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19-21 Broad Street | St Helier Jersey | JE2 3RR
Deputy Hilary Jeune
Chair, Environment, Housing and Infrastructure Scrutiny Panel
BY EMAIL
16th October 2024
Dear Chair,
RE: Delivery plans and savings proposals – Budget 2025 – 2028
Thank you for your letter dated 9 October 2024 and for the Panel's continued constructive engagement in scrutinising the Budget 2025-2028.
I have addressed the points from your letter below. Fort Regent
- Please can you provide the Panel with more details as to the Terms of Reference of the States of Jersey Development Company, provided by the Government, for the development of the plans for Fort Regent?
The Regeneration Streeting Group ("RSG") requested that the States Jersey Development Company ("SoJDC") undertake a feasibility study to assess the future of Fort Regent.
The Terms of Reference ("ToR") are under development with the intended outcome to refurbish the existing roof and structures, and to introduce all weather family activities that would add significant amenities for the local community. The ToR will be finalised once the decision on a funding source has been taken. An indicative programme is shown in the table below
| Activity | Start | Finish |
1) | Roof – design | Aug-24 | Dec-24 |
2) | Roof – Planning Application |
| Dec-24 |
3) | Funding decision | Dec-24 | Feb-25 |
4) | Public Engagement | Feb-25 | Mar-25 |
5) | Layout – planning design | Feb-25 | Apr-25 |
6) | Layout – Planning Application(s) |
| May-25 |
7) | Layout – building control design | May-25 | Aug-25 |
8) | Layout – Building Control Application(s) |
| Sep-25 |
9) | Fort Regent fully vacated |
| Dec-25 |
10) | Funding provided |
| Jan-26 |
11) | Construction works | Feb-26 | Jul-28 |
12) | Fort Regent re-opened |
| Aug-28 |
- What oversight will you, the Council of Ministers, and ultimately the States of Jersey retain over the project as it moves forward, especially in this early stage of deciding its future use?
The Council of Ministers exercises its oversight over SoJDC via the Regeneration Steering Group, where regular reports are received and direction is given. At the September RSG, and as endorsed by the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister, SoJDC were directed that public engagement and consultation will be deferred until 2025 following the decision on funding.
- Can you provide a breakdown of the total spend thus far on the renovation and maintenance of Fort Regent?
It is not easy to answer this question as no timescale has been provided. Jersey Property Holdings expenditure on the site in 2024 has been £116,000 to date. Fort Regent is a large estate and regular expenditure is incurred in keeping the facility open.
- Can you provide a breakdown of the total spend on the development of past plans for Fort Regent, including the cost of feasibility studies?
As this is a significant piece of work to be able to assess all spend against the Fort Regent plans, I regret that I am not able to provide this information in this short timeframe. Officers will furnish the Panel with information in this respect as is available presently and as further work progresses.
- What is the anticipated budget for design, planning and construction currently allocated for the development of Fort Regent? Is the intention still to fund this from the profits and proceeds of the College Gardens development?
A budget has not yet been set for design, planning and construction. The proceeds of the College Gardens development would only be able to partly fund feasibility and design work, as detailed plans, consents and construction would require significant levels of funding.
It would be sensible for the panel to receive a separate briefing on the Fort Regent project from the States of Jersey Development Company who are now leading on future thinking in relation to this facility.
Plan of Work
- Please can you provide the Panel with details of the process that is followed to take a workstream or project from conception to finalisation?
The Corporate Programme Management Office provides guidelines for all stages of a project. These are summarised on the table attached in relation to Infrastructure projects, although similar processes and gateways are followed for other projects (buildings, IT, policy etc)
- Please could you outline where there are inhouse expertise to do the work and where external experts are needed or tendering processes are required to complete sections of a project?
Depending on scale and/or complexity of the proposed project, in-house expertise can be used at all stages of a project including design / delivery / construction. However, early on in a project lifecycle it will usually be identified where external expertise, contractors or specialists are required and these may be subject to a tender process depending on the value of the appointment. We also have framework agreements in place for some specialisms which enable "light" processes to be followed.
- In the last Quarterly Hearing with the Panel, you explained that often with projects a certain amount of pre-work is completed ahead of a piece of infrastructure or building work. Can you breakdown the cost and timeframe involved to take a project from agreement to ready to build? An example for this would be the Shoreline Management Plan for Harve des Pas. The draft budget states feasibility work will be carried out in 2025, however there appears to be no specific budget assigned to this work. Where would that type of work and budget sit?
As every project will be different, the timelines and costs will vary considerably. To take the example used in your letter, the timeline for the Shoreline Management Plan is detailed below, together with outline cost estimates (at 2023 prices) and narrative accompanying the stages to demonstrate what will be delivered at each gateway.
