DMFD55 New Cross Fire Station

Report LFC-0300x to the London Fire Commissioner sets out the background for the request to authorise the expenditure in order for the London Fire Commissioner to undertake works at New Cross Fire Station to facilitate the creation of a community hub.

In order to improve the utilisation factor of the premises at New Cross Fire Station, LFB Property officers commissioned Currie & Brown from the Multi-Disciplinary Consultancy (MDC) framework to undertake a feasibility report.

New Cross Fire Station was originally constructed in 1893-94 and the Waller Road side of the building was enlarged in 1912. It was one of the first fire stations to be built by the London County Council after it took over the responsibilities of the Metropolitan Board of Works in 1889. New Cross Fire Station is located within the Telegraph Hill conservation area and it was listed Grade 2 in 2012.

The existing mechanical and electrical (M&E) provisions of the building are being incrementally upgraded to suit the requirements of the new usage. The building is considered to have sufficient capacity to accommodate the increased usage without detriment to its fabric or historic interest.

A key requirement of the brief was to ascertain if the basement, ground floor, first floor and third floor areas were suitable for opening up the fire station for use by the local community, as part of the programme of works under LSP 2017 to open up fire stations for local community use.

The feasibility report identified opportunities for the premises to be utilised not only by the local community, but also by outreach, fire cadets and Life teams. Local Intervention Fire Education (Life) is a programme for 14–17 year olds; it is an interactive experience for young people who have faced challenges, to learn transferable skills through firefighting activities.

New Cross Fire Station has also been considered as a potential site for relocation of LFB’s Rapid Response Team (RRT) from Lambeth fire station. This option is not being pursued further due to New Cross not being situated within central London.

An important part of the alteration works will be to ensure access to the areas allocated to the local community, outreach, fire cadets and Life teams is controlled, to ensure security of station personnel and that of the supervision of minors using the station facilities.

The following table summarises the alteration works to the station:

Procurement

The works have been tendered in accordance with the London Fire Commissioner’s Code of Practice on Tenders and Contracts and the Commissioner’s external professional consultant has recommended the appointment of the most economically advantageous tenderer to carry out these works.

The preferred contractor was selected based on their tender sum and the quality of their tender submission, their price being the most competitive and their tender documents being the most comprehensive.

This project is anticipated to be below the OJEU works threshold of £4,551,413, negating the need to conduct an OJEU procurement process.

Where possible, the London Fire Brigade (LFB) attempts to deliver a GLA collaborative procurement approach by utilising existing frameworks for tendering works. It should be noted this approach is not suitable for bespoke asset replacement works due to unique specifications and phasing proposals involved where the risks are priced differently for each project and premises.

The works were subject to a competitive tendering exercise through the Bluelight tendering portal and bids were sought from three tenderers. Officers ensured that a tender analysis report was completed to ensure compliant bids.

As part of the LFC’s standing orders, the Head of Property has authority to approve procurement initiation, accept a tender, award and enter into a contract in accordance with existing standing orders. And, procurement authority also extends to any action required under any existing contracts (e.g. deductions for unsatisfactory performance or giving notice and termination of contracts), expect where actions relating to contract performance are in accordance with a formula or process included in the contract.

Three tenders were submitted via the Bluelight tender portal and the most economically advantageous tender has been recommended for acceptance.

B Nokes Contracts Ltd, the contractor who submitted the lowest tender, is considered by LFB Property to have the requisite skills and experience to successfully undertake this project. Although the tender process did not incorporate a separate procedure for quality evaluation, B Nokes Contracts Ltd has an established track record of successfully completing projects on fire stations and consistently receiving positive feedback from station personnel.

Capital costs

In order to ascertain the complexity and financial costs involved in replacing these assets, officers commissioned a feasibility report for the proposed works. The feasibility report is available as background information to report LFC-0300x.

Table 1 shows a breakdown of the anticipated costs for this project. The table highlights key financial elements in delivering the works.

Anticipated timeline

The anticipated contract duration is estimated to be 12 weeks and the intention is for construction works to be carried out early in the financial year 2020/2021, subject to the agreed contractor’s lead in time and approval of listed building consent for the works.

The works will be carried out during normal working hours, being planned and phased to ensure the fire station remains fully operational 24/7. Any interruptions to the power supplies will be kept to a minimum and be pre planned and executed using the LFB's established protocols and periods of notice to all relevant parties.

