Hampshire County Council

Buildings, Land and Procurement Panel Item *

3 October 2006

Major Projects Update:

_ Merton Rise/Everest Community College

_ Nursing Care Accommodation

_ Winchester Discovery Centre

_ Ashburton Court

Report by the Director of Property, Business and Regulatory Services

1

Introduction

1.1

It was agreed at the Buildings, Land and Procurement Panel meeting on 31 January 2006 to provide regular updates on major projects currently being progressed. This report highlights key issues with the following schemes:

· Merton Rise/Everest Community College

· Nursing Care Accommodation (Enhance)

· Winchester Cultural Centre

· Ashburton Court

1.2

The completion of these major projects will enhance the quality of place for residents in Hampshire (provision of housing in Merton Rise through a design-led approach) and users of the respective buildings (the new Everest Community College and Winchester Discovery Centre). The completion of the Enhance programme will improve and maximise the wellbeing of users.

2

Merton Rise, Basingstoke

2.1

Since the selection in May 2006 of the preferred purchasers for the housing parcels that comprise Merton Rise Phase 1, continued progress has been made with each of the design teams and reserved matters planning applications for the respective schemes are to be submitted shortly.

2.2

The next major disposal phase, which includes the mixed use neighbourhood centre will be launched at the beginning of October. This follows an Expressions of Interest exercise undertaken over the summer, to identify commercial developers and end users for individual shop units for traditional housebuilders to partner. The disposal strategy for this phase will be design led and the outcome will be reported to the Buildings, Land and Procurement Panel in Spring 2007.

2.3

Good progress has been made on the advance infrastructure works, which includes the implementation of the servicing arrangements for the replacement school and phases 1 and 2. At the same time, Thames Water is commencing the necessary off-site foul and sewer network upgrade to support the opening of the school and occupation of the first houses from September 2007. The cost of these works has been reduced through negotiation and a dual installation strategy.

2.4

Design work is now being progressed for the final servicing works to support the delivery of Phases 3-5, which will provide receipts from 2008/9. To support the procurement programme for these works, reserved matters planning consent is needed and an application will be made to Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council shortly.

2.5

Finally, to support the early provision of a key open space as part of Phase 1, which in turn will deliver a key "safe route to school" as part of the interim school travel plan for the new school, one of the Phase 1 developers is paying a sum to be held in escrow to cover the cost of providing and future maintenance of Chineham Lane Local Park. A reserved matters planning application will be submitted to the Borough Council to support the programme to deliver this key area of open space. A separate Project Appraisal report is required for these works, given their cost - estimated at £255,000 and also as the funding lies outside the North Popley Infrastructure Fund, and this will be presented to the 31 October 2006 EMP&R meeting.

2.6

Everest Community College

2.6.1

The main contract works, which commenced at the beginning of January 2006, are progressing steadily. The structural frame is now complete. Other activities currently taking place on site include masonry, carpentry, roof, windows, flooring and environmental engineering trades. The external playing fields (synthetic and natural) are nearing completion but unfortunately the germination of the natural pitches has been delayed by the hot and dry spell of weather this summer.

2.6.2

Regular liaison meetings continue with the School and Children's Services to ensure the handover and transition period next summer are managed appropriately.

2.6.3

Whilst the Contractor is reporting that the constructions works are behind programme by four weeks, a commitment has been made to re-programme the remainder of the project to ensure completion on time in April 2007. There is a time contingency built into the period between construction completion and the School moving in September 2007. The project currently remains on budget.

3

Winchester Discovery Centre

3.1

The main construction work began on 8 May 2006 and is programmed to be completed in spring 2007. The new extension is currently on programme. The steelwork frame and concrete slabs are complete and the brickwork façade to the rear is under construction.

3.2

Some structural issues have been identified in the old Corn Exchange building, which could not have been foreseen prior to the commencement of the main works. These issues include the discovery of untied brick walls and unidentified early nineteenth century cast iron beams buried in the existing masonry. Following redesign work, the structural proposals for the existing building had to be modified which has resulted in delay to this section of the works and will incur extra costs on this element. While the contractor, Mansell has reported delay on this element of the project at this stage, any impact on the overall scheme is unknown.

3.3

The additional costs are currently being reviewed and a savings exercise is being completed along with a review of the contingency sum for the scheme.

3.4

The current library HQ and reference library at North Walls is about to be advertised for sale on the open market. The property is considered suitable for residential use, either through demolition and new build or through conversion of the existing building. The outcome of the marketing exercise will be reported to Members early in 2007.

