Issue - meetings

Report number PRO443 by the Head of Property Services (Design).

(attached)

DECISION:

(1)    To approve the virement of £75,000 from the existing assets general provision in order to finance the additional work required for a new waterproof protective coating to the upper two levels of the Wharf Road car park in Grantham;

(2)    The acceptance of the lowest tender for the work to be the subject of a non key decision by the Economic Portfolio Holder;

(3)    The Resources & Assets Portfolio Holder to consider the assets general provision having regard to any other future projects which might have call on that budget.

Considerations/Reasons for Decision::

(1)     Report number PRO443 by the Head of Property Services (Design) giving details of additional works required to the multi-storey car park in Grantham following  an earlier non key decision  taken on 18^th August 2004 to rectify problems resulting from the failure of the existing protective coating.  The approved budget of £140,000 was thought to be sufficient for the repairs based upon preliminary investigation and advice from contractors licensed to install the specialist waterproof membrane proposed;

(2)     Subsequent work has identified a number of additional repairs and improvements that are now recommended for inclusion in the project and the cost of these together with the inflationary effects on tender prices during the last year has increased the total project cost to £215,000;

(3)     Tenders were invited from three specialist contractors licensed to install the proposed TRIFLEX surfacing system and the lowest received is from Matrix Solutions Ltd of Bristol in the sum of £205,865.00;

(4)     Advice from the Director of Finance and Strategic Resources that sufficient funds exist with the current assets general provision to enable a virement for the additional sum.

Other Options considered and assessed.

Further delays in providing a new waterproof deck coating will accelerate the possibility of long term deterioration of the concrete deck due to the ingress of water and aggressive road salts. Further deterioration could result in closure of the car park with a subsequent loss of income to the Council, in addition to increasing remediation costs.

There are various proprietary surfacing systems available but many rely entirely upon the elasticity of the deck coating to accommodate movement in the structure.  This has been shown to be insufficient by the failure of the current surfacing applied in the late 1990’s.  The TRIFLEX system now proposed includes for a substantial reinforcing layer bonded into the material and has an established track record of performance at similar sites across the country.