Hampshire County Council Buildings, Land and Procurement Panel 20 March 2007 Burnham Copse Primary School, Basingstoke Report by the Director of Property, Business and Regulatory Services

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

1	Summary
1.1	A scheme to extend and remodel the former Junior School to form a one-form entry Primary School as part of the amalgamation of the former infant and junior schools was approved by the Cabinet on 19 December 2005. The total estimated cost of the scheme is £2.424m, excluding fees. The primary school currently occupies the former infant and junior buildings.
1.2	Burnham Copse Junior School is located in a residential area north of Basingstoke at New Church Road, Tadley. The main school building dates from the late 1950s and is of traditional construction. The capacity for the primary school on completion of these works will be 210 places and there are currently 232 pupils on roll. The number on roll will reduce to match the capacity of the school in the short term. A 26 place pre-school unit is located within the former infant school.
1.3	The provision of a Primary School on the existing Junior School site will maximise wellbeing and enhance the quality of place for all users of the school.
1.4	The Director of Property, Business and Regulatory Services has progressed the design of the proposed additional accommodation and the purpose of this report is to outline the design proposals and seek approval to the attached design project appraisal.
2	Recommendation
2.1	That the Buildings, Land and Procurement Panel advises the Executive Member for Policy and Resources that the scheme to provide a one-form entry Primary school at the former Burnham Copse Junior School, at an estimated cost of £2,424,000, excluding fees, is approved.
3	Scope of the Works
3.1	It is proposed to extend, remodel and refurbish the former Junior School accommodation to provide a one-form entry 210 place Primary School. A temporary unit will be provided on the amenity area adjacent to the former infant school to accommodate the pre-school group, thus facilitating a decant of the junior school pupils into the infant school for the duration of the works.

3.2	The former Junior School classrooms are located within three two-storey blocks, connected by a ground floor corridor link. The main school hall, administration areas, kitchen and ancillary spaces are all located in a single-storey block to the rear of the classrooms.
3.3	The accommodation will be remodelled and extended to provide pre-school accommodation, seven classrooms, library/resource area, a music and drama classroom, ICT suite, food technology and craft rooms, small group tutorial room, plus administration and storage areas. No alterations will be made to the existing kitchen. This will bring accommodation in line with the current 1FE Primary School model brief where possible given the constraints of the existing building.
3.4	It is anticipated that the original windows which are in poor condition will be replaced, it is also the intention to repair all coverings and flashings to the flat roof areas. This will be funded from P&R (NDS Condition) and the final amount will depend upon the scope and nature of the works.
4	Funding and Timing
4.1	An allocation of £2,318,000, excluding fees has been made in the Children's Services Capital Programme 2007/08. The school is contributing £106,000, excluding fees.
4.2	It is anticipated that these works will be procured through a framework contractor and that work will commence on site during August 2007 and be completed during September 2008.
5	Consultation with Local Member
5.1	Councillor Marilyn Tucker, the local Member for this area, has been consulted on this design project appraisal and has confirmed that she is supportive of the scheme.
Conclusion
The proposed scheme will create a 210 place one-form entry Primary School within the existing former Burnham Copse Junior School.

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:

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

Buildings, Land and Procurement Panel

20 March 2007

Executive Member for Education

2 April 2007

Executive Member for Policy and Resources

5 April 2007

Project:	Burnham Copse Primary School, Basingstoke
	Extension, remodelling and refurbishment to provide one-form entry Primary School
Commencement date:	August 2007
Completion date:	September 2008
Planned year of start in accordance with Capital Programme:		2007/08

Recommendation:

That the building design project appraisal for the Burnham Copse Primary School scheme be approved.

