TAMESIDE COLLEGE RELOCATION AND COUNCIL OFFICE REDEVELOPMENT SCHEME

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1 ITEM NO: 8 Report To: EXECUTIVE CABINET Date: 23 October 2013 Reporting Officer: Subject: Report Summary: Recommendations: Robin Monk - Executive Director - Economic growth, Investment and Sustainability TAMESIDE COLLEGE RELOCATION AND COUNCIL OFFICE REDEVELOPMENT SCHEME Tameside s economic success is dependent on a step change in our approach to tackling the skills position of the borough and the transformation of the borough as a place to business to invest. Recent work by AGMA and the Council have identified that the two key investment priorities for Tameside are our town centres particularly Ashton and addressing the generationally low skills levels in the borough. This needs to be done at a time when the Council is experiencing unprecedented reduction and pressure on its budgets as a result of government cuts. This report sets out one of the boldest propositions since the formation of Tameside Council in 1974 with the objectives of: making considerable cost savings to the Council s revenue budget bringing Tameside college to the heart of Ashton helping provide a basis for a robust retail and commercial core revolutionising the delivery of higher level skills in the borough increasing aspiration and creating a solid base for future investment and prosperity in Tameside. That members note this report and; 1) Endorse the strategic and economic cases for investment in Ashton as proposed. 2) Endorse the proposed programme of development in Ashton 3) In order to facilitate the Phase 1 development agree subject to terms the granting of a long leasehold of the Camp Street Car Park at a peppercorn rent to Tameside College and subject to (a) any necessary legal requirements regarding the disposal of Camp Street Carpark, and (b) the execution of a Partnership/Development Agreement setting out the obligations of each party for the whole development project. 4) That the Council accepts the business case for and supports the further development of Phase 2 with the aim of entering into a Partnership/Development Agreement with the College subject to further governance setting out the detailed costings project details and agreement with the College in respect of the obligations of each party over the nature of the Advanced Skills Centre and Joint Service

2 Centre. 5) Note the proposed approach for college-led Phase 3 and the significant strands of further activity required which will be the subject of further governance. Links to Community Strategy: Policy Implications: Financial Implications: (Authorised by the Borough Treasurer) Legal Implications: (Authorised by the Borough Solicitor) Risk Management: Access to Information: To support the delivery of the objectives of the Community Strategy. Expenditure in line with financial and policy framework. To assist in delivering a balanced budget and support the sustainability of the local economy. The initial estimated fitted out capital costs for Phase 2 of the Tameside College Relocation and Council Office Redevelopment Scheme, which includes the demolition of the existing Tameside Administrative building, the construction of replacement office space, college space and space for Wilkinson s Stores is approximately 38 million. The indicative Council capital budget to fund the development is currently 20 million (this is subject to governance and approval). Therefore, there is a significant gap to close. Considerable work needs to be undertaken to close this gap together with more detailed costings to give assurance of their accuracy. A financial appraisal of the revenue costs of Phases 1 and 2 will be required following agreement of the capital scheme and Heads of Terms for the lease of the Camp Street site, which will need further governance to approve. The report sets out the vision and economic and financial business case for proceeding with this once in a lifetime project to develop a critical keystone of Ashton Town Centre. The final development and project will be subject to detailed legal agreements and further governance. The project and its associated risks are being managed through a high level and strategic Project Board consisting of Senior Members and officers of both organisations. There are also a number of regulatory requirements relating to disposals of land that the Council must satisfy itself it is complying with and the legal due diligence is been undertaken in this respect and no issues of concern have been raised at this stage. A number of emerging risks connected with the delivery of the proposed project to establish an Advanced Learning Centre on part of Camp Street Car Park and redevelop the current Council Offices site and the relocation of Tameside College have been identified and these are detailed within the report. A risk register will be developed to assist with the management of the risks identified. Any further information can be obtained from the report authors: Damien Bourke, Assistant Executive Director, Sustainable Growth, Investment and Development who can be contacted on : Telephone: damien.bourke@tameside.gov.uk Elaine Todd, Assistant Executive Director, Asset Management and Investment Partnership Management who can be contacted on : Telephone: elaine.todd@tameside.gov.uk

