Purpose

A Key Decision was taken on 20 July 2022 to approve the submission to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) of the Project Business Case Summary Documents for the ten projects confirming the intention of Doncaster Council to secure a combined £21.60m Town Deals funding for Stainforth. The Key Decision also included the following delegation:
(i) Delegate authority to the Director of Economy and Environment, in consultation
with the Director of Corporate Resources and the portfolio holder for Housing and Business, to procure and award Contracts, in compliance with the Council’s Contract Procedure Rules (CPR’s), on the basis that decisions will not commit the Council to additional costs beyond the scheme affordability envelope
Following this Key Decision, the Project Business Case Summary Documents were submitted to DLUHC in August 2022. The New Community Hub was approved by DLUHC in November 2022.
The New Community Hub will be located on the Miners Welfare Grounds off Church Road, which is a central location to Stainforth, and provides the opportunity to combine SMILE and Family Hub services and the Library function offered in Stainforth into a new bespoke building in a central location. It will serve as a vital resource, providing access to various services and opportunities for residents, thereby enhancing their quality of life. Stainforth Town Council are trustees of the Miners Welfare Grounds and have agreed to lease the section of land required for the new community hub to the City of Doncaster Council (the council) and must seek formal approval from the Charities Commission to have this agreed. To ensure the project progresses while the land issue is resolved, the PCSA contract will be awarded.
To secure a suitable contractor to deliver the New Community Hub, the council competitively tendered the project in compliance with the Councils Contract Procedure rules by conducting an open tender exercise via the tendering portal YORtender. The maximum value of works was identified and advertised at and two separate NEC4 contract documents were provided for the Design and Build. were received based on the schedule of work. Following the tender evaluation process and tender clarification meeting
have provided the cost element for delivery of the scheme within the
funding budget detailed in the tender documents, therefore is the preferred contractor to carry out the works within the required scope and budget.
It is proposed to confirm as the councils ‘preferred contactor’ for the
design and build of the New Community Hub and enter into an NEC4 PCSA agreement for the design stage, and NEC 4 ECC contract for the building works. This contract is for the capital works to deliver the New Community Hub with a general allowance for fixed furniture and equipment (kitchens, bathrooms etc) and the extra fittings and furnishings are to be provided by the service areas locating into the new building.
The nature of the contract will require an initial period of time where the contractor would progress the design and preliminary activities (early works) prior to commencement of the main works on site. Appendix 1 details the Pre Construction Professional fees.
In order to secure the price provided for the Design and Build of the new community hub and ensure the works commence to meet the Town Deal Fund delivery timescales, the tender needs to be awarded whilst the land issue is resolved. The contract needs to be awarded as quickly as possible otherwise inflationary costs on items, for example, materials will take the price above the available funding. It is proposed to enter into the PCSA agreement for the
Design and early works with up to at a cost of (Appendix
1). The value of the early works will be funded from approved resources allocated to the New Community Hub project from Town Deal Fund.
Following discussions with Procurement and the Councils Legal Services, it is proposed to enter into the PCSA contract for the design element of the two stage contract.. This approach provides an efficient method of engaging the contractor to progress with the design stage while the land issue is resolved. The council will enter into the NEC4 ECC contract when the land issue is resolved.
Additionally, two stage design and build contracts will allow the council the opportunity to withdraw from the construction phase contract with should Stainforth Town Council not achieve an agreement with the Charities Commission for the New Community Hub to be built on the identified area on the Miners Welfare Grounds, Church Road, Stainforth. The PCSA contract will allow the design and early enabling works to be undertaken at the same time as the land issue is resolved and minimise delays in the delivery of the build phase. If the land issue is not resolved and the council do not get permission to build on the Miners Welfare Grounds, the contract will be terminated and payments will be made for the works completed at the date of the contract termination.

Decision

In accordance with the approved delegation described in Box 3:
1. Approve the award of, and enter into contract with as the
preferred contractor for the two stage Design and Build contract of the New Community Hub.

2. Enter into a PCSA agreement with a value of up to with
to enable the commencement of the Design and Enabling works, with the understanding that should the land issue not be resolved these costs may be incurred by the contractor as part of the PCSA contract.

3. Subject to the land issue being resolved, enter into the NEC4 ECC contract for the construction of the New Community Hub. The contract value is It is important to note that there is the expectation that construction costs may increase, and value engineering will be applied where possible to ensure the funding allocation is not exceeded.

4. Approve the works identified in the ODR to be funded from the overall resources allocated
to this project.

Alternative options considered

Option 1: Not Award Contract
Not awarding the contract until the land issue is resolved would lead to delays in the delivery of the New Community Hub or not delivering the building and the loss of Town Deal Fund. The outputs and outcomes of the Town Deal Fund for this project would not be achieved. The community expectations of delivering a New Community Hub for Stainforth would not be realised and there would be a negative public response for the loss of the Town Deal Fund.

Option 2: Retender when land issue resolved
Retendering the project when the land issue is resolved will extend the timescale for delivery of the scheme and it is expected that the costs would increase, potentially outside the budget for
delivery. The delay in appointing a contractor through retendering will extend the delivery timescale significantly, may not deliver the outputs and outcomes for the funding and result in a loss of the funding.

Recommendation: Approval to Appoint
This report recommends the approval to appoint and enter into contract with to carry out the PCSA works and subject to resolution of the land issue, enter into the NEC4 ECC contract for construction. This will minimise the risk to the programme and meet Town Deal Fund deadline.