1 Finance

Capital Expenditure	Current Estimate at 4Q06 £'000	Capital Programme at 4Q06 £'000
Buildings	2,424	2,318
Fees	392	382
Land to be purchased	_	_
Total	2,816	2,700

Financial Provision for Total Scheme	Buildings £'000	Fees £'000	Total cost £'000
1 From own Resources:
a) Capital Programme (as above)	2,318	382	2,700
b) School - devolved capital	106	10	116
Total	2,424	392	2,816

Building Cost - Net Cost = £1,952 per m² (at 4Q06)

- Gross Cost - not relevant as scheme is predominantly alterations

Devolved Capital allocations £'000 £'000

Infant Junior

2004/05 19,374 22,110

2005/06 19,794 22,042

2006/07 23,588 27,675

Primary

2007/08 34,817

Landlord funded work connected with this scheme

It is anticipated that the original windows which are in poor condition will be replaced, it is also the intention to repair all coverings and flashings to the flat roof areas. This will be funded from P&R (NDS Condition) and the final amount will depend upon the scope and nature of the works.

Value of land already acquired for this project

The land forming the site 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.

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	-45	-35	-70	160	90
Unit cost (£) (e.g. per place)	-	-	-	-	-
% variation to Committee's budget	-				-
Number of additional Staff (fte)	0				-

The overall level of the revenue budget for funding schools will (from April 2006) be prescribed by central government, and capital projects have no bearing on the level of this budget. Therefore, this proposed project will have no bearing on the overall level of the Children's Services budget, extra costs and savings being met from the same overall schools' funding level.

Energy costs

The estimated annual energy consumption for the Burnham Copse Primary School will meet that required by current Building Regulations. It is anticipated that the energy consumption for the school will be in the order of £6.30 for each m² of accommodation and 79 tonnes of CO² per year.


Value for Money

Factors taken into consideration during the development process to ensure that the project is delivering value for money:

· Procurement

The project is to be procured with Brazier Construction under the current framework arrangement. The development process will involve the contractor in a number of workshops and include value management strategies to ensure the build process is both efficient and good value. The `open-book' tendering arrangement will also ensure that competitive tender prices are achieved for each element and any savings benefit the project.


· Buildability/specification

The early involvement of the contractor in the design development process will enable them to contribute valuable experience, knowledge and expertise into achieving optimum design solutions in terms of buildability, quality and costs over the life of the building.


· Whole Life costs

The development of the project includes an analysis of costs over the whole life-cycle of the building. A Whole Life Cost Plan is being prepared for the project and will be benchmarked against similar projects carried out by the County Council.


· Sustainability

The project is being developed to comply with current building regulations - Part L. Further measures are also being introduced which are anticipated to reduce energy consumption of the building, such as the replacement of windows with new highly insulated double glazing and the replacement of localised light fittings with new energy-efficient lighting.

2 Details of site and existing infrastructure

Location/adjoining land and buildings

The School is located in a residential area on the fringe of Tadley and is surrounded by housing, with playing fields to the south and the local community centre to the east.

Area including comparison with local/national standards

The total site area of the Junior School site is 5.37 acres (2.18 ha). The DfES guideline for a 210 place primary school is 2.73 acres (1.1 ha). The new site area will be 4.245 acres (1.717 ha).

Access

The main vehicular and pedestrian entrance is from New Church Road to the south of the site. It is anticipated that the existing ancillary vehicular and pedestrian entrance to the north of the site from the spur of Bishop's Road will be restricted to use by emergency vehicles only on completion of the proposed scheme.

There will be no pupils on site for the duration of the works and the contractor will therefore access the site solely from New Church Road.

Existing buildings and temporary buildings

The main school building dates from the late 1950s and is of traditional construction and considered to be in fair condition for its age and type. It is anticipated that the original windows to all teaching spaces will be replaced, it is also the intention to repair all dressings and flashings to the flat roof areas.

A temporary building will be provided for the pre-school that currently occupies part of the former infant building. This will be needed whilst the infant building houses the pupils during the building works. On completion of the project the temporary building will be removed.

Results of trial boreholes

Existing soil investigations have uncovered fairly uniform ground conditions across the site; comprising of very dense clayey sandy gravel with pockets of clay. These conditions would allow traditional trench fill foundations. As a precaution against pockets of clay being found under the proposed building, deeper trench fill has been specified and will be reviewed on site. Ground slabs have been designed as suspended beam and block..

