Purpose

Proposed decision:
 

The Cabinet Member for
Education and Skills is asked to:

 

Approve theallocation of
£1,416,000from the Children’s, YoungPeople andEducation
Annual Planned Enhancement Budget to permit the required repair
works at Vigo Village School.

 

Delegate authorityto
theDirector of Infrastructureto, inconsultation with theDirector of
Education, enter into anynecessary contracts or other legal
agreements, as required to implement this decision;
and

 

Agreefor theDirector
of Infrastructureto bethe nominatedAuthority Representativewithin
the relevant agreements, with authority to enter variations as
envisaged under the contracts.

 
 
Reason for the decision
 
Kent County Council (KCC), as the
relevant Local Authority, is responsible for the maintenance of
Community and Voluntary Controlled school buildings in
Kent.  This responsibility is taken
seriously, with continuous maintenance and modernisation programmes
in place to ensure that the school estate is fit for
purpose.  Included within these
programmes are routine building checks that identify possible
future maintenance issues with accommodation.
 
Following condition surveys, subsequent referrals, and extensive
interim patching works, Vigo Village School’s roof has
deteriorated and is now in need of a full
replacement.
 
Background
 
Vigo Village School is a 1FE
school within the village of Vigo, Meopham.  The school was built circa 1972
and extended in 1976.  The building is
single storey, comprising masonry walling with shallow pitched
roofs.  At the end of the roofs are
concrete parapets, many of these have been overlaid by roofing
felt.
 
The
school have been experiencing leaks for several years in various
areas becoming more numerous, more substantial and damaging to the
internal fabric of the building.  At the
end of 2023, the leak in the kitchen roof caused the school kitchen
to close temporarily until measures were put in place.  The school is now serving hot meals which are
currently being supplied by another school. 
 
The
existing pitched roofs feature a Pantile roof covering which has
generally reached the end of its serviceable life and is generally
unsuitable for the abnormally low pitch of the existing roofs which
varies between 11? and 16?.  The school
also has a history of unauthorised intruders gaining access onto
the roofs damaging the fragile clay tiles which are not designed
for foot traffic.
 
The
proposal is replacing the existing Pantile roof coverings to all
pitched roofs with a standing seam Zinc roof covering by the
manufacturer VMZinc.  This proposed system is suitable for use with the
existing shallow roof pitches and more suitable to withstand
instances of foot traffic.  The full
roof replacement is now recommended in order
to keep the school operational and to avoid further internal
damage.
 
The new
roof will be a metal standing seam system that will last for 50 to
100 years.  It is not possible to carry
out any further remedial or patching works due to the deterioration
of the original roofing materials and a replacement has been deemed
essential.  Therefore, the project needs
to progress within short timescales to decrease the risk of the wet
winter weather impacting the roof further and avoid water ingress
from making parts of the school building
unusable.
 
The
work is scheduled to commence in April 2024 during the Easter Break
and with a forecast of 12 weeks, completion is proposed for end of
June 2024
 

Securing Kent’s Future

 
This proposal
will help to maintain KCC’s strategic role in supporting
schools in Kent to deliver accessible, high quality education
provision for all families.  This proposal will help to maintain KCC’s
strategic role in supporting schools in Kent to deliver accessible,
high quality education provision for all families and supports
avoidance of more significant costs from possible closure of the
school.
 

Financial Implications
 
The combined cost is estimated
at £1,416,000 which is inclusive of works, fees, and
contingency.  With a roofing project the
potential for additional costs to be identified are higher than in
other projects as not all the roof’s substructure is visible
until the tiles are removed.  It is
therefore appropriate and prudent for an allowance of an additional
20% above tender costs to be made.
 
The cost for instructing the
winning tender is as follows.
 
Proposed Tender Costs:
£1,050,000.00
KCC Contingency: Allowance
£150,000
Professional Fees:
£216,000.00
 
Total Forecast Project =
£1,416,000.00 (inc. 20% contingency)
 
The funds will be allocated
from the CYPE Annual Planned Enhancement Programme for April 23 -
24, the allocation has been made by officers and the work is
affordable within the budget of £13,283m.
 
In order
to facilitate this increase in budget,
a number of nonessential schemes have been moved from this
year’s programme and place onto the Forward Management Plan
for 2024-2025.
Legal
Implications
 
The contracting for
the project will be managed by the Director of
Infrastructure.  All works will be fully compliant with the
building and planning regulations.
 
 

Decision

As
Cabinet Member for Education and Skills, I agree to:
 

Approve theallocation of £1,416,000from the
Children’s, YoungPeople andEducation Annual Planned
Enhancement Budget to permit the required repair works at Vigo
Village School.
Delegate
authorityto theDirector of Infrastructureto, inconsultation with
theDirector of Education, enter into anynecessary contracts or
other legal agreements, as required to implement this decision;
and
Agreefor theDirector of Infrastructureto bethe
nominatedAuthority Representativewithin the relevant agreements,
with authority to enter variations as envisaged under the
contracts.