Skip to main content

Draft Budget Statement 2018 - Treasury Department (Evidence) - Submissions - 15 November 2017

The official version of this document can be found via the PDF button.

The below content has been automatically generated from the original PDF and some formatting may have been lost, therefore it should not be relied upon to extract citations or propose amendments.

Corporate Services Scrutiny Panel  

Budget 2018 Hearing 7th November 2017 – Further Information  

Question: Explanation for why the Grainville school costs have increased by 30% of the original project costs.

Extract for report

Grainville School Phase 5 is the final Phase of the rolling redevelopment of Grainville School originating from the Masterplan Report produced in 1997. The MTFP 2016 -2019 indicative capital programme included a proposed allocation for the Grainville School Phase 5 project of £10,229,000. This estimate was compiled in 2015 based on an assumed refurbishment and included projected inflation to 2017. The proposed allocation also included a provision to incorporate the requirements of the Jersey Music Service.

The Budget 2017 capital programme agreed the first phase of funding towards this project and more detailed work was carried out through 2016 and 2017 to develop the details of the project.

The feasibility study carried out in 2016 refreshed the requirements of the school, identifying an increase in  the  predicted  student  numbers  compared  to  the  assumptions  that  informed  the  original  bid. Consequently, the previously proposed refurbishment no longer offered value for money or provided the increased classroom and circulation space required to bring the remainder of the school in line with the minimum UK recommended standards. Coupled with changes in the Building bye-laws, levels of inflation above that assumed in the original bid and complicated site conditions not previously predicted, this put significant pressure on the £10,229,000 identified budget.

Recognising the cost pressures and the need to focus on the key Education Department service priorities, the provision for the Jersey Music Service was removed from the project. A revised feasibility without the Jersey Music Service provision then informed the update included in the Budget 2018 capital programme at £15,500,000.

The increase in the estimated cost can be summarised as:

 

Original Budget

£10.2 million

Updated pupil number modelling increasing classroom and circulation space requirements

£1.3 million

Building bye-law changes

£1.1 million

New 10% consequential improvement requirements

£1.0 million

Inflation above assumptions and impact of timing

£1.0 million

Demolition costs (not required in previous refurbishment scheme)

£0.9 million

Revised Cost

£15.5 million

The movement in the estimated cost is attributable to the evolution of the project to accommodate changing service needs, changing regulatory conditions, further detail revealed through feasibility work and the construction market conditions. The feasibility work also identified some difficult site conditions that were not anticipated.

The phasing of this school development over a long period of time has increased the exposure to inflation and added some complication but it has also provided an opportunity to adapt the project to best reflect the requirements of the school. Whilst the cost has increased from the previous submission as a result, the end result will better serve the school and its pupils.

Treasury and Resources Department  Telephone: +44(0)1534 445502 Cyril Le Marquand House  Facsimile: +44(0)1534 445522 PO Box 353  Email: treasury@gov.je

www.gov.je/treasuryandresources St. Helier JE4 8UL

1 | 1