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ITEM CA15

THORNHILL PARK AND RIDE INTERCHANGE

1. As part of the development of a countywide network of Premium Routes and Interchanges, the County Council is looking to expand Park & Ride services to destinations other than the city centre.
   
   (Detailed Project Appraisal)
   (Resource Appraisal - download as .doc file)
   
2. The London and Gatwick/Heathrow Airport services that previously stopped on the A40 are now operating from the site on a trial basis. A 30 minute frequency service from Thornhill Park & Ride to the Churchill and Nuffield Hospitals has also been in place since May 2003. Additionally, consideration is being given to a new service to the John Radcliffe Hospital. The Council also has aspirations to explore the possibility of using the site as a terminus for other local bus services offering an interchange with services to the city centre, the hospitals and the express services.
3. The existing turning loop struggles to cope with the large number of buses using the facility which has led to congestion and difficulty for users as buses cannot always stop in the most convenient locations. This leads to a potential risk to pedestrians/passengers as they negotiate the turning area in order to reach their bus. There is already a risk of disruption to services, and with any further expansion of services the situation would become unmanageable.
4. To meet these increasing demands a new bus terminus and upgrade of the remaining car park area has been promoted. The terminal building would contain enclosed waiting facilities, public toilets and an elevated office for staff, giving good visibility over the site.
5. In March 2004 the County Council’s Executive Committee approved a Project Appraisal to the value of £1.97M for the provision of a new bus terminus and to complete the upgrade of the existing car park.
6. The initial design and cost estimate was based on the car park receiving a surfacing overlay with minimum changes to the existing car park foundation. The consultant has since identified that the existing car park foundation is frost susceptible and therefore would require replacement of all material to a depth of 450mmm below finished car park level. Design was progressed on this basis.
7. A further addition to the project was the provision of a temporary bus terminus to maintain current bus services whilst the main construction works were carried out.
8. In preparing the final contract documents a more detailed cost estimate was prepared and the consultant reported that the overall cost had risen to £3.1M. This was a significant increase on the approved project appraisal and a review of the whole project was undertaken.
9. This report details the review process that was carried out, offers a recommendation on how to proceed and seeks approval to the revised project appraisal.

Review of the Scheme - Costs and Funding

10. A review of the costs of the individual elements revealed that the building costs had not risen significantly and the major increase was attributable to the works required to the car park upgrade, the introduction of the temporary bus terminus area to maintain services during construction and the numerous ancillary works such as lighting, drainage, landscaping and CCTV.
11. Unless the permanent terminal building is changed significantly there is little scope to reduce the cost of its works. It is considered that the success of the new interchange facilities relies heavily on the provision of the terminal building as currently defined. Any reductions to the cost of the whole project must therefore come from the works to and associated with the car park area.
12. Replacing all the frost susceptible material to 450mm below finished road level added some £275k to the car park costs. If this cost is to be reduced then the original concept of an overlay to the existing car park would have to be reconsidered.
13. Site investigation revealed that the existing drainage system was only a soakaway system and in need of maintenance. If the overlay was applied to the car park then a piped drainage system would have to be provided to cater for the surface water run off.
14. It became evident that substantial savings could not be achieved to reduce the cost to a level approaching the original £1.97M. The maximum saving on the earthworks was only in the region of £200k and there are no other areas where major savings could be gained. It was therefore concluded that with the level of funding available it would not be possible to construct the original proposals of a new bus terminus and building, upgrade of the car park and all ancillary works. A lesser scheme would have to be considered to match the available funding.
15. Provision of a new bus terminus layout with a building is considered the priority and a new cost estimate has been prepared together with a revised project and resource appraisal. An upgrade of the remaining part of the original car park would be deferred until a later date when funding becomes available. Some necessary minor repairs will be undertaken to areas of the car park to maintain its serviceability until a major refurbishment is undertaken in the future.

Environmental Implications

16. The proposal is consistent with the latest national and local guidance in promoting the use of public transport and Park & Ride. Environmental benefits of the scheme include reduced traffic congestion within Oxford and on routes into London, providing improved environmental conditions in the City and surrounding area.

Financial and Staff Implications

17. As a result of the design review process the start date for the project has moved from 2005/06 to 2006/07. This means there is an underspend of £200K in SCE allocation for 2005/06, which has been identified by standard budget monitoring procedures in Environment and Economy. To offset this underspend action is already being undertaken in order to identify additional schemes that can be built in this financial year.
18. The cost estimate to provide only the new bus terminal building and the bus turning loop including all design and supervision fees is £2514k.
19. Funding for the scheme will primarily come from the On-Street Parking Surplus with support from developer contributions and Credit Approval secured under the new Local Transport Plan process. The scheme will effectively use up all available on-street parking surplus in 2006/07.
20. Design and supervision will be carried out by consultants Atkins. The management of the scheme will be undertaken by Oxfordshire Highways.

RECOMMENDATIONS

21. The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to approve Project Appraisal H173/1 and the implementation of the amended scheme as described in the report and Appraisal.

STEVE HOWELL
Head of Transport

Background papers:

Contact Officer: Mike Collins Tel: Oxford 815877

December 2005

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