Fire Damage Reinstatement Works to Rollit House, Newington Barrow

Transcription

1 Housing and Adult Social Services 7 Newington Barrow Way, London N7 7P Decision of Corporate Director of Housing and Adult Social Services Meeting of: Date Ward(s) Officer key decision 25 September 2015 Highbury West Ward Delete as appropriate Exempt Non-exempt SUBJECT: Approval of the Procurement Strategy for Contract for Fire Damage Reinstatement Works to Rollit House 1 Synopsis 1.1 This report seeks pre-tender approval for the procurement strategy in respect of the Fire Damage Reinstatement Works to Rollit House in accordance with Rule 2.5 of the Council s Procurement Rules. A major fire occurred to Rollit House over the Easter weekend, causing significant damage to the whole building and particularly the top floor maisonettes and roof structure. All services are cut off and a scaffolding and temporary roof are in place to stabilise the building and prevent further weather damage. All residents have been moved to temporary accommodation. This contract is intended for the reconstruction and remediation works necessitated as a result of the extensive fire and water damage suffered. 2 Recommendation 2.1 To approve the procurement strategy for Fire Damage Reinstatement Works to Rollit House. as set out in this report Date the decision is to be taken: 25 September Background The works required are as follows: Page 1 of 7

2 3.1.2 Roof Structure : The roof has almost entirely been destroyed by fire and the remaining parts are unsafe. The works required involve the reconstruction of the entire roof (structure, roof covering and dormer windows). While the external appearance will look the same, it will be built to a higher standard of thermal performance and fire separation. The chimneys will remain but require some repairs Interior to Maisonette Flats : The top two floors of Rollit House are maisonette flats. Their upper storey is contained within the roof space, and has suffered fire damage. The lower floor of these flats has suffered substantial water damage. The top floor slab was also damaged by the collapsing roof tiles. The works required involve the reconstruction of the upper floor including partition walls, internal staircase and all fittings and finishes. It will also include reinstatement of all necessary fittings and finishes to the lower floor, including kitchens, bathrooms, internal partition walls, plasterboard, skirtings, etc, and repair and partial replacement of the top floor slab to an extent as yet to be determined Interior to Flats 1-13 : These have suffered water damage. Reinstatement of all necessary fittings and finishes including kitchens, bathrooms, internal partition walls, plasterboard, skirtings, etc Mechanical Services (Gas and Water) : Water tanks were all located in the roof void and are now severely damaged. Gas services are entirely disconnected as a safety precaution. Gas services need to be reinstated to modern standards which will necessitate the replacement of the entire gas network to the building. The flats have individual boilers and these will be replaced where they cannot be recovered. Water tanks will be entirely replaced and water pipes replaced as necessary Electrical Services (Including wiring, communications, lift, lighting) : These have been substantially water and fire damaged. Electrical services need to be reinstated to modern standards where they cannot be recovered. Where flats have inadequate quantities of electrical fittings, an increased number will be provided. New distribution boards will also be provided. Initial condition reports suggest the lift can be repaired, though replacement may still be necessary Works to the Exterior of the Building : The brick façade, communal walkways and windows have not suffered much damage, however, at the time of the fire the Council were arranging for cyclical works to be carried out to maintain the fabric of the building and it is proposed that these works should still be carried out. All front doors will be replaced to an increased fire safety standard. Repairs to the brickwork, windows and communal walkways as necessary. Repainting of all previously painted surfaces including railings and communal staircase. 3.2 Estimated Value The proposed works are subject to an insurance claim. The Council self-insures to 1m stg and expenditure related to the fire damage beyond that amount is borne by the insurer of the building structure The initial 1m stg expenditure on the entire fire damage remediation claim will be funded by the Council insurance fund. Other heads of expenditure have been incurred that are not included in this reconstruction works proposal. These include site security, alternative accommodation for residents and works to clear and make safe the building, and construction of a tin hat roof to ensure the building is water tight The proposed works to the exterior of the building that are not related to the fire damage will be funded through the HRA capital programme The value of the overall procurement is estimated at between 1.5m and 2m. It is estimated that works on site will last approximately 9-12 months. Retention of 10% will be applied of which 5% will be released on practical completion and 5% on successful completion of the defects at the end of the defects liability period. Therefore the overall time in which the money will be spent is two years. Page 2 of 7

