Purpose

To consider a report on the procurement of modular
buildings and land arrangements at Arbour Vale school.

Decision

(a) 
Agreed that the
Council commissions the design and construction of a 4-classroom
block at Arbour Vale School on its behalf to open 1st September
2024 or as soon thereafter as possible;

 

(b) 
Agreed that a budget
of up to £1.70m be approved for the project to be funded via
DfE capital grant for expansion of SEND provision;
 

(c) 
Agreed to waive the
Council’s internal Contract Procurement rules and approve the
direct award for the construction contract to Lansdowne Green
SIPS;
 

(d) 
Delegated authority to
the Executive Director of Education in consultation with the
Monitoring Officer and Lead Member for Education and
Children’s Services, to finalise and enter into all necessary
legal documents, for the timely delivery of the project;
 

(e) 
Approved the disposal
of 3,904m2 of land as shown in Appendix 2 to the report and being
land adjacent to Arbour Vale School at nil value to the Orchard
Hill College Academy Trust (OHCAT) on a standard academy
lease;
 

(f) 
Approved a budget of
£2.4m for delivery of the construction of a car park on land
to be leased, to be funded via DfE capital grant for expansion of
SEND provision;
 

(g) 
Delegated authority to
the Executive Director of Regeneration, Housing and Environment, in
consultation with the Monitoring Officer and Lead Member for
Education and Children’s Services, to award contract and
enter into all necessary legal documents for the timely delivery of
the car park project;
 

(h) 
Approved an increase
in the GF Capital Programme for 2024/25 of £4.805m comprising
unspent Special School Expansion grant resources carried forward
from 2023/24 (£1.504m) and additional grant funding allocated
to SBC through the High Needs Provision Capital Allocation 2024/25
of £3.301m, to align the budget with the wider SEND expansion
capital programme.  Future allocations
within the SEND expansion programme will be subject to appropriate
governance.