Agenda item

The Executive Member for Finance and Governance and Director of Finance submitted a report for the Executive’s consideration. The report sought approval for the proposals to progress the development of the community centre provision within Nunthorpe ward.

Middlesbrough Council had committed to funding the development of a community centre within Nunthorpe Ward and had identified £900k from the Towns Fund to support the development of the

The Council received interest from separate organisations proposing a community centre at two separate locations. Location 1 being next to the new medical centre, and location 2 being at Nunthorpe & Marton Playing Field Association.

A bidding process was developed in Autumn 2021 in order to identify the most appropriate organisation to design, build and manage the community centre. The process was a two stage bidding process in which initial expressions of interest were submitted, with further refinement at stage 2. The deadline for submissions at stage 2 was 17th December 2021.

The bidding process was independently evaluated by external stakeholders, along with Middlesbrough Council staff, and a conclusion was reached regarding a successful bidder. This however was challenged and further scrutiny was undertaken concerning the building cost detail. As a result the successful bid was subject to scrutiny from the Council’s Quantity surveyor and it was determined there were issues with the build costs. The same scrutiny was provided to the second bid which was deemed acceptable.

On review of the process undertaken the Councils section 151 officer concluded that whilst the process had sought to be as flexible as possible it had not been clear from the outset in regard to key parameters. The process had focussed primarily on building management, rather than design and build, and as such the scrutiny on design and build was undertaken towards the latter part of the evaluation and was not articulated at the outset. This was therefore challengeable.

As a result of the section 151 officer review it was concluded the process be paused and reconsidered in terms of approach.

A revised approach has now been identified which removes a central bidding process and seeks to resolve the key issue of location, by engagement with the community. The revised process will also involve the council managing the build phase, and during the build phase a process will be undertaken to appoint an organisation to run the community facility once built.

OPTIONS

The alternative course of action was to re-run the bidding exercise with clearly defined parameters from the outset, however this was not recommended for the following reasons:

·         Community organisations have already expended significant time and resource in the bidding exercise

·         The expectation for a community organisation to manage a £1million build is significant, the risk is high for the Town fund resource and as such it is appropriate for the council to manage the construction to mitigate risks in this area.

·         Tension within the community and within community groups would be heightened through running this exercise, the council has a responsibility to assist with community relations and following discussion at Nunthorpe Parish council, community views have been taken on board.

ORDERED

1.    That Executive agree to the following proposed plan to develop the Community centre at Nunthorpe Consult the community on which of the two available locations that is the site 3 next to the GP surgery or the current site of the NMPFA building the community would prefer a community centre to be located. The residents of Nunthorpe will be engaged specifically on their preference regarding the location of the community centre and not the historic supporters or proposed management options associated currently associated with those sites. The consultation exercise will be managed by the council and will outline two locations from which ward residents will select a preference.

2.    That Executive agree the Consultation process will run for a fixed period of 6 weeks

3.    That Executive agree that following the outcome of the consultation the council will manage the community centre development at the preferred site

4.    That Executive agree that during the build a process will be progressed to select a community organisation to manage the new community asset.

5.    That executive approve an additional £100k from council capital resources due to increased construction costs, once all other grant funds are exhausted.

REASONS

Within this project, location is the key factor. Once the location has been determined and agreed, the build and management of the centre can follow due process. The community should be involved and consulted on the location as the community would utilise the centre. Once the location is determined the council will oversee the development phase, during which a process can be twin tracked to agree an appropriate organisation to manage the facility in the long term. This option should minimise demands on community organisations, and ensure the outcome delivered is the one the majority of ward residents support.