimate £'000	Capital Programme £'000
Buildings	662	34
Fees	103	6
Land to be purchased	-	-
Total	* 765	40

* 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 £'000	Fees £'000	Total cost £'000
1. From own Resources:
a) Recreation and Heritage Capital Programme 05/06	34	6	40
2. From Other Resources:
a) Arts Council England	346	54	400
b) Southern Regeneration Budget	195	30	225
c) Henry Smith Charity	87	13	100
Total	662	103	765

Building Cost - Net Cost =£ 1,962 per m²

- Gross Cost =£ 2,364 per m²

Landlord funded work connected with this scheme

There are no landlord funded works associated with this scheme.

Value of land already acquired for this project

Havant Borough Council (HBC) has given approval to the release of the area of land for the construction of the new centre at nil cost. It is proposed that HCC should take a 125 year lease at a peppercorn rent, and then sublet the accommodation to the LPCI Trust. The estimated value of the land is approximately £150,000 which is considered to be HBC's financial contribution to the scheme. A copy of the land valuation is held by Estates Practice in relation to the formal lease on the land.

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	-	-	-	-	-
Unit cost (£) (e.g. per place)	-	-	-	-	-
% variation to Committee's Budget	-				-
Number of additional Staff (fte)	-				-

Figures have not been included in the above table as the building will be leased to and managed by the LPCI Trust. The Board of Directors of the LPCI Trust have significant experience in running arts organisations, managing education bodies, financial management, crafts skills and knowledge of the local area. This pool of skill and experience strengthens the ability of the board to manage this facility effectively. In addition to this there is also member representation from each authority and officer attendance at board meetings.

Hampshire County Council are currently revenue funding the LPCI Trust at a level of £20,000 per annum. This level is currently under review and may increase as the costs for the organisation increase once the facility is open. In addition to this revenue funding the LPCI Trust is currently receiving revenue funding from SRB (SEEDA) and are awaiting confirmation of HBC at a level of £20,000 from 2006/07. Other income streams are from studio rental and course fees. A risk assessment setting out the specific financial risks to HCC has been circulated to relevant officers within Recreation and Heritage.

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 this building will be in the order of £1,700 per year, or £6.60 m²/y. The CO² consumption will be 15.7 tonnes per year, or 59kg/m²/y.

2 Details of site and existing infrastructure

Location/adjoining land and buildings

The proposed new building will be located at Bishopstoke Road which runs the length of the northern boundary of the site. The Apex Centre is located to the east, public car park to the south and Community / Sure Start Centre to the west.

Area including comparison with local/national standards

The total site area is 393m2. There are no local/national standards for buildings of this type.

Access

Pedestrian access will be via the main entrance on Bishopstoke Road. Vehicles may use the public car park to the southern elevation of the building, with pathways to link to the main entrance. Staff access will be made from the rear of the building, via the adjacent car park.

Existing buildings and temporary buildings

There are no existing buildings or temporary buildings on the proposed development site, which is currently used as a car park.

Results of trial boreholes

Following a recent site investigation the ground conditions were found to be tarmac overlying stiff London Clay.

Traditional trench fill foundations will be suitable for these conditions and as three are no trees on the site a depth of 900mm below finished ground level will be required. The ground slab will be ground bearing concrete.

Mains services position

The proposed new building will require new gas, electric, water and telecoms services to be brought to the site.

3 Scope of the Project

Type of project, layout and facilities provided

This scheme will provide a single storey building with the following accommodation:

· two teaching workshop studios

· seven craft studios

· facility office

· lobby

· kiln room

· facility store

· service store

· general store

· three wc's (including one accessible wc)

· plant room

Places provided

The centre will include studios for professional craft makers and teaching workshops for a range of crafts education from short introductory courses for local residents to advanced practical and business skills development for makers. The two main aims of the project are:

1) To build a centre where the community can get hands on experience of crafts and develop their practical and business skills to help them into work and self employment.

2) To support the work of professional craft makers in the development of a centre of excellence by providing affordable workspaces and access to the latest design technology, opportunities for experience in teaching and access to business development and support and training.

4 The Proposed Building

Type of construction, finish and appearance

The single storey building will have mono-pitched roofs to the north and south wing, covered with a Matt natural metal standing seam roof. The east and west wings will have high performance felt coverings, which will not be seen behind brickwork parapets.

The external walls will be of a buff coloured facing brick with aluminium framed windows.

Accessible facilities

The new building will have an accessible toilet and a hearing loop system will be provided in the lobby area.

There will be a level approach to the new building and there will be no changes in level either within the new building or to the external courtyard.

Heating and ventilation systems

The new building will be served by a low pressure hot water gas system feeding under floor heating to the two teaching workshops, office and ancillary spaces, with individual radiators to the seven studios.

Natural ventilation will be provided to all areas with mechanical supply and extract ventilation being provided to the two teaching workshops. The kiln room will be provided with a dedicated mechanical extract system to meet the requirements of the specialist equipment installation. WC areas will be provided with mechanical extract ventilation.

Fire risk assessment

In consultation with the Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service, a fire risk assessment concludes that this is a low fire risk category building. As this is not a HCC owned building the Sprinkler System Policy adopted by HCC is not relevant, however, it has been established that a sprinkler system would not be required for this building.

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 new building will be served by the public car park located to the southern elevation of the new building. The car parking arrangements are the responsibility of Havant Borough Council (HBC) who are providing the adjacent car park.

Landscape proposals

There will be perimeter paving to the building and pathways linking to the adjacent car park.

Situation on site and environmental impact

The existing site is currently owned by HBC and used as a car park. There are no existing trees on the site. There will be no detrimental effect to the neighbouring residents of the proposed new building.

6 Planning

Planning approval for these proposals has been granted.

7 Building management

The building will be managed and maintained by the Leigh Park Crafts Initiative Trust.

A detailed risk assessment has been produced and will be presented to the LPCI Board after this meeting. Although measures have been put in place to limit the risk of the project failing, should the project fail an Exit Strategy Action Plan has been drawn up. In worst case scenario Hampshire County Council will be responsible for leading the implementation of the Exit Strategy Action Plan in partnership with the other funders. This would examine options of an alternative community use for the building that all funders could agree on. In the event an alternative use could not be determined, the building and assets would be sold. In this event, Arts Council England would require a repayment in direct proportion to the sale value achieved, the Henry Smith Charity would require repayment of their grant (£100,000) if the project fails before May 2011 and while the SRB funding (£225,989) from the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) could be reclaimed at any point if the project were to fail, once the projected outputs have been achieved (end of March 2007) this would be unlikely. (A decision from SEEDA as to Hampshire County Council's specific liability in relation to any repayment is pending).

8 Furniture and equipment

The Director of Recreation and Heritage and the Director of Property, Business and Regulatory Services will determine the exact value of the required furniture and equipment upon receipt of tenders.

The Arts Council funding conditions a minimum of 1% of the costs will be allocated to integral art for the building.

9 Professional resources

Architectural Services }Alexander Design

Quantity Surveying }Property, Business And Regulatory

Electrical and Mechanical Engineering }Gary Jones Associates

Structural Engineering }R J Watkinson

10 Consultations

The following have been consulted during the development of the project: Director of Recreation and Heritage, Environment Department, Havant Borough Council, HCC Access Officer, HBC Access Officer, Leigh Park Crafts Initiative Trust, local County Councillor, Arts Council England, South East England Development Agency, the Henry Smith Charity.

I/Committees/ExMemR&H/2005/November/LeighParkCraftsInitiative