New Council Offices
Design Submitted for Planning Approval
The New Council Offices will be built at
the Town Station Site, Burton Street. Our lead consultants
for the professional team are EC Harris who have been appointed to
project manage, design and build the new council
offices. The Council's Development Committee has now
given approval (4th February 2010) to the application subject to
the Environment Agency signing off the drainage scheme and which
has now been given (4 March 2010).
You can view the planning application that was
submitted by the Council by using the link below:
http://publicaccess.melton.gov.uk/publicaccess/tdc/DcApplication/application_detailview.aspx?caseno=KTF202KO00G00
Results of the second phase of consultation on
the building are available here. Feedback from this
consultation has been incorporated throughout the design phase and
the story of these changes can be viewed here.
Listed below are some Hot Topics related to
the development of the New Council Offices. More information
will be posted here as it becomes available. However please contact
us at newcounciloffices@melton.gov.uk
if you would like any specific information. Please also visit other
relevant pages on our website:
Frequently Asked Questions:
Are the Council undertaking any Public Consultation on the new
building?
Yes the Council has carried out two phases
of Consultation throughout the Borough, over 600 people were asked
their opinion on what the building should look like, the Civic
Suite facilities, green issues, we also gave information on
workstyle and the site. The results of the first phase of
consultation and the Council’s feedback to that are available
here. The views and opinions from
phase two consultation completed October 2009 have been fed into
changes to the design of the building and are available
here.
The Council has set up a public
consultation group (Sounding Board) made up of individuals who
indicated they would like to be involved as part of the initial
consultation process and they have had several meetings.
Further details on the Sounding Board can be accessed by clicking
on the link.
In addition to public consultation and the
Sounding Board the Council invited the following groups to our
consultation events; Seniors Forum, Youth Forum, Access Groups,
Tenant and Resident Groups, Council Staff, Civic Society, Town
Centre Partnership, Town Estate, Melton Community Forum, Business
Rate Payers Group and all the Parish Councils in the Melton
Borough.
Melton Mails were sent to the whole
Borough where we asked all residents for their views and there was
a planning consultation process.
Will this be the last chance for me to
have my say or to see the plans?
The planning application was submitted and
registered, as with any other Planning Application, the plans and
supporting documents are available on-line, under the ‘Planning
Applications’ section of the MBC website and at the Wilton Road
Public Library. The submission of the Planning Application
was published in the Melton Times and the Planning Authority
notified immediate neighbours directly.
A major part of the Planning Authority’s
decision-making process was to consider the comments and concerns
raised by the public and by other interested bodies (such as the
Environment Agency, English Heritage, CABE etc). Further
details can be accessed by clicking on the following
links:-
Development Committee
Report and Decision
Notice
In addition to the responses to the
Planning Application, the Council also welcomes constructive
comments, suggestions or idea at any time during the design and
construction process. Please direct you correspondence either
by email to newcounciloffices@melton.gov.uk
Will there be any ‘independent’
assessment of the proposals, i.e. by someone who is not associated
with Melton Borough Council?
Yes. Although not a mandatory
requirement, the Council decided to put the proposals before a
design review panel from the ‘Commission for Architecture and the
Built Environment’ (CABE), an independent and highly respected
organisation dedicated to raising the standard of the built
environment on behalf of the public. Details of who they are
and what they do can be found on-line at http://www.cabe.org.uk/
Why build at all?
The Council will, when it builds, have
access to a substantial insurance settlement. If it does not
build, Phoenix House (the refurbished office building on Nottingham
Road) cannot house all of its staff and the settlement would be
substantially less losing out on the opportunities that the fire
offers, such as regeneration of the Town Station site, additional
offices for businesses that Melton desperately needs and a
substantial receipt from the disposal of the Nottingham Road
site. The Council would also have ongoing revenue costs it
will need to cover as the amount of space we have currently is
inadequate and this would impact on the Council’s
finances.
Why move to the Town Station
site?
The Council commissioned in September
2008, a report from Savill’s (professional property specialists)
looking at different potential locations for the new offices.
This identified the Town Station site and Nottingham Road as the
front runners. It is a fabulous location, the site has been
disused for the past 25 years with many previous attempts at
development that have failed for a variety of reasons.
The current condition of the development
market is such that the old Melton Square scheme (shops/houses) was
not viable and this move provides an opportunity to finally develop
the site.
From a sustainability point of view it is
more central and provides an opportunity to deliver additional
footfall into the town centre in a way that does not overly impact
on traffic flows. This should have a beneficial impact on the
shops and business on this side of town.
Very importantly it also provides the
opportunity for County and District Council services and
potentially other partners to be located together on one site which
will be a tremendous opportunity for improving service
delivery. In addition, a well designed building could provide
a “gateway” statement into Melton and enhance the connection to
this historic part of the town and Play Close.
Initially, why did you not consult on
the move?
We only have a limited time period to
rebuild under the insurance cover. We are not spending our
won money so need to make sure it stays that way by meeting the
insurance deadlines. We therefore had to make decisions
quickly. We received a lot of information and reports prior
to making the decision and took professional advice. For
anyone to make a balanced decision all that information had to be
understood. The practicality of ensuring this made
consultation not possible in the timescale we had. The
Council must be businesslike in acquiring land and public
consultation on sites we did not own may not have put us in the
best position to negotiate.
