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RESOLVED:
 
To approve the
appointment of Supplier A (as shown in Exempt Appendix A) to
deliver the contract for the Stoke Newington Library External
Remedial Works Project, which includes repair and improvement works
to the roof, windows, brickwork and masonry of the library
building.
 
 
Reasons For Decision
 
This report seeks the approval of CPIC to
award the contract to deliver the external remedial works to Stoke
Newington Library.
 
Stoke Newington Library is a Grade 2 Listed
building therefore the Council has a responsibility to repair and
maintain the historic fabric of the building to preserve it for
future generations. A lack of historical maintenance has resulted
in the fabric of the library building being in urgent need of
repair. The roof has collapsed in places and the historic facade
has deteriorated so much that it is detaching from the building. If
the external remedial works do not take place the damage to the
historic fabric could be irreversible. The  longer the building
is left in disrepair the higher the costs will be to repair it.
 
The decision was made to procure a contractor
to deliver the remedial works because the library building was no
longer safe or in a suitable condition for staff or the public to
use. The library closed to the public in March 2024 and the staff,
Community Library Service and stock have had to be relocated to
other library branches.
 
The repair of the external fabric of the
library will not only restore and preserve the historic fabric of
the library, it will also create the opportunity to refurbish the
interior which will protect the future use of the library. The
spaces within the library have huge potential for a variety of
different uses and income generation. The library could serve as a
community hub with spaces available for hire to local businesses
for meetings or office space, for events and meetings and cultural
events and community activities.
 
Spend approval of the budget sum in the
Capital programme for the repairs was granted by Cabinet 24th
October 2022. The overall cost and budget is summarised in Exempt
Appendix C of this report. The external remedial works project does
not require additional funding.
 
The procurement has been carried out in
accordance with the process detailed in the HPB Business Case
Report (dated 9th April 2024) apart from a slight change to the
procurement strategy due to the reasons stated in Section 9 of this
report.
 
The Business Case agreed a traditional
procurement route to allow the Council to remain in control of the
design and to increase cost certainty. The decision was made to
undertake a Restricted (Procedure) below threshold tender due to
the historical significance and complexity of the library building.
It was essential that the contractors invited to bid had extensive
experience of conservation work on Listed buildings. The project
tender value is below Public
Contract Regulations 2015 threshold for works
contracts.
 
The contract deliverables were enshrined
within the tender documents and specifications that will form the
contract. The contract will include the pre-construction
information that will form the basis of the Construction Phase Plan
(CPP) for the works. The CPP must satisfactorily address
considerations of environmental protection and health and
safety.
 
 
Alternative Options
Considered and Rejected
 
Do nothing:  Not progressing with the appointment of a
contractor to deliver the Stoke Newington Library External Remedial
Works Project would mean that the Council would fail to meet its
obligations to maintain a Listed building, the library building
would fall into irreversible disrepair, the library would not be
able to re-open to the public and the future potential of the
library as a community hub and for income generation would be
lost.
 
Procurement via Framework:
There are no heritage and conservation works frameworks available.
The only framework of this nature the project team could find was
the Haringey council framework, which has expired.
 
Open Competition: This route
was discounted due to the additional time and resources it would
require, in comparison to a competition undertaken between a
selected group of providers that have specific skills that we
require, and due to the project requirements.
 
Insourcing: The council does not have all the
required specialists in-house in order to deliver the scheme.