Purpose

Executive Decision – June 2025

On 19 June 2025 the Executive considered five options to address Reinforced Aerated Autoclaved Concrete (RAAC) in the Harlequin Theatre and approved Option 2: removal of RAAC and delivery of essential works to reopen the theatre at previous capacity, without bringing forward planned maintenance or wider modernisation
As per the approved recommendation 7, the Executive delegated authority to the Head of Property Services, in consultation with the Deputy Chief Executive, Chief Finance Officer and the Portfolio Holder for Finance, Assets and Governance, to procure and enter into a works contract to implement Option 2. Alongside this, approved recommendation 8 delegated any minor adjustments required to these approvals to support delivery to the Strategic Head of Communities and Wellbeing in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Finance, Assets and Governance and the Portfolio Holder for Leisure and Culture. Following this consultation, on 10th September 2026, approved Recommendation 7 was subsequently amended by adding the words: “including to proceed with all associated preparatory and enabling activities.” This provides the governance basis for instructing
early preparatory and enabling activities required to support delivery of Option 2, including scaffolding design. Since June 2025 officers have progressed technical and procurement activity, including:
• Appointment of Bailey Partnership as Client Design Team
• Approval to procure and enter into a fixed-price PCSA with Apex Contractors
• Progression through the RIBA design stages, with design now at Stage 4 (technical design)
• Engagement with the head leaseholder and managing agents on Licence to Alter requirements

PCSA Context
To deliver Option 2 of the Executive Decision, the Council awarded a Pre-Construction Services Agreement (PCSA) to Apex Contractors Ltd through the Fusion21 Framework. The PCSA is a fixed-price agreement with a value of £62,453.10, covering the pre-construction services scope originally defined by the Council.
The PCSA, appended to this report as a commercially confidential within Part 2, sets out the pre-construction services Apex Contractors must undertake before submitting their second-stage tender, including temporary works input, buildability reviews, logistics planning, and coordination with the Client Design Team.

The PCSA is a fixed-price agreement for the originally defined scope. The following
activities were not included within that scope, as confirmed in the PCSA.:
• Scaffolding design
• Asbestos Refurbishment & Demolition (R&D) Survey
• Temporary Works Engineering Survey

Under clause 5.1 of the JCT PCSA 2024, Apex may only undertake activities outside the originally agreed pre-construction scope when formally instructed as Additional Services.

Although all three activities would ordinarily be undertaken as part of the main JCT Design and Build Contract 2024, the Bailey Partnership, our Client Design Team have recommended these be brought forward to:
• support accelerated mobilisation and commencement
• enable scaffold erection in November
• reduce cost and programme risk
• improve cost certainty within Apex’s Final Cost Plan

This does not represent additional scope. These activities would have formed part of the main contract sum. Undertaking it at this stage enables Apex to develop and price the Stage 4 design with greater accuracy, reducing the need for risk allowances and assumptions and improving overall cost certainty for the Council.

SUMMARY OF VARIATIONS
Variation 1 – Scaffolding Design - (Appendix B)

Early scaffold design is required to confirm access strategy, loading capacity, hoarding lines, temporary roof requirements and logistics before Apex prepares their final tender price. It also allows scaffolding erection to be instructed sooner after confirmation of the works contractor than if the design did not happen until after the
confirmation of the works contractor. Without early instruction, the commencement of works on site in November would be delayed.

Variation 2 – Asbestos Refurbishment & Demolition Survey - (Appendix C)

An Asbestos Refurbishment and Demolition (R&D) Survey is a statutory intrusive survey required prior to undertaking refurbishment, alteration, or structural works to buildings constructed or modified before 2000. Early instruction of this survey now enables accurate assurances around asbestos containing materials (ACM’s) within the building, asbestos removal pricing, reduces the risk of exposure to unknown conditions, and allows internal RAAC preparation works to begin while major roof and plant items are on order.

Variation 3 – Temporary Works Engineering Survey - (Appendix D)

A measured survey of steelwork, full structural modelling (FEA), concrete ring beam and column assessments, and CAT 2 checks is required to confirm the structural capacity of the roof, floors and parapets to support scaffold, crash decks, hoists and temporary loading. This technical assurance is essential to ratify the scaffold design
and avoid delays to scaffold erection.

Consultation
This decision requires the approval of the Head of Property Services in consultation with:
• Portfolio Holder for Finance & Assets
• Deputy Chief Executive
• Chief Finance Officer
All have been duly consulted and fully endorse the instruction of the scaffolding design.

Reason for Decision

Variation 1 – Scaffolding Design
Early instruction of the scaffolding design is essential to:
• confirm access strategy, loading capacity, hoarding lines, temporary roof requirements and logistics before Apex prepares their final tender price
• provide a fixed scaffold design that removes ambiguity and prevents contractor-designed temporary works later in the main contract
• secure greater cost certainty by enabling Apex to price accurately at Stage 4, avoiding higher risk allowances
• support commencement of works on site in November 2026
• support coordinated Stage 4 technical design and inform Licence to Alter negotiations with the head leaseholder
Risk if not instructed: Scaffold erection would be delayed until after contract award,
pushing the start on site to January or February and increasing prelims costs. This would
undermine the benefits of early contractor involvement under the PCSA.

Variation 2 – Asbestos Refurbishment & Demolition Survey
Early instruction of the asbestos R&D survey is essential to:
• allow accurate pricing of asbestos removal within Apex’s Final Cost Plan
• avoid unpriced asbestos risk or reliance on provisional sums
• reduce the likelihood of discovering asbestos during early works, which could cause delay and claims
• enable internal RAAC preparation works to begin while major roof and plant items are on order
• ensure statutory compliance for intrusive works under CDM and asbestos regulations
Risk if not instructed: Deferring the survey would prevent works from commencing on
site in November 2026, as Health and Safety requirements prohibit intrusive construction
activities from proceeding until the appropriate asbestos surveys have been completed.

Variation 3 – Temporary Works Engineer
Early instruction of the Temporary Works Engineer is essential to:
• confirm the structural capacity of the roof, floors, parapets and columns to support scaffold, crash decks, hoists, plant loading and temporary roof structures
• validate the scaffold design and logistics plan before mobilisation
• allow the scaffold design to be fully ratified now, enabling the earliest possible commencement of scaffold erection
• protect the November 2026 start-on-site date by avoiding post-contract award temporary works checks
• ensure temporary works are coordinated by the Client Design Team rather than developed later by the contractor

Risk if not instructed: Temporary works would need to be checked only after contract award, delaying scaffold erection and creating programme uncertainty. There is also a small cost risk associated with extended preliminaries.

These activities do not represent additional scope. They are works already anticipated within the main contract that have been brought forward to support accelerated mobilisation, improve cost certainty, and reduce programme and risk exposure. Early instruction ensures that Apex can incorporate all findings into their Final Cost Plan,
reducing the need for risk allowances and supporting best value for the Council.

Decision

• To approve instructing the following early preparatory and enabling activities under the PCSA with Apex Contractors Ltd:
• Variation 1 – Scaffolding Design
• Variation 2 – Asbestos R&D Survey
• Variation 3 – Temporary Works Engineering

Alternative options considered

1. Instruct these activities later (Not recommended as this would prevent the commencement of works in November 2026.)
2. Only instruct one or two elements, not all three. (Not recommended as this would prevent the commencement of works in November 2026.)