Purpose

To accept the grant and approve the Terms and
Conditions.

Content

The Executive RESOLVED
that:
 

1.         the
Joint Strategic Director of Community Wellbeing be given delegated authority to accept Art Council
England’s Terms and Conditions for the MEND grant.

2.         the
Joint Strategic Director of Community Wellbeing be given delegated
authority to enter a Deed of Covenant in recognition of the fact
that the project is to be part funded by Arts Council England. This
shall include authorising the acceptance of the ‘Certificate
of Title and Deed of Grant’ and the registry of a restriction
on the property freehold together with any other related necessary
documentation, which prevents the disposition of the registered
estate or the granting of a lease or license to a third party
without the Arts Council’s prior written consent. The term of
the restriction shall be 15 years.

3.         the
Joint Strategic Director of Community Wellbeing, be given delegated
authority to approve the award of the contract for professional
building services to Drake and Kannemeyer Chartered Surveyors and any related
ancillary documents. This will be to provide the technical design
and delivery of the project to RIBA Stage 4, to obtain and comply
with statutory consents, to prepare the tender for the main
contractor and report on the tenders obtained, administer the
contract for the main contractor and ensure project delivery to an
agreed programme and cost. 

4.         a budget
of £179,000 to be met from the MEND project funds be assigned
for provision of professional property services, legal advice, and
internal project management resource.

Reason for the decision:

Accepting the MEND grant offer:

1.         Arts Council
England have formally offered Waverley Borough Council a Museum
Estate and Development grant of £734,335 to carry out
essential brickwork repairs to the front elevation of Wilmer House.
The capital grant offer is subject to the acceptance of Arts
Council England’s Standard Terms and Conditions for the MEND
Fund.

2.         In recognition
of the value of the grant Arts Council England require security
against the asset for a period of 15 years. This involves the
Council agreeing to enter a Deed of Covenant that includes the
enactment of a restriction on Title over the freehold of the
property. The restriction legally obligates the Council to maintain
the property estate as a museum, preventing its disposal or any
other arrangements with third parties without Arts Council
England’s prior written consent.

The procurement of professional property
services:

3.         The Council
has carried out an open tender process to procure professional
building services to design, coordinate and administer the delivery
of the project. The invitation to tender required bidders to put
forward a multidisciplinary team with a proven track record of
success in the conservation and repair of historic buildings. The
tender period closed on 28 April 2023 and Drake and Kannemeyer, with associate sub-contractors, were
the only bidders. Based on the award criteria Drake and
Kannemeyer scored highly for quality
given their long-standing association with the project and offered
an economically advantageous proposal by way of a fixed fee that
aligns with the MEND budget for professional fees and
services.

[Overview & Scrutiny –
Resources]

The Executive RESOLVED to recommend to Council
that:

5.         a budget
of up to £275,000 be approved from capital receipts or the
Property Investment Reserve. This will be to fund a potential
budget gap if efforts to obtain external funding are unsuccessful
or overall project costs are higher than predicted.
This
decision is referred to Full Council and is not available for
call-in.