4

Nursing Care Accommodation (Enhance)

4.1

The last update to the Panel in June noted the completion of nine new build schemes, four refurbishments of the existing residential homes and that all contracts at the 10 sites had been let. The tenth and final new build nursing care home at Tatchbury Mount, Calmore has now been completed providing the total 500 beds. A further refurbishment at Bickerley Green, Ringwood has also been handed over.

4.1.2

Site operations on the last two refurbishment schemes at Westholme and Emsworth House, to complete the Enhance programme are both well underway and are programmed for completion in December 2006 and January 2007 respectively.

4.2

Project Management

4.2.1

The programme of work continues to be managed within the approved budget, but this requires regular and careful monitoring to ensure issues that impact on individual projects are resolved promptly and any additional costs that arise are managed by reviewing and adjusting the scope of work across the two remaining refurbishment schemes.

4.2.2

The essential planned maintenance works previously reported to the Panel and programmed to be included within the individual contracts are now mostly complete with just the works on the last two refurbishments at Westholme and Emsworth House remaining.

4.2.3

The condition of the existing boilers at Emsworth were very poor and no longer serviceable, and following its recent closure the boilers from Pier House, have been utilised.

4.2.4

Regular discussions are continuing with the Director of Adult Services to ensure the scope of the last two refurbishments meet their requirements and that additional measures required to address the higher level of residents' care are managed and funded and do not prejudice the Enhance programme budget.

4.2.5

Work is ongoing to complete the final accounts with the contractors for the completed projects (with the exception of the incomplete refurbishment at Emsworth House).

5

Ashburton Court

5.1

Progress

5.1.1

Since the last meeting of the Panel, progress has been made on a number of workstreams previously reported including:

· The Park and Ride car park at Bar End to replace the capacity on the top deck - the construction works are complete with tenders for the buses invited.

· Capital House decant - during July and August various works were undertaken in the order of £85,000 for IT cabling and commissioning, electrical services requirements, builders work and removal costs. IT services have successfully moved in. The third floor remains available and is likely to form part of the Environment decanting.

· Inspections and testing to inform design decisions involving the structural inspection of the concrete, bore holes, drainage, thermal modelling and wind tunnel testing for the external façade. This work is being supervised by the consultant structural and services engineers, through specialist companies, and totals approximately £78,000.

5.1.2

The Project Appraisal for the Ashburton Court repair and refurbishment project was approved by Cabinet on 24 July 2006. This enabled the submission of a planning application on 10 August. A presentation was made to the City of Winchester Trust on 30 August and the response was extremely supportive and positive.

5.1.3

The scheme design is nearing completion, and it is confirmed that the 775 workstations target can be accommodated along with all the other briefing requirements including the relocation of the IT suite from its current location in Elizabeth II Court. Minor amendments have been made in response to the public consultation completed in early July details of which were confirmed orally to Members at the 11 July BL&PP meeting.

The following activities are currently being progressed:

· Procurement documentation for the early packages - the demolition, envelope and roof, and mechanical and electrical installations. These represent the highest cost risks.

· Value engineering of the whole scheme to realise cost and value opportunities, and to keep within the approved budget.

· Finalising the decanting options for the relocation of the Environment department, recognising significant costs have to be accommodated.

· Completing the investigations and analysis.

· Continuing regular liaison with Winchester City Council regarding both parties' obligations under the terms of the car park lease.

5.1.4

A review of the key risks is being undertaken in respect of the programme, the uncertainty of concluding all pre-contract activities during 2006 and the decanting strategy options where the availability of appropriate and cost effective short term accommodation is key. A detailed report on progress with the project, sign off of the final design, the programme, financial issues and risk is due to be presented to the Cabinet at its meeting on 18 December 2006.

Recommendations

That the Buildings, Land and Procurement Panel advises the Executive Member for Policy and Resources that approval be given to:

1.

2.

3.

The progress being made with the Merton Rise development and that the disposal strategy for the next major phase of work be reported to the Panel in Spring 2007.

The Director of Property, Business and Regulatory Services bringing forward a report on the marketing of the redundant library HQ building in North Walls, Winchester, and the overall cost of the Discovery Centre project.

The Director of Property, Business and Regulatory Services bringing forward a further report on Ashburton Court on the costs, financial risks, and key dates in the programme for consideration before the main packages of work are let by the main contractor.

LINK(S) TO CORPORATE STRATEGY

Yes

No

Hampshire safer and more secure for all

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Maximising well-being

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Enhancing our quality of place

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