Mains services position

The existing mains services are considered to be of sufficient capacity to be extended and adapted as required to serve the proposed additional accommodation.

3 Scope of the Project

Type of project, layout and facilities provided

The existing building will be extended, remodelled and refurbished to provide the following accommodation:

· Main hall with servery and associated storage spaces

· 7 classrooms

· Library/Resource area

· Music/Drama room

· ICT room

· Food technology room

· Craft room with kiln room

· Headteacher's office

· Staff room with shower/toilet facilities and work room

· Small group tutorial room

· Reception office

· Caretaker's office and store

· Kitchen

· Pupil toilets

· Accessible pupil toilet

· Accessible visitors' toilet

· Associated storage/plant areas

· Communications server room

· Accessible fire evacuation lift

Pre-School

· Main teaching space

· Office

· Kitchen for vending purposes

· Pre-school toilet provision

· Accessible staff toilet

Places provided

On completion the school will provide 210 pupil places.

4 The Proposed Building

Type of construction, finish and appearance

The proposed works consist of the internal refurbishment and reconfiguration of existing spaces and an extension which will form a new front entrance to the south elevation. A new first-floor external circulation walkway will connect the school's existing two-storey elements. The walkway will be covered, with open-sides which, together with the internal lift, provides the necessary circulation to enable the school's first floor accommodation to be fully accessible The walkway will also act as an environment buffer, by protecting the south face from weather and mitigating overheating of classrooms in the summer. The proposed walkway will be of steel-framed construction with a steel balustrade. The roof will have a proprietary standing seam metal covering and the floor will be paved.

A single-storey specialist teaching extension is also proposed, which will be of similar scale to the single-storey element of the main building corridor to which it connects and the adjacent care club building. The building will be of traditional construction with facing bricks, metal framed glazing and high-performance roof covering.

Impact Assessment

Both proposed and existing buildings have consistent floor levels throughout with principal final exits having level thresholds. Due to various changes in existing ground level, the new-build includes the use of external ramps where required. Several accessible toilets will be provided within the Primary School and the Pre-School. An accessible fire evacuation lift will be provided.

Assessment of the Race Relations (Amendment) Act has been considered in the development of this proposal. No adverse impact has been identified in terms of race, creed or gender.

Heating and ventilation systems

The existing building and new extension will be heated by thermostatically controlled radiators served by a gas-fired boiler. The building will be naturally ventilated and all toilet areas will have 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. Therefore a sprinkler system will not be 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

It is proposed to reorganise the current parking layout to provide 14 staff car parking spaces, two of which will be accessible. Provision has been made for a delivery vehicle turning area to enable these vehicles to leave site from the New Church Road junction in a forward gear.

Landscape proposals

Landscaping works include the provision of level and accessible area to the main entrance and principal points of entry to the building. The pre-school entrance and exit will have localised landscape works to provide level access.

It is proposed to plant some new trees to enhance the front elevation.

Situation on site and environmental impact

An environmental site assessment and survey have concluded that there is `moderate potential' for bat presence within the building. A bat presence and emergence survey is schedule for April 2007 to determine if a DEFRA licence is required. If necessary, a licence will be applied for and any necessary actions taken to ensure compliance with all statutory requirements.

6 Planning

A detailed planning application is due to be submitted during March 2007.

7 Building management

Existing arrangements will apply to cleaning, catering, local management and maintenance arrangements.

8 Furniture and equipment

An assessment of need will be undertaken and appropriate funding sources identified.

9 Professional resources

Architectural Services } Property, Business and Regulatory

Quantity Surveying } Property, Business and Regulatory

Electrical and Mechanical Engineering } Property, Business and Regulatory

Structural Engineering } R J Watkinson

10 Consultations

The following have been consulted during the development of the project: Headteacher and Governors of the school, Children's Services Department, Environment Department, Access Officer, Fire Officer, local County Councillor.