Decisions

The decision to rebuild Woodlands Meed College on its current site and with its existing capacity of 100 pupils, with a total budget of £20m was approved by Cabinet in May 2020 (Decision CAB03(20/21) refers).

ISG Construction Ltd were procured under the Southern Construction Framework (SCF) on a two-stage design and build route for the new build project. Following the end of RIBA Stage 4 design and the contractor’s financial offer the total project cost has increased to £21.66m and is approximately £1.66m above the originally approved budget of £20m.  If the project is to proceed the budget will need to be increased and approval is sought to allocate additional funding for the rebuilding project.

This decision is urgent as it is necessary to confirm approval for additional funding to enable the project to commence without additional delay or further cost increase.

The Cabinet Member for Learning and Skills, with agreement from the Director of Law & Assurance and the Chairman of the Children and Young People’s Services Scrutiny Committee, has used his delegated powers under Standing Order 5.23 to take this decision without prior notice, and which is not for Publication by virtue of paragraph 3 of Part I of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972.

The Cabinet Member for Learning and Skills has approved the allocation of £1.66m additional funding, to be taken from the Education Basic Need capital budget, to cover the funding gap and enable the project to rebuild Woodlands Meed College to proceed. 

In Bus Back Better – National Bus Strategy for England the Government required Local Transport Authorities to commit to establishing Enhanced Partnerships across their entire areas under the Bus Services Act 2017 to deliver ‘Bus Service Improvement Plans’ (BSIP) from April 2022.

In June 2021, the Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport committed to establishing an Enhanced Partnership across West Sussex and invited all local bus operators to confirm their intention to participate.

The County Council has consulted local bus operators and, by the end of October 2021, the Government expects all Local Transport Authorities to publish a local BSIP, detailing proposals to improve bus services. The BSIP will be reflected in the West Sussex Transport Plan.

The Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport has approved:

1.     The West Sussex Bus Service Improvement Plan (which will replace the West Sussex Bus Strategy 2018-2026) as set out in Appendix 1, including a bid to the DfT for additional funding of £138.29m over a four-year period, as set out in section 5 of the report; and

2.     That a public consultation exercise will be undertaken about the Bus Service Improvement Plan.

Highwood Mill is an Extra Care Housing Scheme in Horsham which opened in 2016. This is currently the largest extra care scheme in West Sussex that Adult Social Care can nominate to. It has a mix tenure of 70 affordable rented properties as well as 35 privately owned apartments, of which Adult Social Care on behalf of Horsham District Council has nomination rights to 50 units. The care and support within the extra care scheme was originally procured by the landlord, Saxon Weald Housing Association, and the current contract is due to end January 2022.

Following the Procurement of the Care Contract within Highwood Mill Extra Care Scheme, within the council’s current Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) Framework, the Executive Director Adults and Health will be asked to award the contract to the successful bidder.

The Executive Director, Adults and Health has approved the award of the  Highwood Mill Extra Care Scheme Contract, commencing on 24 January 2022 for a period of 3 years and 8 months to Care Outlook.

Teasel Close children’s home in Crawley provides residential placements, with capacity for up to 5 children at one time. High Trees children’s home in Crawley provides residential placements and short breaks for children with disabilities, with capacity for up to 4 children at one time. Both homes are graded as ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted.

These homes are identified for improvement works as part of phase 2 of the children’s in-house residential strategy, for which a total of £5.2m pipeline funding is currently allocated in the capital programme. Remodelling and refurbishment works are required to resolve critical issues with the sites, modernise the homes and improve the facilities for those children resident at the homes. As designs have developed for the homes, additional work has been identified, detailed in this report, which has led to an increase in projected costs above the original allocation for phase 2.

The key driver of increased costs is the provision of temporary accommodation, as these homes are occupied. Work is therefore required to a further County Council owned property to provide temporary accommodation for the children at Teasel Close and High Trees to reside in for the duration of the refurbishment of both homes.

The Cabinet Member for Children and Young People has:-

(1)Approved the allocation of a further £1.863m from the capital improvement line towards phase 2 of the Residential Improvement Programme in addition to the current £5.2m allocation, to fund the refurbishment of High Trees and Teasel Close children’s homes and the work to prepare temporary accommodation for children for the duration of construction.

(2)Approved the commencement of a procurement process for a contractor to undertake the works to High Trees and Teasel Close children’s homes and the work to prepare temporary accommodation.

(3)Delegated authority to the Executive Director of Children, Young People and Learning for the award of the contract for these works, in consultation with the Director of Property and Assets.

A public consultation was undertaken in June/July 2021 on a proposed Traffic Regulation Order relating to West Itchenor to alter the waiting restrictions in the Itchenor Road and The Street. These residential roads are very close to Chichester Harbour and it has been reported that indiscriminate parking has become common place all year round, frequently causing congestion, damage to verges and, as most of Itchenor Road has no footway, placing vulnerable road users at higher risk.

The proposals include changing the existing seasonal daytime prohibition of waiting so that it applies at all times on the eastern side of The Street, at its narrower northern end and all year round from The Ship Public House to St Nicholas Church, to maintain access to the village and harbour for emergency and service vehicles. Seven objections to the proposals were received, including one from a local resident and one resident wrote to support the proposals.

The Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport, having considered the objections to the proposals, has authorised the Director of Law & Assurance to make the Traffic Regulation Order as advertised, as set out in section 2 and Appendix A of the report, and for the restrictions to be implemented.

Since the decision to proceed with the Horsham Fire and Rescue Training Centre and Fire station, report ref: (Key Decision CAB07 20/21) , the total project cost has increased. Increases in construction and materials costs are being experienced nationally due to external and cumulative factors and this project has been additionally affected by other changes outside the Council’s control. There has been no significant change in project specification or design. This decision is urgent due to the need to confirm funding approval for the project to continue without additional delay or further cost increase. 

The Cabinet Member for Community Support, Fire and Rescue with agreement from the Director of Law & Assurance, and the Chairman of the Fire and Rescue Scrutiny Committee, has used his delegated powers under Standing Order 5.23 to take this decision which is not for Publication by virtue of paragraph 3 of Part I of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972.

The Cabinet Member for Community Support, Fire and Rescue, has approved  the allocation of funding for the delivery of the Horsham Fire and Rescue Service Training Centre and Fire Station Project.

In March 2021, the then Cabinet Member for Economy & Corporate Resources approved a proposal via decision ECR07 20-21 to procure a data migration service to support the implementation of a Business Management Solution. As part of the decision, the Cabinet Member delegated authority to the Director of Finance and Support Services to progress the procurements. 

The Director for Finance and Support Services has approved the award of a contract to Egress Limited (Company Number 05967014) to provide data migration services. The value of the proposed contract is £907,000 based on a 2-year term with services being delivered between 01 November 2021 until 30 October 2023.