Hampshire County Council

Buildings, Land and Procurement Panel Item *

23 January 2007

Major Projects Update:

_ Merton Rise/Everest Community College

_ Winchester Discovery Centre

_ Ashburton Court

Report by the Director of Property, Business and Regulatory Services

1

Introduction

1.1

This report provides a regular update on the major projects currently being progressed. This report highlights key issues with the following schemes:

· Merton Rise/Everest Community College

· Winchester Discovery 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).

2

Merton Rise, Basingstoke

2.1

The land at Merton Rise is being sold in phases. Since the last update in October 2006, significant progress has been made with the submission of Reserved Matters planning applications on both sub-phases of Phase 1. An exchange of contracts has been achieved with one of the prospective purchasers and exchange is anticipated in January 07 with the other party. It is hoped that with extensive, partnered pre-application consultations with the Borough Council (acting as Local Planning Authority), the conditional sales will be achieved within the current financial year.

2.2

To support the Phase 1 sales (and subsequent commencement of development), and occupation of Everest Community College from September 07, good progress has been made on the Infrastructure Works which involves the provision of on- and off-site highways and services. Work is currently being undertaken to submit an appropriate planning application for the remaining infrastructure provision which will serve Phases 3-5 on land to the west of Sherborne Road. These works are likely to be combined with another major highway improvement on the A340 being promoted by the Highway Authority and a project appraisal for this joint project will be the subject of a report at the next meeting of BLPP.

2.3

Following the Phase 2 Launch in October, the 2-stage marketing process for the largest of the sub-phases is currently ongoing. The design-led first stage has resulted in the selection of up to 5 parties for each of the Phase 2 sub-parcels and second stage schemes and financial offers are expected in late January. A full report on the outcome of this marketing exercise will be presented to a future BLPP meeting.

2.4

The sale of the surplus Phase 1 land of the existing John Hunt of Everest School site to Linden Homes has recently completely and their works are due to start shortly. The marketing of the remainder of the existing school site is due to commence early in the new year to coincide with the relocation of the school, with the sale completion targeted for March 2008. Following the relocation, there are some complex site management issues being examined relative to interim site security and the potential opportunities to demolish against, the likely presence of both roosting bats and asbestos within the building fabric. These may determine whether site clearance can be achieved before sale and whether any additional costs to support interim site security will be required.

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 complete and the works will shortly be watertight. Activities currently taking place on site include carpentry, the completion of the roof, windows, flooring, environmental engineering and finishing trades. The external playing fields (synthetic and natural) have progressed but the completion of the external works has been delayed by the recent wet weather.

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

The construction work is currently behind programme by three to four weeks. The programme is being reviewed but with the time contingency built into the project, it is anticipated that the school's moving in date of September 2007 will remain on target. The project currently remains on budget.

3

Winchester Discovery Centre

3.1

The main construction work began on 8 May 2006 and following unforeseen structural issues with the existing library building it has been necessary to grant an extension of time of 13 weeks to Mansell Construction. This has necessitated a revised programme which gives a new completion date for the building works and associated external works of end of August 2007. Recreation and Heritage will begin to move into the building during late summer with the Discovery Centre reopening to the public late autumn 2007. The space occupied by Recreation and Heritage in Capital House is required for the decanting strategy associated with Ashburton Court.

3.2

The difficulties encountered in the existing building, which were discovered during the opening up works, are mainly structural and could not have been foreseen prior to the commencement of the works. They include the discovery of substantial areas of untied cavity brick walls around the central library space and unidentified early nineteenth century cast iron beams buried in the existing masonry. Following redesign work the structural proposals for the building have been modified. A structural survey and core sampling of the existing 1907 concrete slab roof over the main library space has also been completed. This survey has recommended the inclusion of steel beams to ensure the future safety of the slab roof.

3.3

These previously unidentified structural works will impact on the financial contingency allocated to the project. The Director of Property, Business and Regulatory Services is currently reviewing the overall project costs and will report to the next BLPP on proposals to manage additional expenditure.

3.4

Discussions have been held with Winchester City Council regarding the future use of the redundant library HQ and reference library at North Walls. The City Council has confirmed that the conversion and extension of the existing buildings for residential use is acceptable. A development brief has been agreed and the property will be marketed at the end of January, the outcome of which will be reported to the Panel in June.

