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For the Assistant Director of Regeneration and
Economic Development to approve the waiver of Contract Standing
Order 8.03 and the award of the contract to We Made That in the sum
of £120,005.63 for the design of building frontages and
public realm interventions in accordance with Contract Standing
Order 10.01.1(b).

Reasons for the decision

Reasons for the decision The Turnpike Lane
Improvement Plan project was paused for the second time in July
2022. When restarting the project, a refreshed cost plan revealed
that the estimated construction cost had increased due to:
• high inflation rates,
• material costs,
• increase in the scope of works and more accurate
specifications,
The higher construction cost and increase in project scope due to
changes to the delivery plan impacted the professional fees of We
Made That which increased to £120,005.63 to undertake RIBA
Stages 3-6. Due to the repeated pauses of the project and the
validation period of the previous contract expiring, it has become
necessary to form a new contract. The waiver has been proposed as
an appropriate way forward due to the time critical nature of the
project and to rationalise the past alterations to the original
contract into a single process.

Turnpike Lane Improvement Plans is a time critical project and the
scheme would generate significant benefits to local businesses and
residents. We Made That have a good understanding of the project
having worked on the scheme from RIBA Stage 1 to mid RIBA Stage 3.
They have also built a good relationship with the local community
and stakeholders through site visits, workshops and public
exhibitions. A new design team would need to familiarise themselves
both with the and local stakeholders and this could encore the risk
further delaying the project.

The Council has reviewed the daily fee rates provided by We Made
That and are satisfied they represent value for money. Refer to
point 4.3 for a detailed daily rate comparison with other
architectural practices.

A waiver of tendering is being sought on the basis that it is
considered to be within the Council’s overall interest under
Contract Standing Order 10.02.1(a).

Alternative options considered

Given that part of the commission has already
been carried out by We Made That, it is unlikely that a new team
would be able to deliver the work without incurring additional and
unnecessary fees and delays. The new team would need to familiarise
themselves with the design work which has already been carried out.
We Made That also have a good knowledge of Turnpike Lane
stakeholders and local groups that they have built during the
development of RIBA Stages 1-3. A new designer would need to
rebuild a good relationships and trust with local groups, and this
could further delay the progress of the project.

The council also considered the option of not appointing We Made
That. However, the risk associated with doing nothing is that the
project may not be delivered.