Archived decisions

    Hampshire County Council

    Executive Lead Member for Children's Services (Education)

    24 July 2008

    Bentley Church of England Primary School, Bentley

    Report of the Acting Director of Property, Business and

    Regulatory Services

    1

    Summary

    1.1

    Bentley Primary School is located at School Lane on the eastern boundary of Bentley's main residential settlement. The School has a capacity of 210 and there are currently 214 pupils (4-11 years) on roll.

    1.2

    The existing school hall is undersized for a 1FE primary school and in order to meet the demands of curriculum delivery it is now proposed that a new multi-purpose hall is provided for use by the school for sports, assembly and drama throughout the week, with after-school club use in the evenings and occasionally at weekends. The existing hall will then be used principally for dining purposes.

    1.3

    The Acting Director of Property, Business and Regulatory Services has progressed the design of the proposed scheme at Bentley C of E Primary School and the purpose of this report is to outline the design proposals and seek approval to the attached design project appraisal.

    1.4

    The proposed scheme will maximise wellbeing and enhance the quality of place by providing a new, purpose-built hall for the delivery of curriculum activities.

    2

    Recommendation

    That the Executive Lead Member for Children's Services (Education) approves the design project appraisal for the scheme to provide a new hall at Bentley C of E Primary School at an estimated total cost of £566,000, excluding fees.

    3

    Scope of the Works

    3.1

    The proposed extension will provide a double-height hall space with ancillary accommodation comprising a lobby, toilets, kitchenette and large store for PE equipment. The new building will be located to the west of the existing music room and will be joined to the main school building by means of a covered link.

    3.2

    Externally, new footpaths will be constructed under the canopy link and adjacent to the new building. An existing tarmac play court will be relocated to the north of the proposed hall and extended as part of the works.

    4

    Funding and Timing

    4.1

    Funding for the scheme is as follows:

                        £'000

    Children's Services Capital Programme 2008/09 258

    School (devolved capital) 308

                        566

    4.2

    Subject to the necessary approvals it is anticipated that tenders will be invited during October 2008, work will commence on site during January 2009 and be completed during July 2009.

    5

    Consultation with Local Member

    5.1

    Councillor Mark Gee-Kemp, the local Member, has been consulted on the proposals and has confirmed that he is fully supportive of the scheme.

    Conclusion

    The proposed scheme to replace the existing under-sized hall with a purpose-built facility will improve the delivery of curriculum activities and free up the existing hall for use as a dining area.

    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

      Executive Lead Member for Children's Services (Education)

      24 July 2008

    Project:

    Bentley C of E Primary School, Bentley

    Extension to provide new multi-purpose hall

    Commencement date:

    January 2009

    Completion date:

    July 2009

    Planned year of start in accordance with Capital Programme:

    2008/09

      Recommendation:

      That the building design project appraisal for the Bentley C of E Primary School

      scheme be approved.

      1 Finance

    Capital Expenditure

    Current Estimate

    £'000

    Capital Programme

    £'000

    Buildings

    566

    258

    Fees

    84

    42

    Land to be purchased

    _

    _

    Total

    *650

    300

      * 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) Capital Programme (as above)

    258

    42

    300

    b) School

    308

    42

    350

    Total

    566

    84

    650

Building Cost - Net Cost = £2,163 per m2

      - Gross Cost = £2,302 per m2

Devolved Capital allocations

As at June 2008, the school has a devolved capital balance of £153,466. This is sufficient to pay for the commitments proposed in this project appraisal.

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

      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

    -

    -

    -

    32

    32

    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 £5.35 for each m² of new accommodation (£936 per year). The additional CO² consumption will be 5.4 tonnes per year.

2 Details of site and existing infrastructure

        Location/adjoining land and buildings

        Bentley Primary School is located to the east of the main residential settlement and is well-sheltered from view by a mature tree bank along the western, northern and eastern boundaries.

        Area including comparison with local/national standards

        The total site area is 0.7 hectares. The DCSF guideline for a school of this size is between 0.96 and 1.21 hectares.

        Access

        The main pedestrian and vehicular entrance (from which the main staff car park to the rear of the school is accessed) is located to the southwest of the site. A secondary vehicular entrance further along the western boundary provides access for grass-mowing equipment and the school minibus.


        For the duration of the works, the contractor will have sole use of the secondary site access to enable good separation between school and site traffic. Delivery times will be restricted to avoid pupil drop-off and collection times at the start and end of the school day.

        Existing buildings and temporary buildings

        The original school building was constructed in 1842 and this has been extended over the years to cater for the enlargement of the village, with the most recent extensions in the 1980s and 1990s to provide additional classrooms, a music room and a library.

        There are no temporary buildings on the site and none are required for the scheme.

        Results of trial boreholes

        A site investigation is currently being carried out. It is known that the water table is high on the proposed site area and it is therefore anticipated that piled foundations with ground beam construction above the water table will be required.

        Mains services position

        It will be necessary to upgrade the existing mains gas and electricity services to serve the proposed additional accommodation.

      3 Scope of the Project

        Type of project and facilities provided

        The proposed extension will provide the following facilities:

        · double-height hall

        · lobby

        · toilets

        · kitchenette

        · storage for PE equipment

        Places provided

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

      4 The Proposed Building

        Type of construction, finish and appearance

        The existing school buildings are traditional in appearance, with brick and stone walls and natural slate roofs. The extension will be of traditional masonry cavity construction with brickwork to complement the existing and a timber-frame roof tied internally with a series of lightweight stainless steel bars. The roof has been designed to complement the character of the existing buildings, with matching pitches and materials, with a ridge height limited to be no higher than the existing hall roof. There will be high-performance double glazed windows and doors framed in powder-coated aluminium. The covered link will be roofed with a combination of high-performance felt and slate, with an area of glazing to maintain daylight to the existing reception classroom. Full-height glazing to the east and west gables will incorporate a number of remotely operated opening windows that will aid natural ventilation to the hall.

        Impact Assessment

        An accessible parking bay will be provided in the secondary parking area with accessible pedestrian routes both to the main school entrance and the new hall. A new accessible toilet is to be provided within the new building.

        The extension has been designed with full access in mind and level thresholds throughout. Proposed improvements to existing exits from the school building will address level changes and provide improved access/exit to the existing music room and school corridor.

        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 new hall will be heated by a temperature controlled ventilation system incorporating heat recovery. This system can be supplemented by the use of natural ventilation during the warmer months.

        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 the Construction Design and Management Regulations 2007, have been undertaken for the proposed scheme.

      5 External Works

        Car parking

        There are currently two car parking areas at the school: the main staff car park is located to the rear of the school and a secondary car park is located further along the western boundary. It is proposed to provide an accessible car parking space within the secondary area, but no other changes are proposed to the parking provision.

        Landscape proposals

        New footpaths will be constructed under the canopy link between the main school building and the proposed new hall. An existing tarmac play court will be relocated and extended as part of the scheme. An existing low-height timber palisade fence will be re-used to enclose the main parking area.

        Situation on site and environmental impact

        The site is well-screened by an existing belt of mature trees and the location of the proposed extension will not have a detrimental effect on adjoining housing.

      6 Planning

        Planning permission for the scheme was obtained in June 2008.

      7 Building management

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

      8 Furniture and equipment

        An allocation will be made from the block vote within the Children's Services capital programme.

      9 Professional resources

         Architectural Services

        Quantity Surveying Property, Business & Regulatory Services

        Electrical and Mechanical Engineering

        Structural Engineering

      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, Fire Officer, Access Officer, local County Councillor.