4.

Ashburton Court

4.1

At the last meeting of the Panel on 3 October 2006 progress and the key issues arising with the project development were summarised, in particular:

· the approval by Cabinet on 24 July 2006 to the project appraisal

· the timetable and actions to support the planning application

· progress with scheme design and the procurement of early packages, finalising the decant options and the continued liaison with Winchester City Council regarding their obligations under the terms of the car park lease

· a review of the key risks was being undertaken

· a position statement on the advanced workstreams and financial commitments made to date

4.2

Planning

4.2.1

The County Council's Regulatory Committee granted planning permission on the 8 November 2006 for the works to Ashburton Court. The Listed Building and Conservation Area Approval applications to GOSE were confirmed on 5 December 2006. This concluded an extensive exercise of consultation, design improvements and negotiation, and represents a significant milestone for the project.

4.2.2

The conditions have been negotiated to allow demolition in advance of the submission of the outstanding design details; excepting the requirement for the contractor to secure approval of a scheme to limit the emission of noise and dust from the demolition and construction activities on the site.

4.2.3

A scheme design report has been produced and a number of actions are being concluded to enable sign-off and alignment to the cost envelope.

4.2.4

On 10 January 2006 the full council of Winchester City Council approved their contribution towards the cost of repairs to the car parking areas, two decks of which they hold on a long lease from the County Council.

4.3

Decanting

4.3.1

The decant programme has been prepared to include the option of the early release of the north block in advance of the west block. If this is achievable operationally it would fit with the availability of the decant accommodation in Nuance Global, Eastleigh and Capital House, Winchester. Detailed investigation is currently being concluded to ensure that the asbestos removal in north block can be undertaken with the adjacent west block still occupied.

4.3.2

The lease for the additional two floors of Nuance Global House in Eastleigh has been secured for decanting purposes. A design team has been appointed to undertake the necessary works together with the selection of a preferred contractor, Nolan Davis who undertook successfully the previous refurbishment work. It was also necessary to provide a new 100 mb data line to provide sufficient capacity to support the IT function in the building. Due to the lead in times, i.e. four months from the initial order, the new data line, at a cost of £110,000 was ordered in November 2006. Close liaison continues with the Environment Department on the decanting proposals.

4.4

Procurement/programme

4.4.1

A risk management workshop was held to specifically identify procurement risk and what measures should be taken to manage these. This included a number of adjustments to the scheme that are being drawn and costed to enable sign-off of the scheme design.

4.4.2

The procurement programme has been prepared to achieve a 70% cost certainty by the beginning of April 2007. An Advance Order is being provided to the contractor, HBG Construction, to enable them to progress with work to east block in January. There will be a review of costs and programme in April 2007.

4.4.3

A construction programme has been established with HBG for the major works to commence in January as noted above, and for substantial completion by March 2009 with the remaining fit-out beyond. An Advance Contract for removal of the limpet asbestos was let in November 2006.

4.4.4

The Castle Restaurant closed at the end of December and alternative arrangements are in place for the provision of catering for lunches and corporate events.

4.5

Advance Works/Early Commitments

4.5.1

The following highlights the progress and commitments made on the major workstreams:

· the Park and Ride car park at Bar End completed and operational from 2 January 2007 (contract sum approximately £400,000)

· the Advance Contract to prepare and remove the limpet asbestos to the underside of east block is approximately £165,000

· investigations and testing to inform design decisions, for structural and environmental information, and to facilitate the works ie, decanting of services, temporary arrangements etc (£70,000)

· decanting works for Capital House and Nuance Global to date total approximately £90,000

· Data line to improve IT capacity at Nuance Global ordered at £110,000

· An Advance Order has been raised with HBG for £1.5m to enable the placing of orders for work to be undertaken from January to April 2007. This will enable subcontractors pre-construction work in preparing fabrication drawings and production. The call off of this will respect the essential orders to be placed and risk managed.

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 action taken to begin the refurbishment of Ashburton Court.

LINK(S) TO CORPORATE STRATEGY

Yes

No

Hampshire safer and more secure for all

_

Maximising well-being

_

Enhancing our quality of place

_

This proposal does not link to the Corporate Strategy but, nevertheless, requires a decision because: N/A