3 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 The success of Ashton Town Centre is of critical importance to the economic prosperity of the Borough and the sub-region. The economic strategy and recent Ashton Development Framework sets out a defined need for investment, development and collaborative working between partners to sustain and grow this key economic asset. 1.2 Alongside the physical improvements required to our principle town centre, the economic strategy recognises that the skills situation in the borough is one of the key issues to address in order to begin the process of restructuring the Tameside economy and attracting investment and new jobs to the borough. 1.3 Skills attainment and participation post 16 are critical to positioning our employment base for future economic success. The secondary provision in the Borough has been radically improved through the BSF programme and it is crucial that opportunity and aspiration in the next stage deliver the skills we need for the future. 1.4 It is well known that the Council has had to reduce its budget in line with government cuts and over 2,000 staff (more than 40%) have left the organisation over the last few years. The Council is entering a further period of cost reductions and has to identify was of reducing expenditure but at the same time delivering its core purpose of economic growth in Tameside prosperity, which will begin to reduce demand on our services and provide jobs and investment propositions for the borough. 1.5 This report sets out the strategic rationale for the Council taking action now to deliver transformational change in Ashton town centre in collaboration with partners to address these issues. Members have already seen and approved the strategic vision for Ashton, which sets out a sequenced investment proposition for the town. As part of this Key Decision, members are asked to agree to pursue two fundamental part of this strategy the relocation of Tameside College and the redevelopment of the Tameside Administrative Centre. 2. THE STRATEGIC CASE - THE IMPORTANCE OF REDEVELOPING ASHTON TOWN CENTRE 2.1 Our town centres lie at the heart of communities but are facing a series of fundamental challenges. The growth of e-commerce and large out-of-town retailers mean that the retail sector is going through a revolution. Adapting to these changes in consumer demand is a challenge for all town centres, and some are responding more quickly than others. 2.2 Within Greater Manchester, the effect of the regional centre and out of town centres (like the Trafford Centre) have combined with a national down turn in retail spending to accentuate the lack of scale and limited retail offer in some town centres, making it more challenging. Current situation of Ashton 2.3 The current situation in Ashton is very positive; footfall in the town centre is amongst the highest in Greater Manchester. The two shopping centres in Ashton are surviving the recent down turn and the levels of vacant units in the heart of the town centre are low. The Council is committed to supporting this to continue through continued events and the establishment, with the local retailers of a new Town Team. Table 1 below sets out Ashton s position within Greater Manchester

4 2.4 In Table 1 - colour indicates direction of travel - red moved down; green moved up, amber stable (average over last 10 years): TABLE 1: Traditional town centre indicators for retail - Source: Javelin Group Town Centre Altrincham Ashton Bolton Bury Oldham Rochdale Stockport Wigan Primary catchment 109, , , , ,000 90, , ,000 size Retained market share 28% 20% 46% 36% 26% 27% 29% 59% Venue score (presence of multiples) UK / NW Rank* (1 = largest) 227/ / 20 66/ 5 108/ / / / / 10 The future of Ashton A Burning Platform 2.5 Analysis from Javelin predicts that many large, multiple retailers will be seeking to establish fewer but better stores - better located, better ranged and better supported by multichannel capabilities. In line with this, it is anticipated that the larger regional centres will continue to attract consumers, with larger shops stocked with a full range of products offering a theatre style retail showroom experience. 2.6 Smaller centres, on the other hand, will fulfil the role of convenience, offering collection points for sales placed online. Towns like Ashton are at risk in this new environment. 2.7 Table 2 sets out Ashton s position when future trends are considered TABLE 2: national rank of town centres at risk from consumer trends Source: Javelin Group Town Altrincham Ashton Bolton Bury Oldham Rochdale Stockport Wigan Battlefield Britain Ranking (1 196, where 1 is most at risk) The GM Town Centre Review 2.8 Town Centres have been identified in Manchester Independent Economic Review and the Greater Manchester Strategy as principally important in the growth of GM both as centres of economic activity in their own right as well hubs for the provision of skills to the regional centre and key employment sites. 2.9 A number of studies have been undertaken in this area and a current programme of work is underway to revisit the strategic approach of each of the key town centres. The report made the following recommendation about Ashton: Ashton-Under-Lyne should seek to maintain its role in serving the primary catchment area, providing a focus for shopping, access to transport, education and skills, so enhancing local quality of life. Key issues include:

