Agenda item

Cabinet Member: Leader

Forward Plan Ref: 2015/063

Contact: Philippa Patterson, Major Capital Projects Programme Manager Tel: 07891 566051

Report by Deputy Director for Environment & Economy – Commercial & Delivery (CA18).

The information contained in the annex is exempt in that it falls within the following prescribed category:

3.       Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information)

and since it is considered that, in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information, in that where a tender or bidding process is in progressdisclosure would prejudice the position of the authority in the process of the transaction and the Council’s standing generally in relation to such transactions in future, to the detriment of the Council’s ability properly to discharge its fiduciary and other duties as a public authority

Request for delegation to the Chief Finance Officer and Director for Environment & Economy in consultation with the Leader the authority to approve the Stage 2 Full Business Case and the award of the construction contract.

Didcot is planned to grow by c10,000 homes over the next 20 to 25 years. As part of this growth the Great Western Park (GWP) housing development has already provided c1,000 dwellings and is expected to accommodatec of these homes..  The GWP development  generates the need for two new primary schools (in addition to the expansion of a neighbouring school) and one secondary school (in addition to part of the need for the UTC secondary facility which is underway at the site)  to ensure that the council has a sufficient supply of school places to meet the demand from local families.  The first new primary school will open in September 2016, followed by the secondary school in 2017 and then the second new primary in 2018.

This report is concerned with the secondary school (Aureus School) which is required by September 2017 and will be an 11-16 co-educational facility providing 1,200 places.   This scheme has been procured from the EFA Contractors Framework via a Future Schools Agreement as the secondary school was cited as one of 4 non-sample schools when Oxfordshire UTC was procured. 

The S106 requires the developer to transfer to the County Council a school site on receipt of 6 months notice from the County Council.  This notice was issued to the developer on 5 April 2015 and it is anticipated that the land transfer will have taken place on 4 October 2015.

A full planning application was submitted in June 2015 and this was considered and  determined as a delegated decision on 30 September 2015.

This report is being submitted for Cabinet to enable the project to contractually commit with a capital budget provision of £21.671m to support the programme delivery timeframe to allow the school to open for September 2017.

The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to:

(a)          approve the Full Business Case for the proposed Aureus Secondary School at Great Western Park, Didcot

(or)

(b)      in the event that the approval of the planning application for the secondary school  and the completion of the land transfer has yet to take place, delegate to the Chief Finance Officer and Director for Environment & Economy in consultation with the Leader the authority to approve the Full Business Case; and

(c)       delegate to the Chief Finance Officer and Director for Environment & Economy in consultation with the Leader the authority to award the Design & Build contract.

The information contained in the annex is exempt in that it falls within the following prescribed category:

3.       Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information)

and since it is considered that, in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information, in that where a tender or bidding process is in progressdisclosure would prejudice the position of the authority in the process of the transaction and the Council’s standing generally in relation to such transactions in future, to the detriment of the Council’s ability properly to discharge its fiduciary and other duties as a public authority

Cabinet considered a report seeking a delegation to the Chief Finance Officer and Director for Environment & Economy in consultation with the Leader to approve the Stage 2 Full Business Case and the award of the construction contract for an 11-16 co-educational school providing 1,200 places.

Councillor Nick Hards, Shadow Cabinet Member for Finance supported the recommendations and stressed that the school would be needed by September 2017. He asked that local members be kept informed of any problems.

RESOLVED:           to:

(a)      in the event that the approval of the planning application for the secondary school  and the completion of the land transfer has yet to take place, delegate to the Chief Finance Officer and Director for Environment & Economy in consultation with the Leader the authority to approve the Full Business Case; and

(b)       delegate to the Chief Finance Officer and Director for Environment & Economy in consultation with the Leader the authority to award the Design & Build contract.