Havre des Pas – Level 1 Programme
Havre des Pas – Spend by Stage
Project | Spend Profile by CPMO Stage (£k – PV 2023 Figures) | |||||||
Stage 0 | Stage 1 | Stage 2 | Stage 3 | Stage 4 | Stage 5 | Stage 6 | Stage 7 | |
Havre des Pas (Baseline) | 25 | 303 | 280 | 198 | 953 | 71,620 | 68 | 45 |
With Optimism Bias (44%) | 35 | 364 | 245 | 443 | 1,372 | 103,133 | 97 | 65 |
Capital (Infrastructure) Project Delivery Framework Stages & Details
Stage | Timeline | Definition | |
0 | Strategic Definition | 2023 to 2024 | At the beginning of the project, we start by understanding the project requirements, project objectives, budget availability and feasibility studies. This stage set the foundation for the project by defining its purpose and scope in a SOC which is the initially developed business case. Strategic Outline [Business] Case (SOC) |
1 | Preparation & Briefing | 2024 | The stage at which the detail of the brief is developed to make sure that everything needed for the design process is in place before Stage 2, within this stage the initial engineering baseline studies, impact assessments and existing defence condition is established, along with engineering feasibility and optioneering assessments. |
2 | Concept Design | 2025 | This stage is about getting the design concept right and making sure that the Scheme development if is proceeding in line with the brief and budget. The key challenge of this stage will be to make sure that the tasks that are undertaken are geared to meeting the stage objectives. At the end of Stage 2 |
Stage | Timeline | Definition | |
|
|
| an Outline Business Case (OBC) will be developed to update the SOC. This updated business case will review present the Scheme to be designed, the basic components of the Scheme and will provide an update budget estimate. The budge estimate will be built-up following the concept design development and will be based on more specific details compared to that available at Stage 0 and the SOC. The business case will be updated again at Stage 4 prior to construction. Outline Business Case (OBC) |
3 | Developed Design | 2025/ 2026 | The purpose of Stage 3 is to spatially coordinate the design before the focus turns to preparing the detailed information required for detailed technical design and Scheme construction drawings and specifications. The information at the end of this stage needs to be coordinated sufficiently to avoid all, but the most minor of iterations at Stage 4 and to make sure that the planning application is based on the best possible information. |
4 | Technical Design | 2026/ 2027 | This stage is about developing the information required to construct the proposed defences and the production of engineering design calculations, drawings and detailed technical specifications. CEMPs and construction phasing and method statements will be finalised at this stage. The Full Business Case (FBC) will also be produced to outline the funding required for the final Scheme construction. Procurement for the construction will be finalised at this stage also. Full Business Case (FBC) |
5 | Infrastructure Construction | 2028 to 2032 | This stage is when the coastal defence scheme will be constructed. |
6 | Handover & Closure | 2032 | This is the stage where the asset will be in use and the emphasis of the Project Team will have switched to closing out any defects and completing the tasks required to conclude the construction contract. |
7 | Use & Benefit Realisation | 2033 onwards | This is the period when the asset is in use, lasting until the asset reaches the end of its life. |
The budget for the feasibility work from 2025 onwards can be found in Table 22 of the Budget 2025-2028 on page 54 ("Feasibility" grouped head of expenditure). Initial works have been funded from the Infrastructure Rolling Vote in 2023 and 2024 to prepare the outline business case for funding.
Funding for the first stage of project delivery is shown in Table 27 on page 58 of the Budget.
- In your letter responding to the Panel's questions with regards to your delivery plans and savings proposals for the Budget 2025 – 2028 you provided the Panel with a list of projects and workstreams that were currently underway, delayed or had been cancelled. Could you provide the Panel with the following:
- A breakdown as to how many of these projects will be cancelled or delayed have already been started? Which stage are they in the construction project phase? What phases are left to do before specific building works can start for each project?
- Can you provide a breakdown of how much has been spent so far for each project that is listed in your letter as being delayed or cancelled?
- Can you provide specifically what has been done and how much has been spent from the 2024 budget for each of these projects?
- When, and if, the projects do go back online, will processes such as planning applications or feasibility studies still be valid? If not, can you explain why?
- For projects such as Le Squez Youth Centre extension & refurbishment, which the Panel notes as being delayed until 2028, can you outline at what stage of the process this project was paused? Were feasibility studies and planning applications undertaken and at what cost? If money had originally been allocated to the extension and refurbishment of Le Squez, where has this funding now gone to?
I have sent across a spreadsheet alongside this letter which should address the above questions.
I hope this information is helpful to the Panel. I am grateful for your continued engagement, and I hope to be able to answer any further questions during the hearing later today.
Yours sincerely,
Connétable Andy Jehan
Minister for Infrastructure
19-21 Broad Street | St Helier | Jersey | JE2 3RR |