5 The need to consolidate activity and investment, focussing on the markets, the two managed centres and Northern Core Maximising the impact of students with relocation of the college campus into the town centre Managing competition from the close proximity of Snipe Retail Park and Ashton Moss Reliance on public sector investment and property take-up in the short term (i.e. transport interchange, college, office take up in St Petersfield). Improving the public realm, particularly as Metrolink project is completed The report also went on to expand on the specific case for Ashton and some key aspects including Maximising the benefits of Further and Higher educational links. A direct recommendation around Education institutions is relevant in our case. Looking around GM it is clear that Further Education and some Higher Education institutions already have a very strong presence in most of the eight GM town centres, for example: The Bolton Knowledge Quarter and Wigan Innovation Zone are best in class examples, focusing education and other facilities for young people in areas that help to drive footfall into the town centre during the day; and Rochdale, Oldham and Bury all have large, and often recently re-built, college campuses within (or on the edge of) their town centres, again bringing footfall to town centres The presence of educational institutions drives footfall and creates vitality, benefitting wider town centre activity and businesses. It also provides a strategic rationale for the establishment of creative clusters and knowledge hubs, seeking to maximise economic gain from the presence of FE/HE by creating clearer pathways to work and jobs. A Sequenced Strategic Investment Plan for Ashton under- Lyne 2.12 Over the last year, officers and partners have recognised the need to set out the long term vision for Ashton and developed 2 documents: A Sequenced Strategic Investment Plan and; A Spatial Development Framework 2.13 The investment plan sets out the significant evidence which is now in place to support the principles around the redevelopment of Ashton town centre. Most crucially, the need to ensure that the centre functions effectively for Tameside as: A vital and thriving retail and commercial centre A transport hub connecting people with jobs A centre for skills development The plan sets also sets out the key driver projects required to deliver this vision: College relocation. This report addresses the details of this project. The Transport Interchange - The business case for a redeveloped transport interchange is now complete and we are currently in discussion with Transport for Greater Manchester to identify funds to deliver the project. It is essential we continue the pressure to keep this on the list as transport funding is devolved in April Tameside Administrative Centre - This report addresses the details of this project. Ashton Market Square - Tameside Council has announced 4.5m for public realm works on the market square. This project has made significant progress, and a further round of consultation is now underway.

6 Urban Village - It is clear that the impact of out of town retail and online shopping is going to have a lasting effect on our town centres and part of the strategy is to take a more radical look at how we retain vitality in a new context. One of the key projects to support the town centre would be to look at how some of the town centre development sites could be looked at to support an Urban Village, providing high quality homes close to the town centre and transport interchange creating movement during the day and vitality in the evening economy. Conversations are currently underway with developers to understand the market and options. Metrolink arrived in Ashton in early October 2013 and heralds the start of the regeneration and transformation of Ashton. As a transport hub, the tram arrival established Ashton as a focal point for interchange and this will be further enhanced as Northern Hub improvements and electrification of the Manchester Huddersfield line improve connectivity to Ashton 2.15 The Spatial Development Framework examines in details some of the specific projects in the investment plan and begins to set out the spatial implications of each.

