Agenda item

The purpose of the report is to continue to the next stage of the process for the redevelopment of the Farnham Memorial Hall to provide a base for the existing Brightwells Gostrey Centre services and to create a new Community and Well-Being Centre for Farnham and the surrounding area.  This will secure these vital community services for the future.

The report seeks authority to approve additional funding resulting from required design changes and cost inflation, and also requests approval to progress to the procurement phase to select a consultant to run the tender for the construction.

Recommendation

It is recommended that the Executive recommends to the Council that:

1.            £700,000 of additional funding be approved in 2015/16 in order to proceed with the project, funded from external contributions of £200,000 with the balance being financed from the Revenue Reserve; and

2.            authority be given to the Director of Finance and Resources and the Portfolio Holder for Major Projects to initiate the tender process to select a preferred consultant to run the construction tender process for the building works.

The Executive has agreed to RECOMMEND to the COUNCIL that:

1.            £700,000 of additional funding be approved in 2015/16 in order to proceed with the project, funded from external contributions of £200,000 with the balance being financed from the Revenue Reserve; and

2.            authority be given to the Director of Finance and Resources and the Portfolio Holder for Major Projects to initiate the tender process to select a preferred consultant to run the construction tender process for the building works.

[This item is recommended to the Council for decision and is not subject to the call-in procedure].

[Reason: to seek agreement to continue to the next stage of the process for the redevelopment of the Memorial Hall and approve additional funding].

25.1    Following the completion of a feasibility study and discussions with Brightwell Gostrey Centre Trustees, the Council, as part of the 2015/16 Budget, agreed to fund enhanced and refurbished facilities at Farnham Memorial Hall in order to maintain and improve key community facilities in Farnham at an estimated cost of £1.5m. At its meeting of the Executive on 6 January 2015, approval was given to submit a planning application for the scheme. Plans for the scheme are in Annexe 1 – New Scheme Site Plan, Annexe 2 – 3D Images of New Design for Memorial Hall and Annexe 3 – Internal Floor Plan.

25.2    Providing the space required for service delivery by the Gostrey Centre, partner agencies contractually renting space will generate income whilst maintaining the community aspect for the wider community within the Memorial Hall. In addition, the aesthetically pleasing design and flexible layout of the new facilities will mean that the Memorial Hall could become commercially viable as a facility, eventually becoming self-sustaining by being hired for private functions.

25.3    Further, the financial benefits of a single, flexible space, the new centre, with its wider usage, will help bring together different groups within the community under one roof. Its location is also beneficial, being close to the centre of town while providing good access and parking in a landscaped environment. This will underline Waverley’s commitment to improving leisure and lives of its residents.

25.4    Building a new community centre at the Memorial Hall whilst working with the Gostrey Centre trustees, provides an ideal opportunity to secure a viable financial future for both the Gostrey Centre and Memorial Hall.  This new and enhanced building will provide the Gostrey Centre with not only the space it requires, but will also ensure that there is the flexibility and versatility needed for a community space in the long term – one where facilities can be used to serve the whole community and provide a means of gaining financial stability and independence for the building.

25.5    Ahead of appointing the necessary consultancy support for the accompanying surveys and reports needed for the planning application, due diligence required that the site be thoroughly investigated at a subterranean level to establish if there are any barriers to development.  As part of the works, the Council’s quantity surveying and engineering consultant advisers arranged two specialist underground mapping and soil surveys.

25.6    Their findings indicated key utilities on site that had not been revealed in any property title documents or deed plans reviewed as part of the feasibility study.  In light of these findings, officers have worked in conjunction with architects to make the necessary design adjustments to avoid the substantial costs of diverting the five additional utilities that have been discovered. The effect of not making these adjustments would put the project at risk in respect of:

·        Time – Re-routing would add substantially to the time-frame in which the project can be delivered given that each utility supplier would need to organise their own specialist labour and legal services.

·        Finance – There would be significant additional costs from re-routing over and above the original estimated costs as well as the extra legal costs for reaching agreement and securing appropriate wayleaves.

25.7    Throughout the process, regular meetings have taken place with key stakeholders, Gostrey Centre Trustees and Farnham Town Football Club, whose changing facilities are located at the Memorial Hall. Their comments and requirements, where possible, have been adopted as part of the design.

25.8    The alterations to the design to avoid the utilities have resulted in an increased footprint, with the building now impacting the football changing rooms.  This was not originally part of the works, however, following positive discussions with Farnham Town Football Club, and as part of the additional works required, the changing facilities will now be provided on the opposite side of the football pitch adjacent to their clubhouse. The replacement changing rooms will represent a major improvement for Farnham Town Football Club and will assist with its future development.

25.9    A revised cost report by quantity surveyors MEA that takes into account these changes has been issued identifying the required uplift in costs.

25.10  Following consultation with local residents and pre-planning advice, the planning application for the Memorial Hall was submitted earlier this month with a view to the application being considered by the Planning Authority in August 2015. The objective is to begin works in late-2015 or early-2016. To achieve this, the relevant external expertise to assist with tendering for the works needs to be procured.

25.11  The cost of an external specialist to run the tender process for the construction contract is calculated as a percentage of the total build cost, and is anticipated to reach threshold 3 or 4 of Contract Procedure Rules.

25.12  In terms of the financial implications, financial support for the Gostrey Day Centre is currently circa £100,000 per annum, which is a combination of grant funding to deliver the day centre service and revenue funding to maintain the building. It is expected for this new facility to result in a significant cost reduction. It is expected that the centre and services will become self-sustaining given the additional income generation potential from rental hire and functions.

25.13  The Gostrey Centre, in its current state requires significant capital spend over the next 3 years totalling £214,000. The Memorial Hall also needs building repairs over the next three years of at least £395,000. These works have not been included in the forward budgets and are avoided with this scheme which secures the future of both the Memorial Hall and the Gostrey Centre.

25.14  A capital budget of £1.5m has been approved in the 2015/16 budget for the redevelopment, however, substantial ground investigation surveys have required design changes and construction cost inflation has resulted in an additional budget of £700,000 being required. Fortunately external funding of £200,000 has been secured leaving a balance of £500,000 as an additional budget request from the Revenue Reserve Fund.  External funding is being sought from agencies with a health and well-being remit that would benefit from the Memorial Hall being redeveloped. This will mitigate the additional reserve request.

25.15  The redevelopment of the Memorial Hall will be a major procurement project and will be tendered in accordance with the Council’s Contract Procedure Rules and EU Procurement Regulations (where necessary).  The Council will retain the freehold of the new facility and will have lease(s) in place with the operators as appropriate.

25.16  Under the Deed of Gift from October 1947, the Council is required to meet various covenants relating to the hall and associated sports ground. The covenants are numerous and quite detailed. However the covenants specifically affected by the proposed works are that the Council must maintain and preserve the inscribed stone over the entrance door and the two oak memorial panels within the main hall. Also the building is to be known as The Memorial Hall and maintained for the benefit of and for the use and enjoyment by the inhabitants of the Urban District of Farnham. It is the view of officers that the proposed works are in compliance with the covenants.

25.17  The Executive therefore

RECOMMENDS that

4.         £700,000 of additional funding be approved in 2015/16 in order to proceed with the project, funded from external contributions of £200,000 with the balance being financed from the Revenue Reserve; and

5.         authority be given to the Director of Finance and Resources and the Portfolio Holder for Major Projects to initiate the tender process to select a preferred consultant to run the construction tender process for the building works.

[Reason: to seek agreement to continue to the next stage of the process for the redevelopment of the Memorial Hall and approve additional funding].