Content

The Deputy Chief Executive approves the
appointment of the Council’s preferred bidder (Edgar &
Wood Mechanical Services Ltd) to undertake the MEP works to the
Pavilion Theatre. This follows a compliant procurement &
evaluation process via the Council’s procurement
portal. 
 
Funding for the project is available using the
allocated Worthing Heat Network Budget, comprising a combination of
a PSDS grant and the council's capital funding.
 

Reasons for the decision

Worthing Borough Council has been awarded
Public Sector Decarbonisation (PSDS) funding to connect the
Pavillion Theatre to the Worthing Heat Network.  The Pavilion Theatre, being a Victorian building,
has poor thermal performance. Due to lower supply temperatures from
the Heat Network, the heating system infrastructure needs to be
upgraded to enable it to be compatible with connection to the Heat
Network.
 
The tender figure for the works by the
preferred bidder Edgar and Wood is £591,111 (£679,778
including a contingency sum).  
 
The Atrium, formerly Denton Lounge, which
forms a significant part of the building currently has electric
heating and was therefore not eligible for PSDS
funding.  The current system is quite
dated, inefficient and costly for the building's tenants, Worthing
Theatres and Museum Trust (WTM), to operate.  Upon advice from our consultants AECOM, the tender
process required the contractor to price for the ‘extra
over’ cost to alter the heating system to the Atrium to be
connected to the heat network for further consideration by both
parties. The capital cost of this additional work is approx.
£100,000 giving a potential payback period of 3 years. From a
business and carbon reduction perspective, this option makes a very
strong case to progress with. Conversations are currently ongoing
with WTM concerning how this will be funded, with the expectation
that a contribution towards the cost will come from WTM.

Alternative options considered

The only alternatives would be to do nothing
or install air source heat pumps to decarbonise the heating
system.  HEMIKO have proven through
their counterfactual model that this is a more expensive option
than the Worthing Heat Network connection.