Issue details

Proposed decision:

The Cabinet Member for Education and Skills is asked to:

1. Approve theallocation of £1,416,000from the Children’s, YoungPeople andEducation Annual Planned Enhancement Budget to permit the required repair works at Vigo Village School.

2. Delegate authorityto theDirector of Infrastructureto, inconsultation with theDirector of Education, enter into anynecessary contracts or other legal agreements, as required to implement this decision; and

3. Agreefor theDirector of Infrastructureto bethe nominatedAuthority Representativewithin the relevant agreements, with authority to enter variations as envisaged under the contracts.

Reason for the decision

Kent County Council (KCC), as the relevant Local Authority, is responsible for the maintenance of Community and Voluntary Controlled school buildings in Kent.  This responsibility is taken seriously, with continuous maintenance and modernisation programmes in place to ensure that the school estate is fit for purpose.  Included within these programmes are routine building checks that identify possible future maintenance issues with accommodation.

Following condition surveys, subsequent referrals, and extensive interim patching works, Vigo Village School’s roof has deteriorated and is now in need of a full replacement.

Background

Vigo Village School is a 1FE school within the village of Vigo, Meopham.  The school was built circa 1972 and extended in 1976.  The building is single storey, comprising masonry walling with shallow pitched roofs.  At the end of the roofs are concrete parapets, many of these have been overlaid by roofing felt.

The school have been experiencing leaks for several years in various areas becoming more numerous, more substantial and damaging to the internal fabric of the building.  At the end of 2023, the leak in the kitchen roof caused the school kitchen to close temporarily until measures were put in place.  The school is now serving hot meals which are currently being supplied by another school. 

The existing pitched roofs feature a Pantile roof covering which has generally reached the end of its serviceable life and is generally unsuitable for the abnormally low pitch of the existing roofs which varies between 11? and 16?.  The school also has a history of unauthorised intruders gaining access onto the roofs damaging the fragile clay tiles which are not designed for foot traffic.

The proposal is replacing the existing Pantile roof coverings to all pitched roofs with a standing seam Zinc roof covering by the manufacturer VMZinc.  This proposed system is suitable for use with the existing shallow roof pitches and more suitable to withstand instances of foot traffic.  The full roof replacement is now recommended in order to keep the school operational and to avoid further internal damage.

The new roof will be a metal standing seam system that will last for 50 to 100 years.  It is not possible to carry out any further remedial or patching works due to the deterioration of the original roofing materials and a replacement has been deemed essential.  Therefore, the project needs to progress within short timescales to decrease the risk of the wet winter weather impacting the roof further and avoid water ingress from making parts of the school building unusable.

The work is scheduled to commence in April 2024 during the Easter Break and with a forecast of 12 weeks, completion is proposed for end of June 2024

Securing Kent’s Future

This proposal will help to maintain KCC’s strategic role in supporting schools in Kent to deliver accessible, high quality education provision for all families.  This proposal will help to maintain KCC’s strategic role in supporting schools in Kent to deliver accessible, high quality education provision for all families and supports avoidance of more significant costs from possible closure of the school.

Financial Implications

The combined cost is estimated at £1,416,000 which is inclusive of works, fees, and contingency.  With a roofing project the potential for additional costs to be identified are higher than in other projects as not all the roof’s substructure is visible until the tiles are removed.  It is therefore appropriate and prudent for an allowance of an additional 20% above tender costs to be made.

The cost for instructing the winning tender is as follows.

Proposed Tender Costs: £1,050,000.00

KCC Contingency: Allowance £150,000

Professional Fees: £216,000.00

Total Forecast Project = £1,416,000.00 (inc. 20% contingency)

The funds will be allocated from the CYPE Annual Planned Enhancement Programme for April 23 - 24, the allocation has been made by officers and the work is affordable within the budget of £13,283m.

In order to facilitate this increase in budget, a number of nonessential schemes have been moved from this year’s programme and place onto the Forward Management Plan for 2024-2025.

Legal Implications

The contracting for the project will be managed by the Director of Infrastructure.  All works will be fully compliant with the building and planning regulations.