The London Fire Commissioner and the Deputy Mayor for Fire and Resilience are required to have due regard to the Public Sector Equality Duty (s149 of the Equality Act 2010) when taking decisions. This in broad terms involves understanding the potential impact of policy and decisions on different people, taking this into account and then evidencing how decisions were reached.

It is important to note that consideration of the Public Sector Equality Duty is not a one-off task. The duty must be fulfilled before taking a decision, at the time of taking a decision, and after the decision has been taken.

The protected characteristics are: Age, Disability, Gender reassignment, Pregnancy and maternity, Marriage and civil partnership (but only in respect of the requirements to have due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination), Race (ethnic or national origins, colour or nationality), Religion or belief (including lack of belief), Sex, and Sexual orientation.

The Public Sector Equality Duty requires decision-takers in the exercise of all their functions, to have due regard to the need to:

a) Eliminate discrimination, harassment and victimisation and other prohibited conduct.

b) Advance equality of opportunity between people who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it.

c) Foster good relations between people who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it.

Having due regard to the need to advance equality of opportunity between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it involves having due regard, in particular, to the need to:

a) remove or minimise disadvantages suffered by persons who share a relevant protected characteristic where those disadvantages are connected to that characteristic;

b) take steps to meet the needs of persons who share a relevant protected characteristic that are different from the needs of persons who do not share it; and

c) encourage persons who share a relevant protected characteristic to participate in public life or in any other activity in which participation by such persons is disproportionately low.

The steps involved in meeting the needs of disabled persons that are different from the needs of persons who are not disabled include, in particular, steps to take account of disabled persons' disabilities.

Having due regard to the need to foster good relations between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it involves having due regard, in particular, to the need to—

(a) tackle prejudice, and

(b) promote understanding.

The equality impact assessment indicates that the proposals in this report will have no adverse impact and deliver several positive benefits in line with the Public Sector Equality Duty. This has been considered in the agreed Equalities Impact Assessment (EIA).

Additionally, appointed contractors will be required to comply with The Equality Act 2010 and associated LFC policies/protocols in respect of any accessibility considerations during or after the works, including the provision of temporary accessibility ingress/egress required during the duration of these works. The EIA will be updated accordingly during the process to reflect changes especially in relation to accessibility.

Workforce comments

LFB officers have ensured that the representatives for Outreach, Fire Cadets, Borough Commander, Station Commander and watches of the fire station have been kept informed throughout the feasibility consultation process.

The station commander has been consulted on impacts to operational delivery and the works will be arranged so as to ensure minimal impact on operational delivery during the construction phase.

A representative of the Fire Brigades Union will be invited, via the station commander, to attend the pre-start site meeting.

Sustainability implications

All waste arising from works is to be removed by a licensed waste carrier and disposed of at a permitted facility. The Contractor is to supply all legally compliant signed waste transfer notes and waste consignment notes to the London Fire Commissioner.

There are no adverse environmental implications resulting from this project.

The scheme is included within the approved minor works capital budget. The cost of the planned works is £357,000 and if this is funded from external borrowing and based on a useful life of 10 years, the annual revenue debt charges will be £47,000, being £36,000 for the repayment of borrowing and £11,000 in interest payments at a projected rate of 3%.

There are no additional financial implications for the GLA.

Under section 9 of the Policing and Crime Act 2017, the London Fire Commissioner (the "Commissioner") is established as a corporation sole with the Mayor appointing the occupant of that office. Under section 327D of the GLA Act 1999, as amended by the Policing and Crime Act 2017, the Mayor may issue to the Commissioner specific or general directions as to the manner in which the holder of that office is to exercise his or her functions.

By direction dated 1 April 2018, the Mayor set out those matters, for which the Commissioner would require the prior approval of either the Mayor or the Deputy Mayor for Fire and Resilience (the "Deputy Mayor").

Paragraph (b) of Part 2 of the said direction requires the Commissioner to seek the prior approval of the Deputy Mayor before “[a] commitment to expenditure (capital or revenue) of £150,000 or above as identified in accordance with normal accounting practices…”.

The statutory basis for the actions proposed in this report is provided by sections 7 and 5A of the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004 (“FRSA 2004”). Section 7 (2)(a) FRSA 2004 the Commissioner has the power to secure the provision of personnel, services and equipment necessary to efficiently meet all normal requirements for firefighting and section 5A allows the Commissioner to procure personnel, services and equipment they consider appropriate for purposes incidental or indirectly incidental to their functional purposes.

The LFB’s General Counsel also notes that the proposed service will be procured in compliance with the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 and the LFC’s Scheme of Governance.