Hampshire County Council Executive Member for Education 2 April 2007 Baycroft School, Fareham Report by the Director of Property, Business and Regulatory Services

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

1	Summary
1.1	Baycroft School is a secondary age special school located on the eastern edge of Stubbington, a residential settlement in the south of Fareham. The School caters for pupils with moderate learning difficulties and autistic spectrum disorders. The school caters for a maximum number of 190 pupils and currently there are 181 pupils on roll.
1.2	The existing accommodation is insufficient for the number of pupils attending the School and it is now proposed to extend the original two-storey building to provide additional purpose-built space. The estimated cost of the scheme is £585,000, excluding fees.
1.3	The proposed scheme will maximise wellbeing and enhance the quality of place for all users of Baycroft School, by providing additional purpose-built teaching accommodation.
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 Executive Member for Education advises the Executive Member for Policy and Resources that the design project appraisal for the scheme at Baycroft School, Fareham, at an estimated cost of £585,000, excluding fees, is approved.
3	Scope of the Works
3.1	The proposed extension consists of two single-storey wings which are to be located to the east and west of the southern portion of the existing building. An open courtyard space is formed between the new wings, onto which the new and existing teaching spaces will face.
3.2	The new teaching spaces will provide an additional science classroom and prep room, an additional autism classroom, a speech and language room, a therapy room and a new medical room.
3.3	The proposed extension is located on the southeast corner of the site, which presents the opportunity to provide an enhanced street frontage for the school.
3.4	Landscaping works include the provision of a new paved courtyard adjacent to the extension with low-level planting around the perimeter. It is proposed that this space will also be utilised for outdoor teaching.
4	Funding and Timing
4.1	The funding for the scheme, excluding fees, is as follows: £'000 Children's Services Capital Programme 2007/08 *380 School - devolved capital 130 Policy and Resources Capital Repair budget 2007/08 42 £552 * The £380,000 excluding fees quoted as being from the Children's Services Capital Programme includes the £300,000 including fees which will be proposed to be carried forward from 2006/07 into 2007/08. The remainder is to come from the capital contingency.
4.2	Subject to the necessary approvals it is anticipated that tenders will be invited during June 2007, work will commence on site during August 2007 and be completed during March 2008.
5	Consultation with Local Member
5.1	Councillor Timothy Knight, the local Member for this area, has been consulted on this project appraisal and he has confirmed that he supports the scheme.
Conclusion
The proposed scheme will provide additional purpose-built accommodation to provide the necessary space for the number of pupils now attending the 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:	Baycroft School, Fareham
	Classroom extension
Commencement date:	August 2007
Completion date:	March 2008
Planned year of start in accordance with Capital Programme:		2007/08

Recommendation:

That the building design project appraisal for the Baycroft School scheme be approved.

1 Finance

Capital Expenditure	Current Estimate £'000	Capital Programme £'000
Buildings	585	**380
Fees	80	60
Land to be purchased	_	_
Total	*665	440

* 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.

** The £380,000 excluding fees quoted as being from the Children's Services Capital Programme includes the £300,000 including fees which will be proposed to be carried forward from 2006/07 into 2007/08. The remainder is to come from the capital contingency.

Financial Provision for Total Scheme	Buildings £'000	Fees £'000	Total cost £'000
1 From own Resources:
a) Capital Programme (as above)	380	60	440
b) School - devolved capital	130	20	150
2 From Other Resources:
a) Policy and Resources Capital Repairs budget	42	-	42
Total	552	80	***632

*** Any remaining shortfall at receipt of tenders will be addressed by identifying appropriate savings on the scheme.

Building Cost - Net Cost = £1,887 per m² excluding abnormals

- Gross Cost = £3,005 per m²

Devolved Capital allocations £'000

2004/05 38,478

2005/06 39,678

2006/07 50,123

2007/08 50,819

Total 179,098

Landlord funded work connected with this scheme

A contribution is being made for replacement windows to the ground floor south façade of the existing building and for the replacement of ground floor external doors.