Who will be sharing the Town Station
site with you?
Currently we will be sharing with the
County Council and Probation Service. Others are also looking
at the options for joint-working and their office
requirements. We would anticipate that they will fully fund
their own space requirements, probably through rental payments, and
that this will not be a pressure on the Council’s budget.
What size will the new building
be?
Overall it will be approximately
3,400m². we have focused on reducing our office space through
our experience with the fire and researching industry best
practice. Office wise, Melton Borough Council’s requirements
have reduced from 2574 square metres (in the pre-fire offices) to
1543 square metres for the proposed new offices. We have
achieved this by introducing new ways of flexible working, which
include a high proportion of the staff desk-sharing. This has
amounted to a percentage reduction of office space area of
41%. The new way of flexible working we have introduced as a
result of the fire, we see continuing into the new build. The
customer service space requirement will also be less as a result of
new facilities at our Children’s Centres and out reach working
directly in the community. The Civic Space will be a similar
size to what it was previously.
What about car parking?
The site was selected partly due to its
proximity to the train station and we are working on a green travel
plan to help reduce the demand for car parking spaces. The
town station site, including the pay and display area, has maximum
car parking layout of just over 300 spaces. In accessing the
demand for car parking the following factors will be
considered:
- The introduction of charges which we are
monitoring carefully through the use of detailed information from
our new ticket machines.
- We will need to consider the final
numbers of staff who might occupy the new offices and their car
parking demand.
- Parking requirements will be
substantially less than what we used to have.
- The potential for other sites to be
brought on stream to help manage the town’s traffic flows and car
parking needs generally.
What about the Melton Square
Development of shops, offices and housing?
This will no longer go ahead. The
current market conditions have made it very difficult for retailers
and developers. The Council’s planning process has identified
other potential sites for retail development in future
years.
Will it affect my Council
Tax?
The Council had good insurance cover and
the costs of temporary arrangements and new build fall to the
insurers; this will act as a natural restriction on the cost of the
new build. It is hoped that overheads will be kept down
through improved income from our tenants, users and reduced running
costs through a more efficient building. Any uninsured costs
are being kept to a minimum and being managed wherever possible
within current budgets.
How will you make sure costs do not
balloon and it finishes on time?
We have appointed E C Harris, professional
building consultants, to manage the project. It is actually a
very good time to be offering a contract of this size to the market
due to the downturn in economy, and we anticipate good value from
the building contractors. The key to pinning costs down is to
ensure that we remove as many risks as possible through site
surveys and testing ground conditions etc. We have carried
out a significant amount of this work already, to identify these
issues. In addition, the more detailed the specification the
builder is given the better chance of coming in on budget and on
time.
We have a good recent track record of
completing projects to deadline with both the Cove and the Edge
Children’s Centres being completed on track and in budget.
The contract will be guaranteed maximum price with the successful
contractor and the time line is achievable.
How do we know we are getting the best
possible building for the available budget?
Building projects are usually shaped by
three key criteria, those being TIME, COST and QUALITY.
Different projects will place differing levels of importance on one
or more of these criteria. ‘Quality’ however is ALWAYS
important and particularly so in the case of public
buildings. The delivery of high-quality building, within the
available budget and within the required timescale (which also
affects cost) is the priority objective.
The Council and design team monitor and
control each of these three elements throughout the design process
and during the building’s construction, particularly at key
milestones such as just before submitting the planning application
or before awarding the construction contract. In this way the
Council and design team constantly balance these three elements to
deliver a building that is ‘good value for money’ and one of which
the people of the Melton Borough can be justly proud.
The quality of the service provided to the
Council by their project team is controlled, guided and monitored
through a ‘Quality Management System’ (QMS), alive and constantly
updated method of controls and checks which not only records and
reviews progress, but actively guides the process in order to
maintain a professional and comprehensive level of service provided
to the Council.
On a more subjective level we measure the
Quality of a project on its:
Functional operation –
does it provide the environment required to accommodate its
intended function?
Environmental performance
– how sustainable is it in its construction, operation and
potentially its future adaptation or even demolition. Does
the measured performance over a fixed period meet or exceed the
intended performance targets.
Aspirational qualities –
does it inspire, encourage or raise the expectations of its
users?
Contribution to wider
context – does it have a positive effect on its immediate
and wider setting? Is it seen positively by the community in
which it sits?
Aesthetic qualities –
does its outward appearance have a positive impact on its immediate
and wider setting and do its interior spaces provide safe,
comfortable, attractive and inspiring internal
environments.
What are you saying to
us?
We have had both negative and positive
feedback on the Council’s decision. Some feel that the
Council should stay at Nottingham Road, others that we should keep
the Town Station site and develop it ourselves for
retail/housing. Some do not feel that this type of
development on the Town Station site will regenerate the
area. Do nothing or stay as we were is always an option, but
not one that the Council has chosen. It is highly likely that
the Town Station site would be mothballed for many more years if we
had not put the Council Offices there.
When will all this
happen?
Winter
2009 Work
on design and detail
Apply for planning permission
Appoint builder
Spring
2010 Start
on site, although some work such as demolition etc. may commence
earlier
Early Summer
2011 Planned
completion and opening of the new council building
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