3 3.2.5 This is a one-off procurement exercise and an insurance claim All planned works are required to be externally examined by the insurance loss adjustors to ensure that all the works are necessary and prices acceptable Advice is being taken from the loss adjustors as to likely costs. However, the unusual nature of these works means that they cannot be effectively benchmarked. The key cost driver is the extent of works required to remediate the extensive fire and water damage. Therefore there is limited potential to achieve savings through the scope of the works. Efforts to make savings are being done through efficient project delivery as the vacancy costs of the building are very high, as is scaffolding. Additionally measures undertaken in phase 1 of the works, such as security screens, the tin hat roof and scaffolding, reduce the risk of further building deterioration which avoids escalating costs in this procurement. 3.3 Timetable There are significant ongoing costs related to this building being empty, therefore it is very important that the programme for this project is progressed as quickly as possible Residents have been given an indicative date that they will be back in their homes by September 2016, However this is dependent upon works starting in January 2016 and a procurement exercise in October/November There are no statutory deadlines to achieve All residents were invited to a consultation meeting on the 1 st of July and this was well attended. Residents were also invited to attend an individual consultation in the second half of July. Most residents took up this opportunity. The housing capital team are working closely with the insurance manager in Finance and the council s external loss adjustors. 3.4 Options appraisal Redeveloping the site at a higher density and adding a floor has been considered but rejected as not viable The preferred procurement route is competitive tender via an open procedure. Collaboration is not considered to be possible for this project. A drawback of open tender is the potential for a very large number of tenderers to submit proposals. To mitigate this risk careful selection criteria have been drawn up to ensure that those contractors who are capable of carrying out this quite complex construction project are identified The benefit of the preferred route is speed. As residents have been left in temporary accommodation, and as vacancy costs of the building are very high it is very important that works commence as soon as practically possible It is not considered that costs of the construction itself would vary significantly with using an alternative procurement route. 3.5 Key Considerations The requirement to pay the London Living Wage will apply Best value is being considered in terms of balancing the need to deliver this project quickly with the need to deliver it at a competitive price. The external loss adjustors are key to examining this balance. Meetings are being held on a regular basis to achieve this. Page 3 of 7

4 3.5.3 Economic Sustainability: As stated in an exercise has been carried out to examine if the site can be developed more densely but this proved not viable. Otherwise this is being achieved through efficient project delivery so that vacancy costs are minimised Social Sustainability: This is being considered through making efforts to considerably improve the fire safety for residents in the building by going beyond the council s legal requirements under building regulations and achieving it in a cost neutral way. We are also working to ensure that all residents can move back into maintain the community cohesion in the block Environmental Sustainability: The new components of the building will be reinstated to modern building regulation standards. This particularly applies to the energy efficiency of new boilers and the thermal performance of the new roof. Additionally water appliances will also be installed to new water-saving standards There are no TUPE, pension or staffing implications. 3.6 Evaluation This contract will be procured using the Open Procedure. The Open Procedure means that all bidders who successfully express an interest will automatically be invited to tender and have access to the tender documents. Those who submit a tender and meet the minimum requirements will have their full tender, method statements and pricing evaluated. The contract will be awarded to the Most Economically Advantageous Tender (MEAT) in accordance with the Public Contracts Regulations. MEAT for this contract will be on the basis of quality 25% and cost 75% The tenderers will be asked to demonstrate experience against 5no. selection criteria which are central to the successful delivery of the project Quality award criteria will all have minimum standards which each contractor will be expected to achieve. The questions will be based on the following competencies: - Proposed approach to working on confined sites (5%). - Proposed approach to selection of roofing contractor (whether in-house or sub-contracted) (5%). - Proposed approach to resident liaison (5%). - Proposed approach to programme of works (5%). - Proposed approach to health and safety (5%). 3.7 Business Risks Business opportunities are unlikely as this is a one-off project, and time and cost are of great importance Currently all residents of the building are in temporary accommodation and so reconstruction of this building will allow them to move back home. There are also 2. void flats which will be available to be rented as two residents of Rollit House have accepted permanent rehousing elsewhere The Employment Relations Act 1999 (Blacklist) Regulations 2010 explicitly prohibit the compilation, use, sale or supply of blacklists containing details of trade union members and their activities. Following a motion to full Council on 26 March 2013, all tenderers will be required to sign the Council s anti-blacklisting declaration. Where an organisation is unable to declare that they have never blacklisted, they will be required to evidence that they have 'self-cleansed'. The Council will not award a contract to organisations found guilty of blacklisting unless they have demonstrated 'self-cleansing' and taken adequate measures to remedy past actions and prevent re-occurrences. 3.8 The following relevant information is required to be specifically approved by the Corporate Director in accordance with rule 2.6 of the Procurement Rules: Page 4 of 7

