Agenda item

The Executive Member for Regeneration, the Executive Member for Environment and Finance & Governance, the Director of Regeneration and Culture and the Director of Finance submitted a report for the Executive’s consideration. The purpose of the report was to provide information on the building fit-out costs for the Fountain Court refurbishment.

 

The Executive report, submitted on 16 March 2021, had highlighted that further due diligence and survey work would be required to fully understand the costs of the Fountain Court refurbishment.  A condition survey by Billinghurst George and Partners had identified that although the building was in generally sound condition, there were a number of expensive defects which required attention in the short-to-medium term, such as full window replacement and an upgrade of the Mechanical and Electrical (M&E) system.

 

In summary, the survey and design work had identified that £7m was required to refurbish and fit out the building.  That planned to allow for the works identified to be addressed and a high-quality furniture and fixtures fit out, which would incorporate the following:

 

·        new furniture and fixtures which promoted the Council’s values and aligned with the new blended working arrangements;

·        raised access floors for services, needed for flexibility to future proof the building;

·        replacement and enlarged windows (the current windows were nearing the end of their life);

·        new internal and external doors;

·        new floor and ceiling finishes;

·        lift refurbishment/replacement;

·        new toilets and kitchen areas;

·        ICT fibre connections and equipment;

·        signage;

·        drainage;

·        M&E installation; and

·        consultant’s fees.

 

In the report to Executive on 16 March 2021, it had been anticipated that the cost of the purchase and fit out of Fountain Court could be accommodated within the fit out budget for One Centre Square, which was £5m. However, the report acknowledged that detailed due diligence and survey work was required.

 

The due diligence and survey work had confirmed that a budget of £7m was required.  That included an 8% contingency of £520,000, which was required to account for the market fluctuations that were currently being experienced throughout the U.K.

 

With regard to utilising the £5m budget for One Centre Square, approximately £600,000 had already been spent on survey, consultant works and purchasing the furniture for the demonstration neighbourhood area, which left a budget of £4.438m.  The table, below paragraph 11 of the submitted report, provided a breakdown of the expenditure for Fountain Court against that budget.

 

In summary, the total costs for the refurbishment and fit out of Fountain Court were £7m, the available budget from One Centre Square was £4.438m so the additional budget requested, when considering the £300,000 saving from the demolition of the Civic Centre, was £4,138,596.

 

OPTIONS

 

The Council could:

 

Do nothing:

 

a)     The principle that the Council should relocate to Fountain Court had been established by previous Executive direction.  The building was not fit for purpose in its current format and was unfurnished, hence a budget was required for its fit out.

 

Continue to proceed with the remaining budget:

 

b)     The remaining budget (£4.438) minus the acquisition of Fountain Court (£1.84m) left a budget of £2.59m.  That budget would have been insufficient to fit out the building to a good standard.  All that could have been achieved within that allocation was a very basic redecoration and furniture fit out.  It would not have addressed the defects highlighted in the condition report, such as the windows being at the end of their life.  That would have postponed money being spent on the building now, but the issues would have needed to be addressed in the short-to-medium term hence resources would still have been required for that purpose.  It would have also resulted in a raised access floor being omitted, which was required for flexibility and future proofing the building.

 

ORDERED

 

That an additional £4.138m be allocated to the Fountain Court project, giving a total budget of £7m to refurbish and fit-out the building, enabling Council staff to relocate there in 2022.

 

REASON

 

The Executive report, submitted on 16 March 2021, had identified that further due diligence and survey work would need to be undertaken to fully understand the costs of Fountain Court’s refurbishment and fit out.  It was anticipated that the cost of the purchase and fit out of the building could be accommodated within the fit out budget for One Centre Square, which was £5m.  It stated that if detailed due diligence subsequently identified that the project could not be achieved for £5.2m, a request for an additional allocation of funding would be made prior to work starting.  The survey work had highlighted that the fit out cost was £7m and as only £4.438m remained in the One Centre Square budget (when discounting the One Centre Square expenditure), an additional £4.138m was requested.  That planned to ensure the building was fitted out to a high standard in line with the new blended working arrangements and Council’s values, ready for staff to relocate there.