Agenda, decisions and minutes

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To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 27^th June 2018.

RESOLVED –

THAT the minutes of the meeting held on 27^th June 2018 be approved and signed as a correct record.

RESOLVED –

THAT the minutes of the meeting held on 27^th June 2018 be approved and signed as a correct record.

Report of the Director of Property Management

This report seeks approval for the award of the contract for the replacement of the cladding and curtain wall to the five tower blocks on the Chalcots estate, which includes all associated works required to the blocks. The award to Wates Living Space Ltd is based upon their submission being the most economically advantageous tender in respect of the criteria set out in the Invitation to Tender.

The Council’s cost consultants, Arcadis, have completed a price evaluation and they have confirmed that the award of this contract does achieve value for money.

As is normal in ‘design and build’ contracts the specification of the works is not fully agreed until the detailed design process has been completed.  Any decisions related to the final design of the works will be agreed by the Director of Property Management.

To help fund the work the Council has secured £80.6m from the Government’s cladding remediation fund. This funding will contribute to the cost of the work to remove and replace the cladding and the curtain wall along with associated professional fees.

The report is coming to the Leader as an urgent item as the Council needs to make progress in relation to the detailed design of the cladding and curtain wall prior to materials being ordered and work starting on site.

This report has appendices which contains information exempt within the meaning of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972 and is not for publication. The appendix has therefore been circulated to Cabinet Members only.

If the Leader wishes to discuss the contents of a closed exempt appendix she may pass the proposed resolution identified at the end of the document to exclude members of the public and the press from the proceedings for that discussion. 

RESOLVED –

(i)            THAT the contract be awarded to Wates Living Space Limited, as set out in the report; and

(ii)          THAT, in line with the agreement of the Chair of Housing Scrutiny Committee, the above decision be exempt from call-in on grounds of urgency.

Consideration was given to a report of the Director of Property Management.

In response to questions from the Leader, officers made the following additional remarks:-

·         The cladding system would have the highest A1 fire protection rating throughout. 

·         The anodised panels selected looked as similar as possible to the previous panels.

·         The regular meetings with tenants would continue throughout the installation process.

Residents’ representatives present, when invited to comment, indicated that they had been kept informed throughout and felt fairly confident that this would continue and that the works would be comprehensively monitored.

Councillor Adams expressed some concern about the large size of the contingency budget required on this scheme and urged a high level of control at all stages of the process.  The Director of Property Management responded that there would be a quality inspector per block and cost consultants had been engaged from the outset.

Councillor Porritt stressed the importance of the contractor establishing a relationship of trust with residents and of the works being to a high standard from the outset.

Councillor Gould remarked that residents had a robust approach to holding the Council to account and their voices would be of paramount importance.  She thanked residents for their efforts so far and acknowledged that there would be continuing disruption to those living on the estate.  She also highlighted the work by officers to secure the grant of £80.6m to contribute to the cladding and curtain wall removal and replacement works.

The Director of Property Management remarked that the co-location of contractors and council staff on the estate would continue and that mitigation measures for disruption would be regularly reviewed with residents and compensation for heat loss would continue until the new cladding was in place.

RESOLVED –

(i)            THAT the contract be awarded to Wates Living Space Limited, as set out in the report; and

(ii)          THAT, in line with the agreement of the Chair of Housing Scrutiny Committee, the above decision be exempt from call-in on grounds of urgency.

ACTION BY:             Director of Property Management

Reasons

For the reasons set out in the report.

There was no urgent business.

There was no urgent business.