Decision details

To consider whether to appoint a contractor to undertake Stage 1of the construction contact and to endorse the draft designs, programme and budget.

1.  That delegated authority be given to the Director of Prosperity and Regeneration, or in their absence the Chief Executive, to recommend the appointment of a Contractor to the Chief Finance Officer, selected via the tender process set out in Paragraphs 1.3.7 to 1.3.10 of the report of the Assistant Director of Development and Community Strategy, initially to undertake Stage 1 services.

2.  That authority be given to the Head of Corporate Law & Legal Services to enter into contract (on terms to be agreed) with the appointed contractor, initially to undertake Stage 1 of a two stage process.

3.  That a further report be presented to Cabinet once the designs have been finalised and priced for a decision to proceed with Stage 2 of the construction phase.

4.  That the draft designs, project programme and budget be endorsed.

5.  That delegated authority be given to the Director of Prosperity and Regeneration, or in their absence the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Project Board, to make significant design changes and if necessary re-tender the work to bring the project back within budget should at any stage costs exceed the budget.

In May 2009, following a Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) managed international design competition, Cabinet agreed to appoint Letts Wheeler Architects to take forward their winning design to a detailed design stage. Letts Wheeler lead a consortium of consultants including Martin Stockley Associates (Civil Engineers) Sutton Vane Associates (lighting designers) and Chris Tipping, a public realm artist. Maidstone Borough Council has also appointed Focus Consultants as the Council’s quantity surveyors and cost consultants. Kent County Council has agreed to fund the appointment of Jacobs UK to act as CDM Coordinator and Electrical Services designer.

The winning concept proposes to reduce the amount of physical space dedicated to vehicular traffic in the High Street by relocating the carriageway to the north side of the street. In doing so two large pedestrian “squares” will be created around the Cannon in the Lower High Street and around the Queen Victoria Monument in Upper High Street. The carriageway will have a kerb to delineate its route. This is not a shared surfaces scheme such as the one in Ashford. As much street clutter as possible will be removed and a mixed palette of hard wearing granite sets will be laid giving the street an homogeneous appearance. Two-way traffic is maintained to enable buses to access the town centre and taxis will be allowed both up and down the High Street, which is an improvement on the current situation.  Further work is being undertaken in consultation with stakeholders on the final location of loading bays, bus stops, taxi ranks and the location of the disabled parking bays. A landscaping plan proposes to remove some of the existing trees and plant many more indigenous species which will mature to an appropriate size for a town centre location. A new lighting scheme has been designed to create better overall lighting of the street and to highlight many of the listing buildings that front it. Feature lighting will be used to create further interest with inset lighting in the pavement, under-lighting for seats and up-lighting of trees. Chris Tipping is researching the street’s history, working with the Maidstone Museum and engaging the community in his work to integrate art into the designs.  An artist’s impression of the designs for the Upper and Lower High Street is shown in Appendix 1 of the report of the Assistant Director of Development and Community Strategy.

The design team has followed a programme of work to refine the design. The programme is set out in Appendix 2 of the report of the Assistant Director of Development and Community Strategy. This has involved collecting information regarding the location of underground services from utility companies, and working with Kent Highway Services regarding the planned alterations to the carriageway and the necessary permissions and approvals for undertaking work in the Highway. Moreover, since May, a number of consultation events and meetings have taken place with those businesses, organizations, and individuals who will be affected by the proposed changes. These include bus operators, taxi representatives, disabled groups, Kent County Council, retailers and Town Centre Management.

The issue of access for disabled persons to the town centre has been taken very seriously from the beginning.  A number of meetings have been held with representatives of the visually impaired, including Guide Dogs for the Blind, as well as those representing physically disabled groups to understand their needs. Age Concern and Kent County Council’s Mobility Management Project Officer have also been consulted. An RNIB Pan Disability Advisor has been appointed and will produce an Access Audit on the scheme.  These discussions are ongoing.

The design team and Council officers have held a public exhibition in the Chequers Mall on the 28^th January 2010 and 60 comments forms were filled in and returned. The overwhelming feedback from this event was positive and in favour of the proposals. The designs were also exhibited in the Maidstone Gateway from the 8^th February to the 13^th February. A website with an online feedback form has been established linked directly from the home page of the Borough Council’s website www.maidstone.gov.uk. Feedback from consultation events has resulted in alterations and refinements to the design.  It is intended that consultation will continue right up until the design is finally frozen.

A planning application has been submitted to gain approval for those parts of the scheme that are considered to be development. These relate largely to the landscape strategy, and the lighting designs as they affect the High Street Conservation Area and the various listed buildings along its length. Planning Committee will have considered the application on the 8^th April.

Bills of Quantities have been prepared from the drawings and design specification and have formed the basis of the documentation for the procurement of the Contractor. Due to the capital cost of the works the Contractor is being procured using the OJEU restricted procedure. 22 contractors submitted pre qualification questionnaires and an evaluation panel shortlisted 7 companies to submit tenders. Tender submissions were due on the 23^rd March. An Evaluation Panel consisting of Mathew Letts Architects, Martin Stockley Associates, Focus Consultants, Maidstone Borough Council and Kent County Council are considering the submissions.

The contractor’s involvement in the project will be in two stages. Stage 1 will involve the contractor in a professional services role working alongside the design team for a period of 4 or 5 months from May 2010. This period will be used to obtain the full benefit of the contractor’s experience in construction sequencing, value engineering, programming and general viability. The Contractor will be expected to proactively contribute to the project proposals during this phase to ensure value for money. The final scheme will be priced by the Contractor in conjunction with the Quantity Surveyor on the basis of the rates in the original tender when the design is frozen in around September 2010. At this point a further report will be presented to Cabinet which will seek approval for the final design and commitment to expenditure to undertake the construction works.

Approval was sought to appoint the contractor, selected via the tender process, to initially undertake stage 1. The contractor will only be asked to deliver stage 2 if their performance during stage 1 is considered satisfactory. If this is not the case, depending upon why and when performance is recognised to be less than satisfactory, it will be necessary to evaluate procurement options to take the project forward. This may include re-tendering the work to the list of contractors shortlisted in the earlier phase of the procurement process.

During stage 1 the cost plan will be regularly reviewed. If during this period the costs of the project exceed the budget then approval has been sought to give the Director of Prosperity and Regeneration delegated authority to make design changes as necessary to bring the scheme within budget, in consultation with the Project Board.

If Cabinet approves the project’s design and final budget in September, it is expected that construction will commence in 2011 and take approximately 12 months to complete.

An alternative option would be not to appoint the contractor which would effectively mean the project could not progress any further. Another alternative would be to appoint the contractor now to deliver both stage 1 and stage 2. However that would not incentivize the contractor to work hard during stage 1 to deliver cost savings as there would be a guarantee that they had the contract already to deliver stage 2.  Moreover waiting until September to award the Stage 2 contract enables Cabinet to consider the Council’s financial position at that time against other competing priorities.