Issue - meetings

(To receive a report from the Executive Director – Place which provides an update on the progress of the North Hykeham Relief Road (NHRR) project and seeks approval from the Executive to enter into a two-stage design and build contract for the purpose of delivering the NHRR)

1.    That the update on the progress of the North Hykeham Relief Road (NHRR) project be noted.

2.    That the award to Balfour Beatty, under the SCAPE Framework, of a two-stage design and build contract for the delivery of the North Hykeham Relief Road be approved.

3.    That proceeding with all stage one (pre-construction) elements of the contract activities including surveys, outline design & planning application, planning determination & discharge of conditions, support in respect of statutory orders, detailed design & full business case preparation, and advanced works, be approved.

4.    That authority be delegated to the Executive Director of Place, in consultation with the Executive Councillor for Highways, Transport and IT, to negotiate detailed contract terms, award and enter into the two-stage contract for the delivery of the NHRR.

5.    That authority be delegated to the Executive Director of Place, in consultation with the Executive Councillor for Highways, Transport and IT, to authorise the progression through the phases contained with the first stage of the two-stage contract up to but not including the giving of notice to proceed to construction phase.

The Executive Councillor for Highways, Transport and IT introduced a report which provided and update to the Executive on the progress of the North Hykeham Relief Road (NHRR) project and sought approval to enter into a two-stage design and build contract for the purpose of delivering the NHRR.  It was highlighted that this proposal was a slightly different process for procurement than had been used before and reflected changes in the market and operated within the SCAPE framework.  It was acknowledged that there would still be challenges and a lot of management would be required.

The Head of Highways Infrastructure guided the Executive through the report, and advised that a number of successful projects had been delivered by the County Council in recent years, however, it was very clear that greater certainty around cost would be required for this project, and the design and build methodology would provide that.

Costs to deliver the scheme were now estimated at between £179m to £212m, which was an up to 25% increase in cost from the estimate when the Outline Business Case was submitted.  This increase was a direct result of activity within the market and the increases in inflation.  It was highlighted that there were various points within the project where the Council could exit the contract if the costs became untenable.

The Vice-Chairman of the Highways and Transport Scrutiny Committee presented the comments of the Scrutiny Committee following its consideration of this item at its meeting on 7 March 2022.  The Executive was advised that the Committee did unanimously support the recommendations, however it did express concerns about the high inflation rates and how this would impact on future costs.  The Committee was pleased to see that the NHRR would be a dual carriageway road and would include a cycle lane.  Assurance was also sought that there would be a robust communications strategy to ensure that residents were kept updated.  In terms of the potential for delays due to archaeological finds, the Committee was satisfied that the early indications demonstrated that there would be finds, the scheme would not be impacted to the same extent as the Lincoln Eastern Bypass.

It was noted that a lot of preparatory work had been carried out, but clarity was sought around how decisions would be made to fill the funding gap.  The Executive was advised that the Capital Programme had been approved and included £48m allocated to this project.  The decision was currently to progress to the design stage, and as the project progressed, a more suitable capital programme would need to be determined.  This was a desperately needed road and would remain a high priority.

In terms of whether officers were confident that the final cost of this scheme would come in near the budget, taking into account any further inflation rises, the Executive was advised that there was still a lot of uncertainty. 

RESOLVED

1.    That the update on the progress of the North Hykeham Relief Road (NHRR) project be noted.

2.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 78