Decision

The Assistant Director - Chief Regeneration
Officer has approved an extension to the Hind Street Pre
Construction Services Agreement award to John Sisk & Sons
Limited for a value of £206,765.54 for additional
investigation works and design surveys to identify and mitigate
risks that may affect the main construction phase of the scheme for
both the employer and contractor.

Reasons for the decision

The Hind Street regeneration area is a
brownfield site of circa 20 hectares adjacent to Birkenhead Town
Centre. The scale and location of the regeneration area present an
opportunity to create a sustainable, market changing urban village
that helps to set a standard for future development in the face of
the climate emergency. The regeneration of Hind Street plays a
significant role in supporting the Council’s Local Plan by
enabling up to 1600 new homes to be built during the plan period
and ancillary commercial and community uses are proposed to be
located to the north of the site to complement and interface with
the regeneration of the town centre, serving both the new
residential community at Hind Street and wider Birkenhead
population.

Policy and Resources Committee approved the appointment of John
Sisk & Sons Limited to a Pre-Construction Services Agreement
(PCSA) for delivery of Enabling Works Package for the Hind Street
Scheme at a cost of £774,837.27, which was procured through
the Procure Partnerships Infrastructure Framework.

The purpose of the additional works is to ensure that as much
detail as possible is determined at the PCSA stage in respect of
conditions at the development site which will help to inform
completion of design process required to successfully undertake
infrastructure works on site as well as formalising detail required
for the NEC4 Option A contract (main works contract for built
environment procurement). The cost of the additional design works
required to be undertaken will increase the total contract costs
for the PCSA to £981,602.81. Section 2 of the PCSA contract,
and specifically 1.1.2, allows for the contractor to perform works
which are additional or represent an alteration in the PCSA if
instructed by the employer. John Sisk & Sons confirmed
additional works procured through preferred subcontractors via
companies approved list of specialist suppliers and works costed
per equivalent Framework rates.

All costs will be met by the grant provided for the Hind Street
primary enabling works. The additional works being undertaken had
been programmed for the construction phase of the scheme and will
be funded via resource included for Professional Fees detailed
within the approved expenditure forecast for the infrastructure
works. In order to de-risk the scheme and following review by the
Development Manager and Independent Project Monitor, it is
considered appropriate that the works should be undertaken in
advance of the construction phase. Internal approval for variation
to the contract amount agreed via amendment to original Procurement
Smartform, PRC-Case-733194123, July 2025.

The PCSA and additional works are currently programmed for
completion by 31st October 2025.

Alternative options considered

The number of new homes which can be built at
Hind Street is significant. The Local Plan imperative for adopting
a brownfield urban site strategy strengthens the opinion that a
do-nothing option be discounted given the significant role that the
regeneration of the Hind Street can play in this strategy.

An alternative option would be for the Council to not commission
the additional services. This option has been discounted to ensure
continuity of services from an experienced contractor, and
importantly these works will provide a greater level of cost
certainty to the main construction contract.