Agenda item

Report ED16030

Members considered a report providing an update on progress in delivering the Council’s Basic Need Programme that supported the provision of sufficient pupil places through improvements to and expansion of Bromley Schools and the forward programme for the period 2015-18.

The Council received Basic Need Capital Grant from the DfE to support the delivery of sufficient school places, with a total of £70.9m so far allocated for 2011-2018. The next tranche of Basic Need Capital funding was due to be announced by Government in early 2016, but the announcement had been delayed and was not now expected until after Easter 2016.

The Basic Need capital programme also included capital contributions from a range of other capital funding programmes including Seed Challenge, Access Initiative and Suitability along with Section 106 contributions. The detail of S106 contributions was included within Approval of Procurement Strategy for Basic Need Projects and the Glebe School Expansion and Allocation of Section 106 Funding to education agreed by the Executive on 2 April 2014.

There were currently schemes to the value of £85m either Completed or Projects in Delivery (Funded). These had been allocated £71.7m from the Basic Need Capital Scheme and £10.9m from other sources as detailed in the report. There was currently a £2.4m budget shortfall for these schemes, but this could be covered by the programme contingency.  The updated budget contained a contingency of £750,000 to cover the costs of any primary bulge classes required for September 2016. However, potential space for bulge classes had been identified at a number of schools and it was hoped that call on this contingency could be minimised. In addition, a new scheme had been added at Castlecombe School. This project was the first phase in expanding the school to 2FE in KS2 and providing certainty of a place from 2017 to parents of pupils transferring from Dorset Road Infants School.

The increase in overall programme value reflected the increase in the estimated final cost of individual schemes as well as the addition of project management costs related to the programme’s delivery. The estimated costs of the scheme at Poverest Primary School had increased during the design development stage due to the need to address the topography of the site and provide a multi-use-games-arena to satisfy Sports England by substituting for playing field lost.  At Stewart Fleming Primary School costs had increased as a result of dealing with the constrained nature of the site, having to undertake more structural surveys and the phasing of works. As a result the scheme was likely to be delivered as two distinct projects. These increases in estimated final cost would be reported to the Executive.

The Committee noted that 45 projects within the Basic Need Programme had now been completed, with other significant projects such as Beacon House, Clare House Primary School and Parish CE Primary School nearing completion.

RESOLVED: that

a)  the update list of schemes as outlined at section Appendix 1 of the report be noted;

b)  the new Project in Delivery (Funded) for decant accommodation at Castlecombe Primary School be noted;

c)  the addition of the scheme at Mead Road Infants  as a Project in  Development be noted;

d)  the estimated increase in final cost of the schemes at Poverest Primary School and Stewart Fleming Primary School be noted; and

e)  the Portfolio Holder for Education be recommended to authorise the Director of Education to support schools in seeking planning permission at the appropriate time.