This meeting of Haringey Council's Cabinet Member Signing was scheduled to discuss an amendment to the Opportunity Haringey Workspace Fund, and a contract variation for UK Power Networks (UKPN) to carry out essential electrical works on the Broadwater Farm Estate. The meeting was scheduled to be held at Alexandra House, Station Road.

Opportunity Haringey Workspace Fund

Councillor Ruth Gordon, Cabinet Member for Placemaking, and Local Economy, was scheduled to consider a report seeking approval for an amendment to the Opportunity Haringey Workspace Fund.

The Opportunity Haringey Workspace Fund was initially agreed on 12 March 2024¹. The report to be discussed seeks to amend the original report, and recommends re-assigning a lower allocation of £1.5 million of external funding for the Wood Green affordable creative workspace. The funding would be reassigned from the property owner to the proposed tenant who will operate it, subject to satisfactory completion of due diligence and agreement of funding terms. It was also to be noted that the timescale for the fund has been altered and will be delivered by September 2026, when the Wood Green affordable creative workspace is scheduled to open.

The report recommends that Councillor Ruth Gordon:

• Provides delegated authority to the Corporate Director of Culture, Strategy and Communities to undertake further due diligence, negotiate and agree the terms, and approve the final funding agreements for the recommended workspace project for the Opportunity Haringey Workspace Fund.
• Allocate up to £1.5 million of external grant funding to the project.
• Notes that the timescale for the fund has now been altered and will be delivered by September 2026 when the workspace will open.

The report states that the March 2024 decision anticipated providing funding to the property owner of a site in Wood Green in which the commercial space would be fitted out and let to an organisation who would facilitate the use of the space by multiple businesses. However, following a process of due diligence and funding term discussions, the proposed funding allocation would instead go to a proposed workspace provider (the proposed tenant as opposed to the property owner) for operating space at the same site. The proposed workspace operator wasn't part of the original arrangements set out in the March 2024 decision report.

The proposed allocation for the project is up to £1.5 million, as opposed to up to £1.863 million in the March 2024 decision. The forecast inclusive economy and placemaking outputs meet the external funder requirements and are similar to those set out in the 12 March 2024 decision. The external funder has agreed to an updated timeframe of the works completing in July 2026 and the space opening in September 2026.

The report also notes that officers originally considered the following options:

• Providing funding to the property owner as originally anticipated, but this was not preferred because the property owner was not able to agree to a claw back provision should the space be used for a different purpose in the coming decade.
• Returning the funding drawn down to date from the City of London Corporation. However, setting up the fund was deemed to be in the best interests of Haringey as it would enable a further £1.5 million grant funding from the City of London Corporation to be invested in the borough to increase employment space which is needed to support jobs and inclusive economic growth.
• Re-allocating the £1.5 million grant finance from the external funder to the two other approved Opportunity Haringey Workspace Fund projects which are in Tottenham, but this would result in a loss of valuable additional creative and affordable workspace in support of the cultural and creative quarter in Wood Green.

The proposed project is intended to support Theme 5 of Opportunity Haringey Works Places and Spaces, which aims to promote quality workspace provision and encourage the delivery of additional workspace across the borough. The source of funding is external grant funding from the City of London Corporation's Strategic Investment Pot and forms part of the council's approved capital programme.

The proposed project will result in the creation of affordable creative workspace in Wood Green. This project will enable much needed additional workspace in the borough and has potential to stimulate others in the market to bring forward workspace in Wood Green. It would support the cultural character of Wood Green, support local job growth, and will generate additional workspace in the borough. The forecast outputs meet the external funder requirements and include: at least 2,121 square metres of new workspace, 350 jobs and 80 businesses to be supported in the coming decade and £0.7 million match funding to the borough.

The report also notes that the proposed project will contribute to the Haringey London Borough of Culture 2027 and its legacy, and that the approach recommended in the report is in line with the Opportunity Haringey inclusive economy framework, adopted at Cabinet in November 2023.

Part B of the report, which is exempt from publication, contains further information about the reasons for the decision. It notes that the recipient of the funding is Affordable Workspace Partnership (CR) Ltd, which is a company within the Affordable Workspace Partnership group of companies. The group was established in 2018 by Peter Flack and Mark Holden.

The site for the project is Alexandra Gate, also known as Clarendon House. It is owned by St William Homes LLP which is part of Berkeley Group Holdings plc. They originally applied for a £1.5 million grant with the anticipation that Collage Arts would operate the workspace, but Collage Arts was unable to secure the match funding required.

Broadwater Farm Estate Electrical Works

Councillor Ruth Gordon was also scheduled to discuss a report seeking approval to extend the contract for UK Power Networks (UKPN) to carry out essential electrical works on the Broadwater Farm Estate. The report seeks approval to extend the contract by £248,132.00, bringing the total contract value to £615,489.95.

The sum of £248,132.00 is for four variations for the diversion of high and low voltage cables on the Broadwater Farm Estate. UKPN is the only company authorised to carry out the works. Subject to approval, the variation will enable UKPN to complete the cable diversion, which in turn will allow the electrical substation at Tangmere to be decommissioned, thus making way for the block to be demolished and the site made ready for the construction of 139 new homes and 7 enterprise units commencing March 2026.

The report recommends that Councillor Ruth Gordon approves the extension of the contract sum and programme for UKPN to a total value of £615,489.95, and notes that a Director may authorise any subsequent Contract Extension(s) and/or Variation(s).

The report states that the original contract was awarded to UKPN in the sum of £367,378.95 via Delegated Authority on 14 June 2024. The variations resulted from delays due to illegally parked vehicles, the need to divert trenching and cabling to accommodate the underground river on the estate, further extensions due to subsidence-affecting properties on Gloucester Road, and further costs incurred due to road closures, bus route diversions, and the reinstatement and re-excavation of joint holes for both low- and high-voltage cabling.

The report notes that the project team considered what lessons could be learnt from this experience, and that in the future the Project Team must try to identify all possible variations prior to commencing complex projects, as this will avoid unnecessary delays which in turn could result in uncontrolled costs as allowed under Contract Standing Order 2.05.1².

The report also notes that the works to decommission the substation in Tangmere and to energise the new substation at Rochford, will enable the Tangmere block to be demolished, and that the programme will contribute to the 'Responding to the Climate Emergency' theme in the Corporate Delivery Plan (CDP), presented to Cabinet on 17th January 2023.