Minutes:
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.
Supporting documents: