This meeting of the Executive Decision was scheduled to involve the Strategic Director of Place, in consultation with the Leader of the Council and the Strategic Director of Resources, deciding whether to begin the process of procuring a main contractor for the Vestry House Museum Revitalisation Project. The meeting was not open to the public.

Vestry House Museum Revitalisation Project

The report pack for this item included the Vestry House Museum Revitalisation Project report, which contained a proposal to begin the process of procuring a contractor for the Vestry House Museum Revitalisation Project in Walthamstow Village.

The project is intended to revitalise the museum, which is housed in the Grade II listed Vestry House, a former workhouse dating back to 1730. The report says that:

Not only is the museum under-utilised, currently it has minimal social impact and does not provide a good return on investment.

The project would involve:

• Refurbishing the museum building.
• Relocating the Local Studies Library and Archives to Chingford Assembly Hall.
• Creating new workspaces on the ground and first floor.
• Creating a new multi-purpose event space and cafe.

The report also contains an Equality Analysis Screening, which is required by the council's Public Sector Equality Duty¹ as set out in Section 149 of the Equality Act 2010.

The report proposes that the contract to deliver the project should be procured through an open tender using the ProContract procurement platform. It also proposes that the contract itself should be based on the JCT Intermediate Building Contract with contractor’s design 2016.

The report states that the project will be funded by a £3.6 million grant from the Levelling Up Fund, with match funding of £800,000 coming from a combination of Section 106 contributions, the Community Infrastructure Levy, the National Heritage Lottery Fund and the council's own capital contingency budget.

The report also describes a significant programme of community engagement that has taken place to date, and which will continue throughout the project.

The Public Sector Equality Duty requires public bodies to have due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination, advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not.