Yahoo News Grimsby Doughty Road depot costs queried to reassure that council is not being 'shafted'
Councillors have asked for more detail on the quoted costs of the Doughty Road depot redevelopment in Grimsby, to reassure that the council is not being 'shafted'.
The Doughty Road depot is being upgraded to have over 300 council workers based at one site. Once complete, expected later this year, it will house more than 17 council services. This includes all the council’s environmental fleet, bin wagons, education buses, and associated vehicles.
The project's cost has ballooned from its original £6.8m estimate in February 2020 to £8.1m. Inflation has played its part, as have unexpected extra issues with the historic site. Most notably, a buried rotting railway sleeper tanalising (wood treatment) tank discovered during works.
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A £662,000 extra cost for the ground maintenance building drew the attention of councillors, though, at a communities scrutiny panel meeting on September 5. It is the single largest extra budget cost.
The council report discussed by councillors stated it was because piling was needed for the footings of the building after further investigatory works of the ground. Inflationary factors had also affected the cost of the construction work.
"£662,000 for piling's virtually ten per cent of the original cost," said Cllr Kevin Shutt, voicing unease. He found it a challenge on two aspects. Firstly, the size of the figure and secondly, understanding why it's a big figure.
A council officer said the original designs had to be reworked to include pilings "because of proximity to the live railway lines" to the building. The depot is next to the town hall and Grimsby Town to Cleethorpes rail track. They added, from a non-technical viewpoint, engineers will have done intrusive geo-technical surveys, and then marketing of the contract will have delivered the price for the extra work.
Cllr Shutt suggested more detail on why it cost £662,000 extra would be helpful. "A lot of people out there don't have faith in the council," he said, suggesting something "a bit more concrete" would help.
Cllr Henry Hudson, portfolio holder for environment and net zero, warmly welcomed the query. "I'd like to see those quotes, just to know we're not being robbed." He noted the removal of the tanalising tank cost over £200,000 extra, alone. It could look like the council was "getting shafted sometimes" without the quotes information to reassure.
Veteran Cllr Keith Brookes said in years previous, councillors had looked at quotes given for a project without the names of the companies involved. Council officers undertook to look to do so in future on the Doughty Road depot.
The council officer indicated earlier in the meeting there could have been some general anticipation of possible site issues. "On reflection, perhaps what we've learned when you're upgrading a site with that industrial legacy and historical legacy, you can probably expect to find some issues along the way."
The site had importantly remained operational during the works. Its historic legacy also meant it "perhaps would not have been appropriate for any other use".
While the Doughty Road depot project has had a significant cost revision, it is not expected to have further. Cabinet agreed in February its revised budget up to £8.1m and a contingency allowance of just under £330,000. It is on course to be within this.
In the long-term, despite the higher cost of the project, it is expected to deliver savings for the council. This is through the rationalisation of the council's estate, and consequently lower utility bills, and maintenance and service costs.
