In accordance with the requirements of Council Standing Order 4.4.1 to report all processed procurement exercises with a total estimated contract value of over £2 million prior to the commencement of the procurement tendering process.  The Assistant Director of Sport and Culture will submit Document “G” which reports on the requirement to procure a construction contract to undertake the works to restore and refurbish St George’s Hall.

Recommended-

(1)       That the progress with the tendering exercise for the project as detailed in Document “G” be noted.

(2)       That a further update be presented to the Committee once the key contractor is appointed in November 2016.

                                                                        (Phil Barker – 01274 432616)

In line with Council Standing Order 4.4.1 all contracts with an estimated value of over £2m must be reported to the relevant Overview and Scrutiny Committee before inviting tenders.

The Assistant Director, Sport and Culture submitted Document “G” which reported on the requirement to procure a construction contract to undertake the works to restore and refurbish St George’s Hall. 

The Chair expressed his disappointment at the delay in the report being presented to the Committee.

The General Manager of Bradford Theatres outlined the details of the contract, which included the following works:

·        Stonework, window and roof replacement / restoration

·        Front of house re-modelling and re-decoration

·        Purchase and installation of a passenger lift

·        Glazed front entrance

·        Re-wire and fire alarm

·        Improvements to the stage and auditorium seating

He stated that the Heritage Lottery Fund grant was £1.5m and gave a breakdown of the costs of the proposed works which totalled approximately £5.4m.  The improvements would make the venue fit for purpose and there would be a seating capacity of 1350 with restricted viewing seats being reduced to single figures. 

The Deputy Manager of Bradford Theatres apologised for the delay in presenting the report to the Committee and stated that the Pre Qualification Questionnaire stage had taken place through the tendering process and four submissions had got through the shortlisting process.  She explained that a decision had been made to appoint a single contractor due to the timescales and complexities of the different elements of the required works.  She reported that a minimum of two apprenticeships would be offered in the specialist area of stone work. Whilst there had been delays, as stated in the report, works were scheduled to commence in early December 2016.

In response to Members’ questions, it was reported that:

·        As part of the restoration works there would be more environmentally friendly facilities in relation to lighting in public spaces, windows, the boiler, the heating system and a system to collect rain water for recycling.

·        St George’s Hall was currently closed.  There was a 12 month timescale from December 2016 for the appointed contractor to undertake the works.

·        Bradford’s annual Festival of Remembrance which usually took place at St George’s Hall would be held at Bradford Cathedral during the closure.

·        Difficulties with booking tickets for the Festival of Remembrance would be looked into as well as difficulties raised of buying tickets from some local halls that did not have an online booking system in place.

·        During the closure, a higher volume of events were taking place at the Alhambra Theatre to absorb some events that would normally have taken place at St George’s Hall.

·        Whilst it was not possible to provide the operating cost associated with each seat, the cost was expected to decrease due to the opening of a restaurant and works to make the bar areas bigger.  Following the works, higher ticket sales were also expected due to the number of restricted viewing seats being reduced; ticket sales over the last five years had dwindled which was considered to have been due to difficult seating arrangements.

·        The turnover for Theatres was £7.9m.

·        The biggest saving in relation to employing one contractor was in relation to time.  It was difficult to evaluate a cost saving.

·        The hall delivered a number of education programmes with local schools and would still have an emphasis of working with local people/communities when it re-opened.

A Member stated he would be interesting to see the figures in relation to refreshment sales prior and post refurbishment and information on how the works, once the venue had re-opened, had impacted on the surrounding area e.g. spend on car parks/food.

Members welcomed the apprenticeships being offered as part of the works and queried whether it could be built into the contract that they be offered first to local people, given that the opportunity for these types of apprenticeships was so rare.

A Member suggested that a formal response be requested from the Assistant Director to explain why the procurement process as stated in the Council’s Constitution was not followed and that the City Solicitor be asked to ensure the procurement process rules in relation to presenting information to Scrutiny Committees were adhered to correctly in future.  The Portfolio Holder for Environment, Sport and Culture stated that she would also be speaking to officers in relation to why the report was late.

A Member spoke of the legal requirement for public sector bodies to consider social value in the tendering processes. In response it was stated that this was part of the procurement policy.

It was agreed that a report of the Theatres Strategy would be added to the Committees work programme; date to be advised following discussion with the Assistant Director, Sport and Culture.

Resolved -

(1)  That the progress with the tendering exercise for the project as detailed in Document “G” be noted and a further written update be circulated to the Committee once the key contractor is appointed in November 2016.

(2)  That the City Solicitor be requested to ensure that rules relating to procurement within the Council’s Constitution (presenting information to Overview and Scrutiny) are complied with in a timely manner.

(3)  That the Assistant Director, Sport and Culture, and the Assistant Director, Commissioning and Procurement, be requested to provide a written response to explain the delay in submitting the report to the Committee.

ACTION        City Solicitor (2)

Assistant Director, Sport and Culture/Assistant Director, Commissioning and Procurement (3)