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	Nil	12	12	33	45
Unit cost (£) (e.g. per place)	-	-	-	-	-
% variation to Committee's budget	-				-
Number of additional Staff (fte)	-				-

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 new accommodation will meet that required by current Building Regulations. It is anticipated that the increase in fuel cost for the school will be in the order of £1,197 per year (£7.30 for each m² of new accommodation) and 7 tonnes of CO² per year.

2 Details of site and existing infrastructure

Location/adjoining land and buildings

Baycroft School is located on the eastern edge of Stubbington, a residential area to the south of Fareham. The site fronts onto Gosport Road, which is largely residential. Opposite the school are the decommissioned HMS Daedalus airfields.

Area including comparison with local/national standards

The total site area is 4.003 acres (1.62 hectares). The DfES guideline for a school of this size is 5.98 acres (2.42 hectares).

Access

The site shares its access road (a one-way system off Marks Road) with Crofton Secondary School, which abuts Baycroft School to the north. The contractor's access during construction will be directly off Gosport Road, avoiding conflict with the main pedestrian access to the School.

Existing buildings and temporary buildings

The original school building is of two-storey SCOLA construction, built in 1975. There are no temporary buildings on site and none are required for this scheme.

Results of trial boreholes

Site investigations for adjacent sites indicate the natural subsoils to be predominantly clay. The presence of adjacent trees indicates that deeper foundations are required to avoid seasonal moisture-related movements. The foundations have been designed assuming highly shrinkable clay. Ground slabs are to be suspended. A site investigation has been commissioned to confirm these conditions.

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

This project will provide the additional accommodation required for the number of pupils currently attending the School.

The extended areas will be located to the east and west of the southern portion of the existing School building, enabling suiting of the new and existing science spaces in the east wing and the suiting of the autism rooms in the west wing. Additionally, a replacement medical inspection room is contained within the east wing, replacing the existing room which is displaced to provide the corridor access.

Thus, the additional accommodation provided by the scheme is as follows:


· Science classroom

· Science Prep room

· Autism classroom

· Speech and language room

· Therapy room

· Medical inspection room to replace existing

Places provided

No additional places are provided as a result of the proposed scheme.

4 The Proposed Building

Type of construction, finish and appearance

The proposed extension at Baycroft School comprises 220m² of new accommodation, contained within two single storey low-pitched wings that are to be constructed to the east and west of the southern portion of the existing building. These wings project southwards from the existing SCOLA 3 building and form an open courtyard space onto which the new and existing teaching spaces will face. It is proposed that this space will also be utilised for outdoor teaching whilst giving a sense of enclosure especially to the pupils of the Autism Unit.

The new spaces are located to enable suiting of the new and existing science spaces in the east wing and the suiting of the autism rooms in the west wing. Additionally, a replacement Medical Inspection room is contained within the east wing, replacing the existing room that is displaced to provide the corridor access.


Because of the acoustic issues associated with the nearby road, there are no openings in the south elevation of the new extensions which directly face the highway. The external façade provides a new face for the school along the road frontage and is finished in render with supergraphic signage located on the southeast corner. The inner face of the courtyard is to be mainly glazed, this glazing being shaded with a brise soleil to avoid excessive solar gain.

Impact Assessment

A disability access audit has been carried out. The main entrance to the school has level access and level access is available throughout the ground floor of the existing and new accommodation.

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 heating system will be extended to serve the proposed extensions.


Due to the close proximity of Gosport Road, the classroom spaces will be mechanically ventilated to enable control of the external noise levels, in accordance with current regulations.

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, will been undertaken for the proposed scheme.

5 External Works

Car parking

As the proposed scheme does not increase pupil or staff numbers, no additional car parking spaces are being provided.

Landscape proposals

Landscaping works include the provision of a new paved courtyard adjacent to the extension with low-level planting around the perimeter.

Situation on site and environmental impact

No trees will be removed as part of these proposals. Ecological investigations have concluded that there are no protected species or habitats affected by these proposals.

The scheme will provide an opportunity to enhance the public face of the school along the street frontage.

6 Planning

A detailed planning application was submitted during February 2007.

7 Building management

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

8 Furniture and equipment

A furniture and equipment allocation will be made from the Block Vote in the Children's Services Capital Programme 2007/08.

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, local County Councillor , Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service and Southern Water.