Agenda item

            The Committee considered the undernoted report:

 

“1.0   Purpose of report

 

1.1    The Council’s Capital Programme is a rolling programme of investment which either improves existing Council facilities or provides new facilities. This report provides –

 

§    key highlights since the last Committee report in August

§    proposed recommendations for movement between the Capital Programme stages

§    specific project updates

 

2.0    Relevant Background Information

 

         Capital Programme – Key highlights

 

2.1    Significant progress has been made in the delivery of the capital programme since it was agreed by SP&R Committee in February 14. The Property & Projects Department is happy to arrange site visits to any capital project. 

 

2.2    Key highlights since the last update report in August include –

 

·        the tender for Phase 2 of the Connswater Community Greenway project has been awarded with work now underway.  This will see the completion of a further £20m+ of work including:

 

-  9km of paths, stretching through to Cregagh Glen and the Braniel Estate 

-  CS Lewis-themed square at Holywood Arches, along with new public art at key gateways 

-  river improvements and new flood defences, through the East Belfast Flood Alleviation Scheme

-  improved bridges and crossings

-  resurfacing of major arterial routes into Belfast 

-  new play areas at Avoniel and Loop River Park

-  new signage, lighting, benches, landscaping and planting. 

 

All work will be completed by mid 2016, with the Greenway running from Belfast Lough to the Castlereagh Hills.

 

·        the tender for the main works (£23.4m) for the Belfast Waterfront Exhibition and Conference facility has been awarded with work under way

·        a Letter of Offer for £6million ERDF funding has been received to support the infrastructure for  the £8m Giants Park Environmental Resource Park project at the North Foreshore – the Council is contributing £2million towards this project

·        construction works are also continuing on the £11.7m Girdwood Hub; the new £1.7m 3G pitch at Cliftonville;  the new £430,000 Adventurers Learning Centre at Belfast Zoo; the new pavilion at Suffolk Playing Fields;  Half Moon Lake and Drumglass Park

·        Preparation works are continuing on £3.7m Tropical Ravine refurbishment project with works due to commence in the New Year

·        An artist’s contract has been awarded to undertake the commission of two bronze boxing sculptures of Rinty Monghan and John Caldwell and the tender process to commission an artist for a boxing themed art piece in Woodvale Park is underway

·        Super-Connected voucher scheme - Over 700 applications have been received for connection Vouchers and 3 of the 16 demand stimulation (information) events have been run.  

·        Super-Connected wi-fi in public buildings. The tender has closed and BT have been selected as the service provider. 

 

3.0    Key Issues

 

3.1    Members have agreed that all capital projects must go through a three Stage process where decisions on which projects progress are taken by SP&R. This provides assurance as to the level of financial control and will allow Members to properly consider the opportunity costs of approving one capital project over another capital project. Importantly it will also enable Members to focus on delivering the projects which can have maximum benefits and investment return for the city and local areas.

 

         Proposed movements

 

         Proposed movements from ‘Stage 2 – Uncommitted’ to ‘Stage 3 – Committed’

 

3.2    It is proposed that the project outlined in Table 1 below is advanced from Stage 2 – Uncommitted to Stage 3 – Committed. Members are asked to note that the costs cited are pre-tender estimates only. These costs will be challenged and assessed at the tender preparation stage and any significant changes will be brought back to Committee. 

 

Project	Project overview	Proposed Stage	Estimated Gross Cost	Estimated Net cost
Roselawn  Section Z2-Z4	Members will be aware that the Council has a statutory duty to provide grave space.  Current provision has fallen below the minimum requirements of 4,500 new burial plots being available at all times.  The project proposes to create an additional 7,300 new grave plots as well as the associated infrastructure.  Members are asked to note that this is a long term scheme and will provide provision up to 2025. A major factor influencing this project and requirements for approval is the expiry date for planning permission for new sections of the cemetery – if the council is unable to begin works on the identified area of land by April 2015, the project will be required to go through a new planning permission process.	Stage 3 (Tier 1)	£1,550,000	£1,550,000

 

3.4    Given the statutory duty to provide grave space and the need to progress this project before the expiration of planning, the Director of Finance & Resources has recommended that a maximum of £1,550,000 be allocated to this project and has confirmed that this is within the affordability limits of the Council. Members are asked to agree that this project is advanced to the invitation of tenders, to be awarded on the basis of most economically advantageous tenders received and full commitment to deliver.

