Agenda item

This report provides a progress update on the construction of the new Waste Depot at Turnpike Close, Grantham.

The Leader of the Council presented the report on behalf of the Cabinet Member for Property and Public Engagement. The report provided Members with a progress update in respect of the construction of the Waste Depot, Turnpike Close, Grantham.

The Finance and Economic Overview and Scrutiny Committee was provided with an update on the new Waste Depot project at the last meeting on 27 June 2024 following the decision the Committee would be provided regular updates at each of their meetings during the project delivery phase.

The report provided an updated dashboard and further information with the current projected allocation of £8.8m budget and further details within the £7.9m construction budget.

The activity timetable was presented and provided current projected timeline of key events up to October 2024.

The Head of Property Services and ICT highlighted the further breakdown in terms of the overall spend of the £7.9m construction budget and the £8.8m budget. New milestones had been allocated on the programme as requested.

The project was in value-engineering stage 4 design which remained as low risk. The elongation of the project was at further risk during construction phase, where further costs may be incurred.

It was questioned whether Officers would be able to quantify a risk with a financial aspect and include it within the risk register.

One Member queried whether any contractors had expressed interest of completing the construction work.

It was noted the construction contract award was 27 September 2024, and the contractors were expected to mobilise by 30 September 2024, which didn’t seem enough time.

A procurement exercise had been undertaken within a framework whereby a tender was produced, and 5 contractors expressed interest in the works. During the procurement process and tender period, various contractors had withdrawn from the tender process.  

It was noted that professional fees for the project were currently running at about 4%, whereas normal guidance for professional fees was 7-11%. Members congratulated Officers on keeping professional fees to a low percentage.

A query was raised on value engineering proposed by Lindum was unacceptable. Members requested an explanation as to why their proposal was not acceptable.

The Deputy Chief Executive confirmed certain financial risks on different components of the scheme that would be out of the Council’s control. The pie chart provided within the dashboard would potentially change in line with certain milestones of the project.

A potential risk of prolonged period of construction may mean further fees would be incurred. Contractors were being pushed to deliver within a small timescale, in order to eliminate the material risk of delay in construction.

It was clarified that Lindum had presented a list of areas of the design which could be removed in order to reduce costs. The Team analysed the suggestions of removing certain areas of the design, however, some of the areas would compromise the quality of the building, create energy inefficiency and possibly require another planning permission with amendments.

That the Finance and Economic Overview and Scrutiny Committee:

Note the current position with respect to the delivery of the new Waste Depot Turnpike Close Grantham for the period up to 5 July 2024.