Technical consultancy contract worth £383.5k awarded for Strathcona site's expansion to accommodate 2 forms of Islamia Primary School

Minesh Patel, Brent's Corporate Directot, Finance and Resources, today awarded the £383,554.18 technical consultancy contract to expand the Strathcona site to accommodate Islamia Primary School.

The full professional fees budget  is £0.9m out of a total budget for the project of £10m.

The Islamia Governing Board's consultation about the school's highly contested move from Queen's Park to Preston is still going on but the tendering process began in August 2022. 

The Officer's report states:

Islamia Primary School, currently based at Salusbury Road, has been served
notices to vacate by the Yusuf Islam Foundation, as owners of the site where
Islamia Primary School is currently based by July 2024. The Strathcona site is
a vacant site previously occupied by a primary school (the “Strathcona Site”)
following Cabinet approval in 2019 to close Roe Green Strathcona School by
July 2022 because of falling pupil numbers. The Strathcona Site has been
identified as having development opportunities to increase the site capacity
from a one-form entry primary school to a two-form entry primary school.

In September 2022, Cabinet approved the development of the Strathcona Site
to a two-form entry primary school in order to preserve the future of the Islamia
Primary School.

In order to deliver the required new two-form entry primary school, the Council
is proposing to appoint a contractor using a DfE’s Framework. This framework
promotes early contractor appointment (i.e. following RIBA 1) and so the
technical consultancy services organisation will need to provide the following
services throughout the commission to deliver the expanded school:

1. Employer’s Agent and Project Manager
2. Quantity Surveyor
3. Technical Design Advisor(s)
4. CDM Advisor

The report notes that the brief may have to be changed if the eventual decision is for a new build w form entry school  rather than expansion which is the Council's favoured option. Expansion means  refurbishment of the current block and con struction of a new block. Islamia Governing Board is pressing for the former.

The report notes:

The Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance, Resources & Reform has been consulted as part of the drafting of this report. They have also been kept up to date with progress on the project.

Queens Park and Preston Ward members will be kept appraised on project
milestones such as the planning application submission, statutory consultation and any works on site.