 

         Capital projects – Updates

 

3.5    Waterfront – Venue Event Management System – Members will recall that they agreed at the SP&R Committee in August that £450k, to be financed through non-recurrent capital, be set aside in order to upgrade the ICT systems in the Waterfront to ensure that they meet the requirements of a state of the art new conference venue and the needs of future clients and business delegates.

 

3.6    Members’ approval is now sought for the procurement for a new Venue Event Management System for the Belfast Waterfront to be funded from these monies.  This new system will replace the current two systems and will provide a single integrated system that follows the key business processes of marketing, sales, planning, operations and support.  This integrated functionality is essential to enable a more joined up service to be delivered so that the Waterfront can deliver under the objectives required under its Letter of Offer for funding. The new system will be designed to deal with the complexity of selling to, planning of and delivery to large complex international association conferences as well as national corporate meetings, banquets, small exhibitions etc.  It will also provide management information to show the performance of the business. Members are asked to agree that this project is advanced to the invitation of tenders, to be awarded on the basis of most economically advantageous tenders received and full commitment to deliver.

 

         EU funded projects

 

3.7    Giant’s Park Environmental Resource Park - Members will be aware that one of the major projects under the Investment Programme was the development of infrastructure at the North Foreshore to support the development of a green business park.  Funding for this £8million project has now been secured with a letter of offer for £6million from ERDF via InvestNI together with the Council’s investment of £2m. Members are asked to note that in accordance with the Letter of Offer the official title for the project is now the Giant’s Park Environmental Resource Park. 

 

3.8    This is an innovative regeneration project which will create a 65 acre Cleantech business cluster. The components of the ERDF project comprise 1,734m of access roads, and preparation works to create 30 acres of development sites. The proposed ERDF project will transform a difficult brownfield site to make it more attractive for private sector investors in the cleantech environmental sector. It is in response to a demand for large industrial sites located close to the city, Belfast Port and motorway. The Council will market the disposal of the serviced sites to the private sector to encourage new cleantech businesses, investment, and employment opportunities. Giant’s Park will form part of the wider “cleantech zone” being promoted by the Council, Belfast Harbour Commissioners, H&W and Belfast Metropolitan College as well as potential linkages with the Greenway in Dublin, to encourage the growth of the cleantech environmental technology and the renewable energy sector that could create significant job creation opportunities and private sector investment. This project is extremely significant in terms of acting as a catalyst for the wider North Foreshore site. Preparatory work is continuing for this project and it is anticipated that works will begin on site next year.

 

         MUGA Programme  – Update on new builds and Proposed refurbishments  

 

3.9    Members will recall that in January this year they agreed to the progression of a MUGA programme which included a series of refurbishments and proposed new builds. Under Phase 1A 6 MUGA sites were refurbished (Clara Street; Victoria Park; Finlay Park; New Lodge; Willowbank and Dover Street) with 3 new builds agreed at Springfield Avenue; Annadale and Clarendon Playing Fields.  Members are asked to note that Navarra Place, located off the Whitewell Road was subsequently added to the list as a potential new build in June of this year. An update on the current status of these projects is outlined below

 

·        Annadale- A planning application has been submitted and work is due to commence on site next year subject to an outstanding land issue being resolved which the Estates Team are working on

·        Clarendon Playing Fields - Ground surveys have been commissioned and are underway.  A design team has been appointed and detailed design work will now commence on the project

·        Springfield Avenue - Planning approval is already in place for this project, although there is a restrictive condition in place.  Following community representations it is intended to facilitate a local engagement meeting  

·        Navarra Place - A survey has been carried out to establish the extent of underground services in place and the implications for development work.  It is intended to facilitate a workshop with local residents to establish a concept plan for the site.

