Purpose

This report provides a progress update on the Three Bridges Station Improvement Scheme and seeks approval for the works phase to be progressed.

Decision

RESOLVED

That the Cabinet:

a) notes the progress made with the Three Bridges Station Improvement Scheme.

b) delegates authority to the Leader of the Council in consultation with the relevant Cabinet Member, Head of Law & Governance and Head of Corporate Finance to approve the award of the construction contract following completion of an Early Contractor Involvement (ECI) procurement process, as set out in Section 5 of report PES/523.

c) delegates the negotiation, approval and completion of all relevant documentation including legal paperwork, following the awarding of the contract to the relevant Head of Service, Head of Law & Governance, Head of Corporate Finance, in consultation with the appropriate Cabinet Member.

(Generic Delegations 2 & 3 will be used to enact this recommendation)

That Full Council be recommended to approve that the Three Bridges Station budget be increased to £7,970,968. This will be funded by £2,086,192 already approved within the capital programme, £2,049,776 of Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) Strategic Infrastructure Strand and £3,835,000 reallocation of West Sussex County Council funding through the Crawley Growth Programme.

Reasons for the Recommendations

To enable the progression of the Three Bridges Station Improvement scheme to construction and implementation, in accordance with the Council’s Procurement Code, secured through a compliant and risk-managed procurement process. In March 2020, Cabinet delegated authority to officers to undertake a procurement exercise for the scheme in accordance with the Council’s procurement code.

To formally allocate CIL Strategic Infrastructure Strand monies to the Three Bridges Station Improvement Scheme to ensure sufficient funds enable delivery of the scheme. On 11 March 2026 Cabinet approved the ringfencing of CIL Strategic Infrastructure Strand monies for the scheme.

To formally allocate from within the Crawley Growth Programme the capital budget required to enable fully funded delivery of the Three Bridges Station Improvement scheme. This follows an Executive Decision by the Leader of West Sussex County Council in March 2026 to allocate £3,835,000 of capital monies from within the Crawley Growth Programme to the scheme.