Agenda item

Report of the Director of Planning and Property to follow.

The Cabinet Member (Finance, Property and Assets), presented a report of the Director of Planning and Property providing members with a further update on the Worden Hall Project. The report also requested approval for the next stage of the project which proposes to authorise the Cabinet Member (Finance, Property and Assets) in consultation with the Chief Executive to commence a procurement exercise to identify a contractor and professional services tom implement the Worden Hall Project.

A member of the public submitted two questions to Councillor Tomlinson in relation to the report, which were as follows:

1.     Paragraph 6 of the Worden Project states that you and the CEO will decide which contractor will be authorized to undertake the Worden Hall Project works (Subject to Cabinet approval).

The contract will be awarded to the highest scoring contractor in the terms of social value, quality of submission, timeframe for implementation and price. 

I can understand how you can quantify awarding a contract using points 2,3 & 4 but point 1, social values are a personal, family, group, geographical and more divisive a political decision. 

So Councillor do you agree with me that the Social Value criteria should be removed from the bidding process, if not why?

2.     If you proceed with the proposed bidding process what will the percentage weightings be allocated to each of the four proposals.

The response by Councillor Tomlinson was as follows:

In response to the first question, there seems to have been a misunderstanding of the concept of “social value” because none of the criteria ascribed to the term in the question are accurate. Social Value has previously been explained at Scrutiny and Cabinet meetings by Councillor Bylinski Gelder, in which she clarified that the Social Value Act 2012 placed an obligation on local councils to look holistically at procurement. South Ribble Borough Council is already behind in this regard, and indeed other councils are winning awards for the way social value informs their procurement. The project provides an excellent opportunity, especially in the current climate to upskill, employ and improve financial outcomes for some of the residents in South Ribble. According to Councillor Bylinski Gelder, it is common sense to apply social value in a project like Worden Hall and therefore my answer to the question posed is - no.

In response to the second question, we are not yet at a stage to provide those figures, however to use previous examples, in the case of Tom Hanson House social value was 6% and for Hurst Grange Coach House it was 20%. I would expect the weighting to be in the lower range of those quotes. The weightings will be fully disclosed in the future report to Cabinet.

Decision made (unanimously):-

1.     That Cabinet welcomes the progress of the Worden Hall project and notes the formal submission of the project to Planning this week;

2.     That Cabinet authorises the Portfolio Holder for Finance, Property and Assets in consultation with the Chief Executive to commence a procurement exercise to identify a contractor and professional services to implement the Worden Hall project;

3.     That subject to the receipt of Planning permission and Listed Building consent, Cabinet authorises the Portfolio Holder for Finance, Property and Assets in consultation with the Chief Executive to appoint the highest scoring contractor and professional services in terms of social value, quality of submission, timeframe for implementation and price be appointed to undertake the works;

4.     That a further report be brought back to Cabinet outlining proposals as to how the refurbished Worden Hall will be run in the future to the benefit of all including local communities and visitors alike.

Reasons for decision

The rationale behind the decision was to identify the most effective way forward both in terms of best value and deliverability in taking the Worden Hall project through to completion. This was about have the right level of professional services in place to support the Council in tendering for and managing the construction phase of the project.

This is an exciting project which will transform the look of Worden Hall as shown in Appendix 1 to the report. The proposals outlined will allow the ambitions of the Worden Hall project to be realised which is for the hall to be re-born as the vibrant heart of Worden Park enabling a hive of community activity, drawing local residents and visitors from across the region to the Park and hosting a myriad of local events.

Alternative options considered and rejected

There have been a number of potential options put forward for the future of Worden Hall including do nothing. Through public consultation the chosen option as outlined in this report was adopted as the preferred way forward.

The project is now at the point of being submitted for formal planning approval. It is now crucial that we commence work on taking the project through the next phase of getting the right professional services in place and following a procurement process to get the right contractor in place for the construction phase of the project.