Decision

The
Assistant Director - Chief Regeneration Officer has approved a
variation to the Hind Street Pre Construction Services Agreement
award to John Sisk & Sons Limited for a value of
£140,454.23 for Tree and Vegetation Clearance works to be
undertaken in advance of Potential Contract Award for Borough Yard
Scheme and to mitigate risks that may affect the main construction
phase of the scheme for both the employer and
contractor.
 

Reasons for the decision

The Borough Yard
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 Borough Yard
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. Additional investigation
works and design surveys to identify and mitigate risks for the
Infrastructure Works were previously approved and instructed at an
additional cost of £206,765.54 via the ODN Hind Street PCSA
Part 2 – Additional Survey / Design Works taking the total
contract costs for the PCSA at that point to £981,602.81.
 
Requirement for
further additional works for tree and vegetation clearance in
advance of Potential Contract Award to ensure that clearance of the
site is completed in advance of the bird nesting season (March to
September) to reduce risk that presence of trees and vegetation
will provide conditions for nesting animals which could then impact
upon commencement of the scheduled programme for infrastructure
works at Borough Yard. Undertaking Tree and vegetation clearance in
advance of the nesting season will reduce the amount initially
allocated within the contractor’s submission for works to be
undertaken during the contract.
 
The cost of the Tree
and Vegetation clearance works will increase the final total
contract costs for PCSA Part 2 to £1,122,057.04. 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,
although initially costs will be met via the capital programme
allocation for Hind Street scheme approved at Policy and Resources
committee in November 2024, when the financial risk to the council
was highlighted should the GFA not be agreed. 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. The variation to
the contract is in full compliance with the Council’s
Contract Procedure Rules.
 
The PCSA additional
works are currently programmed for completion by 28th
February 2026, subject to contractor availability.

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.