5 Relevant information Information/section in report 1 Nature of the service Reconstruction of Rollit House following extensive fire and water damage leaving the property uninhabitable. See paragraph [ 1.1 ] 2 Estimated value The contract has an estimated value of between 1.5m stg and 2m stg of Islington Council spend. See paragraph [ ] 3 Timetable The timetable is outlines within this report. Estimated contract start date is: January 2016 See paragraph [ ] 4 Options appraisal for tender procedure including consideration of collaboration opportunities Outcome of options appraisal are described within this report. See paragraph [ 3.4 ] 5 Consideration of: Outcomes are described within this report. Social benefit clauses; London Living Wage; See paragraph [ 3.5 ] Best value; TUPE, pensions and other staffing implications 6 Evaluation criteria The award criteria price/quality breakdown is more particularly described within the report. See paragraph [ ] 7 Any business risks associated with entering the contract 8 Any other relevant financial, legal or other considerations. Business risks are described within this report. See paragraph [3.7 ] See paragraph [ ] 4 Implications 4.1 Financial implications The reconstruction works required as a result of the fire at Rollit House are estimated at between 1.5m- 2m. The Council has an insurance policy excess of 1m which will be met by the Corporate Self- Insurance fund into which the HRA pays an annual premium. The balance of between 500k- 1m will met by the Council s insurers. At this stage the loss adjustor has indicated that the works as set out in this report are re-claimable. This is subject to full review of the finalised tender documentation by the loss adjustors, and their agreement that the tender procedure provided adequate value for money. For the purposes of the insurance claim the Leaseholders insures the building & Council s policy will be treated as one. The Council takes out buildings insurance on behalf of Leaseholders and recharges the premium to Leaseholders as part of their Annual Service charges. Page 5 of 7

6 4.2 Legal Implications The council is responsible for undertaking the repair of its housing estates pursuant to the Housing Act Accordingly the council may procure a contract for reinstatement works to Rollit House (section 1 Local Authorities Contracts Act 1997). The estimated value of the procurement for the reinstatement works to Rollit House is below the financial threshold for works contracts for the full application of the Public Contracts Regulations Although under threshold contracts do not need to strictly comply with the provisions of the Regulations, there is a requirement under EU rules for the procurement of such contracts to adhere to the principles of equal treatment, non-discrimination and fair competition. Further the council s Procurement Rules require contracts over the value of 100,000 to be subject to competitive tender. In this instance, it is proposed to advertise the contract in the London Tenders Portal using the open procedure in order to attract suitable constructors. On completion of the procurement process the contract may be awarded to the highest scoring tenderer. In deciding whether to appoint the selected contractor the Corporate Director of Housing and Adult Social Services, should be satisfied as to the competence of the chosen tenderer and that the tender price represents value for money for the Council and is acceptable to the council s loss adjuster for the purposes of the insurance claim. 4.3 Environmental Implications The reinstatement work will have several environmental impacts including resource use (new building materials), waste generation, energy use and travel to the site by the contractor. However, these can be mitigated to some extent; the contractor is legally obliged to follow the waste hierarchy, prioritising reuse and recycling. The choice of materials used will also be a key factor, and the use of sustainable materials (such as FSC- or PEFC-certified timber) should be specified. The works offer an opportunity to improve the environmental performance of Rollit House; the new roof will have a higher thermal performance, reducing energy use in the building. Where new boilers are installed, they are likely to be more efficient than the ones they replaced. Energy and water efficiency will also be improved by compliance with modern building regulations. In addition, there is an opportunity to improve local biodiversity by building in measures to the reconstructed roofline, including bat or bird nesting bricks and boxes. However, the opportunity to upgrade the thermal performance of the walls is not being taken. 4.4 Resident Impact Assessment The council must, in the exercise of its functions, have due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination, harassment and victimisation, and to advance equality of opportunity, and foster good relations, between those who share a relevant protected characteristic and those who do not share it (section 149 Equality Act 2010). The council has a duty to have due regard to the need to remove or minimise disadvantages, take steps to meet needs, in particular steps to take account of disabled persons' disabilities, and encourage people to participate in public life. The council must have due regard to the need to tackle prejudice and promote understanding A resident impact assessment has been carried out. The major impact will be a positive one of enabling residents to move back into their homes. The appointed contractors will also be subject to various measures to ensure the health, safety and safeguarding of residents while they are working on the building. 5 Conclusion and reasons for recommendations These works are necessary to reinstate the building so that the residents can be re-housed. Owing to the need to proceed with this work as quickly as possible, an open tender procedure is recommended. Page 6 of 7

7 6. Record of the decision: 6.1 I have today decided to take the decision set out in section 2 of this report for the reasons set out above. Signed by: Date Report Author: Sinéad Burke, Capital Programme Manager Tel: Sinead.Burke@islington.gov.uk Page 7 of 7