Issue - meetings

Background:

This report sought permission to award the procurement of the Pre-Construction and Design Development (PCSA) for the Danecourt Secondary New Build Contract.

The Basic Need and SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) grant funding was ringfenced to Education for the purpose of providing additional school places, in addition, a commitment to borrow £16.21m for the Danecourt Special School project had been approved by Cabinet on 26 August 2025 (decision no. 117/2025 refers).

The addition of a Danecourt secondary school was a high priority project for Medway. It would create an additional 250 SEND places which would significantly reduce the need to place children in expensive independent and out of area provisions in future years.

The project was based on a two-stage procurement process. This initial stage would determine the pre-construction sections of the process including design development. The second stage would be for the construction contract, which would follow in due course.

An Exempt Appendix to the report set out the financial analysis in relation to the procurement.

Reasons:

The construction company has identified significant savings that can be achieved in financial and lead times. This is evidenced in their proposals and is achieved via the following: Supply chain efficiencies, economies of scale, site risks and constraints, design and pre-construction fees, speed of delivery and preliminary costs, as well as shared access and amenities/services with another new build school being built on the adjacent site by the same provider.