The Corporate Director Communities presented a report seeking approval from Cabinet to modify the Cosy Corner construction works contract in accordance with rule 3.3.6 of the Council’s Contract Procedure Rules.

The Corporate Director for Communities referred to correspondence received from Mr Mike Clarke, a former Councillor and a member of the dissolved Credu Charity which explained that Credu did not have a lease for the site, but they did have an agreement to lease with varying conditions attached. BCBC terminated this agreement when Credu went into administration and this was accurately reflected in the report in paragraph 3.1. The Corporate Director for Communities explained that the agreement to lease was the main narrative within the report, however, there was an omission in paragraph 4.2 which stated “lease relinquishment” and should read “agreement to lease relinquishment”. BCBC did take back possession of the Cosy Corner site on the 5th of November 2020 when they were advised that Credu had gone into administration and this was set out in paragraph 3.1 of the report.  The Cabinet report covered events following Credu going into administration, from the 5th of November onwards when BCBC had responsibility.

The Corporate Director for Communities explained the current position and that this was critical because of the need to ensure that they had practical completion of the building by the end of May 2023 as they had secured £1 million WEFO grant monies against practical completion. She outlined the work that had been completed, the modification to the existing contract, delays due to time spent testing and clarifying the exact nature of the contamination and much longer than expected delays receiving approvals from Welsh Water and associated design changes leaving BCBC liable for an additional 12 weeks contractor costs. In addition, the remediation strategy to deal with the contaminants stated that approximately 2000 tons of imported soil was needed to bring the site to formation level and replace materials on the site that were deemed unsuitable as a result of potential asbestos contamination. They modified the construction works contract to ensure that the completion of the building was prioritised to enable prospective tenants to access and fit out sooner, and to support those requirements of the funder to get it completed by the 31st of May.

The Cabinet Member for Regeneration agreed that it was important to get the work done in time and she asked where the contaminated soil had come from. The Corporate Director for Communities replied that the first survey examined the site and found asbestos which was then removed. The cabins at the southern end of the site were then removed and they found more asbestos which was also removed. Because of the degree of asbestos found and the fact that it covered the majority of the site, they had to mitigate by removing 2000 tonnes of soil and bringing in fresh soil to ensure all legacy contaminants had been removed.

The Deputy Leader asked if the contractors that were on site prior to October 2020 had undertaken surveys and failed to carry out the work required. The Corporate Director for Communities replied that she believed that surveys had been undertaken which identified 2 areas where there was possible contamination. When the BCBC contractor came on site, they were instructed to do a more intrusive survey and found more contamination.

The Deputy Leader asked when the Sea Cadets cabin was installed on site. The Corporate Director for Communities replied that the survey work undertaken by Credu was back in 2016 and between 2016 and 2019, the cabin was located onto that site before the construction commenced by Credu on the site.

The Cabinet Member for Future Generations stated that he was thankful that the surveys had been undertaken and that they could be sure the site was safe. He asked for an explanation of in budget as opposed to over budget and within envelope. The Corporate Director for Communities explained that there was a capital allocation within the Capital Programme and that was called the envelope which was circa £3 million for Cosy Corner. The contract uplift was £2.8 million so there was still enough money to be able to afford the project. The envelope was to cover what they thought the project might cost plus contingencies and costs for feasibility and specialist advice. 

The Cabinet Member for Resources, as Health and Safety Champion, supported the report which was a very exciting project for Porthcawl and it was important that residents had confidence that problems had been dealt with appropriately.

The Leader added that this was a flagship project in a prominent position. He was pleased to hear that there had been considerable interest in the 5 retail units creating new jobs. He asked the Corporate Director to confirm that building works were on track and that they would be ready to open within the timescales. She replied that they were on track to complete the building and fit out the units by 31 May.

The Leader personally thanked the Destination Management & Coastal Operations Team Leader, Sean Warrington for his hard work delivering this and other exciting developments and wished him well in his new position.

RESOLVED:       Cabinet authorised the modification of the Cosy Corner construction works contract to include additional works and services by the contractor which had and continued to be necessary since the initial procurement to a value of no greater than £265,790 and increase the contract value to a value of £2,804,394 in accordance with rules 3.3.6

                            of the Council’s Contract Procedure Rules.