Now due to be completed 6 months later than planned (April 2019) and the cost is set to go up from £4m to £6.7m. Apparently 'unforeseen' ground problems have led to the delays on site and the architect's have had to redesign the concrete frames and underpinning. I guess it begs the question what type of ground condition surveys were actually undertaken prior to the works starting on site. Knowing BMBC they've probably tried to do it on the cheap and come a cropper. Henry Boot must be taking a substantial amount of that additional £2.7m in extension of time/prolongation costs and the architects fees for redesigning the frames/substructure elements won't be cheap. On a side note it looks like the other part of the scheme is over budget and they've used a substantial amount of the original £10m contingency fund...
What’s wrong with the library where it is or is it a case of council squandering tax payers money again
Having read the update in Friday's chronicle, it seems one of the following scenarios has played out: A) BMBC in trying to keep initial costs down did not comission any ground condition surveys for the new proposed building instead relying on historical data to pass on to the design team, however would they really be that stupid to do this? B) BMBC have commissioned some basic form of ground condition survey (again to keep cost to a minimum) but perhaps something that wouldn't necessarily identify the issues found. An unfortunate situation but one where the client has to foot the bill. Again though it would seem a big risk to do this when you're paying circa £4m for a new building. C) BMBC did commission thorough ground condition surveys and nothing was identified at the time. In that case then perhaps they've just been very unlucky in what was discovered or they may have a a claim against the surveyor if he was negligent in not identifying the problems. I guess it all depend on terms of engagement, exclusions etc.
Why do bmbc need to do the survey when it is,nt them building the new library surely the companies who tendered for the work would have done some surveys before putting in their tender
I know this is an unpopular opinion, but I really don’t see the point of a new library. A huge majority of people under the age of 70 have access to the internet now. I would say it’s up to 95% at least. A library will realistically be at all useful for 5-10 years at a very maximum. Just don’t see the point. Invest the money in improving the towns internet connectivity.
Possibly. I guess it depends on how they've procured it, for elements of the works they may have gone down the design and build route in which case a big risk is transferred onto the contractor and they would take most of the responsibility. However, if they are using a traditional procurement method then usually most if not all of the design information is handed over to the tendering contractors otherwise how can they price that part of the job. In all likelihood if this was the route they chose then any ground condition surveys would have been undertaken very early in the process otherwise the architects wouldn't have known sizes of columns, loadings etc. In clarifying my response above to SuperTyke it may be BMBC's appointed consultants (NPS Group / IBI architects) who commissioned the surveys if any on BMBC's behalf.
It’s useful for that 5% who don’t have the internet and for people who don’t have a printer. Libraries are normally a community hub where you can go for advise on all sorts of things. It’s a place to get help finding information and to borrow books you couldn’t otherwise afford. It’s a place people go for free with young children to have some company and do something educational. Libraries still have a massive function and truly, unless you visit them, you probably don’t have a clue about the things they do.
Slightly off topic of the library (on which I agree with every word JamDrop has written), but what happened to the bridge over the railway? I'm still not convinced the plans were that good, but in order to get the Network Rail investment, surely to god they should have started building by now? And when is the multistory due to come down?
Agree about the bridge surely theres no way it can happen by March. Multistorey can't come down until the market moves into its new home. Thats scheduled for November which at current rate of progress probably means this time next year