 

3.10  Members also agreed in January that a rolling programme of refurbishments informed by independent condition surveys of the Council’s remaining MUGA sites be developed.  This is similar to the approach for the Council’s Playground Improvement Programme. Members are asked to note that these surveys have been completed and the worst 7 sites in terms of condition are outlined in Table 3 below.  

 

MUGA PROGRAMME – PHASE 2
Phase 2A – Refurbishments - £400,000
	Location	Score	Comments and recommendations
1.	Dr Pitt Park	10%	Complete by end of March 2015
2.	Springhill Park	20%	Complete by end of March 2015- This site is currently under consideration for housing development however it is understood that this is a long term plan which is not likely to progress within the coming years.  This is being confirmed and if there is any change to this proposal Committee will be updated.
3.	Olympia	39%	Defer - This site is currently incorporated with the Olympia regeneration proposals and it is proposed that no action is taken as the new Olympia will
4.	Moyard	46%	Defer - There is a proposal to relocate this site to the Matt Talbot Youth Club and it is proposed that this is deferred pending further discussions around relocation
5.	Canmore	53%	Complete by end of March 2015
6.	Stewart Street	56%	Complete by end of March 2015– linked to the playground refurbishment which is due complete by March
7.	North Queen Street	66%	Complete by end of March 2015

 

3.11  It is proposed that a maximum budget of £400,000 is allocated to the refurbishments for the five MUGA sites recommended above. The Director of Finance and Resources has confirmed that this is within the affordability limits of the Council and that Phase 2A will be financed through non-recurrent underspend with works to be completed by end of March. If Members agree Phase 2a above, approval is further sought to initiate the necessary procurement processes (including the invitation of tenders and/or the use of appropriate ‘framework’ arrangements) with contracts to be awarded on the basis of most economically advantageous tenders received and full commitment to deliver.

 

4.0    Recommendations

 

4.1    Members are asked to note the contents of this report and

 

         Proposed Movements – Capital Programme

-   Roselawn Section Z2-Z4 - agree if the proposed Roselwan project is progressed from ‘Stage 2 – Uncommitted’ to ‘Stage 3 – Committed’ and agree that this project is advanced to the invitation of tenders, to be awarded on the basis of most economically advantageous tenders received and full commitment to deliver. Members are asked to note that the Director of Finance & Resources has recommended that £1.55 million is the maximum amount available to this project. 

 

         Project Updates

-   Waterfront Exhibition and Conference Facility – Venue Management System (IT system) – agree to the procurement of a new integrated  Venue Event Management System for the Belfast Waterfront and  agree that this project is advanced to the invitation of tenders, to be awarded on the basis of most economically advantageous tenders received and full commitment to deliver. Members are asked to note that the costs for project are covered under the £450,000 which was agreed by Committee in August for ICT projects related to the Waterfront  

 

         EU projects update

-   Giant’s Park Environmental Resource Park - note that a Letter of Offer for up to £6million of ERDF funding, managed via InvestNI, has been received for this project and that in accordance with the Letter of Offer the official title for the project is now the Giant’s Park Environmental Resource Park.  The Council is contributing £2million towards this catalytic project

 

   MUGA programme

-   Note the update on the MUGA programme and agree the proposed refurbishments to the MUGAs at Dr Pitt Park; Springhill Park; Canmore; Stewart Street and North Queen Street as part of Phase 2a of the MUGA Programme. Approval is further sought to initiate the necessary procurement processes (including the invitation of tenders and/or the use of appropriate ‘framework’ arrangements) with contracts to be awarded on the basis of most economically advantageous tenders received and full commitment to deliver.  Members are asked to note that a maximum budget of £400,000 has been agreed for these refurbishments which will be funded out of non-recurrent underspend. The refurbishments will be completed by March 2015.”

 

            The Committee adopted the recommendations.