Agenda item

The purpose of this report is to give an update on the progress of Our Cultural Heart programme following Cabinet approval at Gateway 3 on the 27^th June 2023 to progress the delivery of Phase 1 of the masterplan.

Work is now progressing in preparation for Cabinet to review the programme again at Phase 1 Gateway 4 in December 2023.

Contact: David Glover, Senior Responsible Officer, Cultural Heart

Councillor Graham Turner introduced the item, advising that this is an update on progress with the Cultural Heart, and the information will be presented with the aid of a few slides to show progress to date. 

Edward Highfield, Service Director, Skills and Regeneration, reminded the Panel that a commitment was made to update the Panel between each of the gateways to provide a retrospective look at what has been achieved and to look forward in terms of what is ahead.

Referring to the slides, the Panel was informed that the gateways that the council has adopted are tied to the RIBA stages of development.  Gateway three was where the concept design was confirmed, looking at spatial co-ordination, that is the headline master planning of the moving towards gateway four, which is the technical design where all the detail is finalised.

In June 2023, gateway three was brought before Cabinet, and this was seeking approval to sign off the spatial co-ordination and move towards the technical design, which locked in the principle of phasing, rather than undertaking the whole Cultural Heart project in one go.  It was decided to take a phased approach which introduces significant benefits in terms of flexibility and being able to respond to market opportunities and secure external funding. 

The gateway three report in June, locked in the principle of phasing and it confirmed phase one.  It sought delegated authority to make contractual arrangements with the delivery team, the most noticeable was to appoint BAM construction Ltd for phase one and get them working.  This was not unconditional and there was no commitment to construction at that stage.  

The aim in appointing BAM was to work initially on the Pre-contract Service Agreement (PCSA), to progress to gateway four. By getting the contractor on board early, it enabled the contractor to pick up the detailed design to get to the stage to go back to Cabinet with gateway four, in terms of the final scheme, providing more certainty around cost and seeking approval to proceed or not to proceed from gateway four onwards.

The June report talked about combining the museum and the gallery rather than having a separate museum and a separate gallery, being mindful of cost and value for money at all stages.  The gateway three report confirmed the principal of a combined museum and gallery and that frees up a future development on the Green Street plot, that was previously going to be the gallery. In June 2023, Cabinet gave approval to proceed as outlined.

The Panel was shown a diagram of the Cultural Heart redline boundary and advised that the diagram shows the library, food hall, public realm and the event square and this will be phase one, which is the subject of the gateway four report which will shortly be going to Cabinet. 

In summary, the Panel was informed of the following:

Phase one

-      New library

-      Food hall

-      Events Square

Design and build Contract

-      Pre-contract Service Agreement (PCSA) awarded to BAM Construction Ltd

-      Principle activities to agree

-        RIBA 3 to RIBA 4 Design

-        Contract sum negotiation

-        Award of construction contract

Timeline subject to gateway four

-      Two stage procurement of design and build contractor

Task                                                     Complete

Gateway three BAM                              May 2024

(appointed under PCSA contract)

Start on site                                          Q1/Q2 2024

Phase one complete                              Q4 2025

The Panel was informed that it is now close to having a final contract sum, although there are still some elements of value engineering to ensure value for money in the scheme, which is currently being worked through with members and BAM.  The intention is to get to a point to positively recommend to Cabinet that there is an amount that won’t be exceeded through the construction contract negotiations, and to ask members to proceed with the awarding of the contract within that envelope.

Subject to gateway approval at Cabinet in December, the aim would be for an early start on site, would be early to mid-2024, with the completion of phase one at the back end of 2025.

The Panel was informed that the gateway three report, was for the whole masterplan and there is planning consent for the whole of the masterplan, that was approved at Strategic Planning Committee in March.  That report took the decision to go for a combined museum and gallery, and since then work is being undertaken on the feasibility, working with key services regarding what the service offer is going to be.

The Queen Street plot which has been freed up by creating the combined museum and gallery, is one of the best development sites in Huddersfield. The council is currently in discussions with Greenhead College who have expressed an interest in developing the site for a further education facility.  Alternative potential third party uses for the plot, includes a hotel.  The Queensgate Market is now vacant and the last remaining units on Princess Alexandra Walk will be vacated by January 2024.

In response to the information presented, the Panel asked a number of questions and made comments including some of the following:

-                  During the presentation it was mentioned about other services bringing forward their budget requirements in reference to museums and galleries, is it possible to expand on whether other services will be able to bring forward plans in their budgets or are those discussions still on going?

-                  With reference to the £5.6m underspend referred to in point 1.2 of the appended report, which states “the capital development budget that did not progress as originally envisaged”, is it possible to have further detail on this?

-                  Who does the Town Centre Operational Board consist of?

-                  The report makes reference to the establishment of ‘Our Cultural Heart’ fund, for cash contributions which will help strengthen community and voluntary sector partners who are delivering place-based working throughout Kirklees, has this already been established or is there a timetable for when it will be established?  Is it possible to have further detail on this at a future meeting on how communities and third sector can access the fund?

-                  It is likely that the Queen Street plot whatever it ends up being, will require some car parking, whether it is used for a hotel, or residential, people will require somewhere to park their car.  It is not clear where that would be, and the access to that site is difficult because there is only one way to get to it.  At certain times in the evening public transport is limited and therefore people coming to evening events will be required to use their own vehicles. This is a concern and needs to be properly thought through, because it is a brilliant plot, but how do people get to it and then where do they park?

RESOLVED

That the officers and Cabinet Member be thanked for providing an update on the Cultural Heart, part of the Huddersfield Blueprint.