7 3. THE STRATEGIC CASE SKILLS 3.1 The GM Local Economic Assessment suggests: Tameside continues to experience the longterm impacts of the downturn in manufacturing in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The district has experienced significant challenges as a result, including a low skills base, a lack of replacement employment opportunities, low average incomes, significant pockets of poverty and deprivation, and lower standards of living for residents. 3.2 These issues are real and over recent years the strategies of the local governance structures, Tameside MBC and partners are all geared to helping develop prosperity in the borough as a vital component of addressing the social, health and wellbeing issues they create. 3.3 Economic growth in Tameside will depend on: Our ability to grow the number and value of jobs in the borough. Our ability to increase the skills level of residents to match the new economy Our ability to connect people to jobs inside and outside the borough. 3.4 Creation of new local jobs is a clear priority and Ashton has a fundamental role deliver these in the major strategic locations of St Petersfield and Ashton Moss but equally the whole town centre needs to be geared to attracting and creating sustainable businesses. 3.5 Creating a skills base that will enable growth is a critical challenge, and now that the Building Schools for the Future programme has delivered aspirational new learning environments at secondary level, it is essential that this follows through into performance at level 3 and level 4. Driving up participation post-16, encouraging more work based learning and improving access to Higher education are key to achieving this. 3.6 Diagram 1. below sets out the current position in Tameside around level 3 skills.

8 4. TAMESIDE REVIEW OF POST 16 EDUCATION & THE CHANGING LANDSCAPE 4.1 It has been determined by the principle strategic leads in Post-16 education in Tameside in the borough to undertake a strategic review of post 16 education offer in the borough. With the economic evidence continuing to point towards a need to improving the skills of the resident population in particular at level 3 and 4 it has been determined that we need to find ways of making a step change in these statistics. 4.2 As the economy of the borough and GM as a whole continues to restructure, increasingly Tameside residents will find it necessary to travel further to higher skilled jobs around the conurbation. Alongside this, in order for Tameside to compete to attract jobs in this new economy our population needs to be ready for the challenge. 4.3 Today 21% of our young people leave the borough for their post 16 education. Current plans being implemented for post 16 education in East Manchester will doubtless see this phenomena increase, and there is real risk of a fragmented offer developing in the borough as academies and free schools begin to offer academic post Our current institutions are currently delivering quality provision and achieving results, but the landscape is changing, and the strategic leaders in Tameside want to ensure that the Tameside Post 16 offer: Can respond to the challenge of increasing the volume skills levels in Tameside MBC Retains high quality levels of provision Is future proofed and sustainable against emerging threats Successfully integrates and collaborates both academic and vocational options 4.5 Government policy of Post 16 education is also shifting, with the clear intention to drive much more of the decision making down to lower economic levels, and much of this makes sense, and is strongly supported through the Greater Manchester and Combined Authority channels. Local control is the right way to move, however, the local implications are that FE/HE provision across the conurbation could be caught up in the Greater Manchester Managed market place agenda, which will look to rationalise provision and establish centres of excellence. Unless Tameside (and more particularly Tameside College) positions itself strongly we may well be left in a position whereby more of our residents have to travel out of the borough to take further education courses and the result will be reduced take up and ultimately detrimental to our ambitions of transforming the economy. 4.6 Successful Post 16 education is also strongly driven by pupil demand. Tameside is, to some extent a victim of its own success, in that the aspirations and expectations of students has risen significantly following the roll out of the Building Schools for the Future programme in the borough. Schools like Droylsden Academy and Mossley Hollins School provide high quality learning environments that students expect when they come to choose where to go post 16. Tameside needs to respond to that challenge. 5 VISION TAMESIDE STRATEGIC REDEVELOPMENT OF ASHTON TOWN CENTRE The Project 5.1 With over 7,000 full and part-time students Tameside College is the foremost FE (Further Education) institution in Tameside. Predominantly based in Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester, the College offers a wide range of courses including Full-Time, Part-Time, Apprenticeships and University Level qualifications. 5.2 As the major provider of learning / skills the economic importance of the College to the Borough of Tameside is clear. The College is also one of the core public institutions and as such is key cog in the broader economic development of Tameside.

9 5.3 Currently, the main college campus is located on the outskirts of Ashton Under-Lyne on Beaufort Road. The vast majority of the Colleges broad curriculum is provided on the Campus. However the College also owns two other sites which form an important component of this study. Hyde Clarendon Sixth Form centre which offers A Levels to local school leavers. Stockport Road Ashton which is currently mothballed and awaiting redevelopment or disposal. 5.4 The College is reviewing its property portfolio and future development options. The decision has been driven primarily by the need to retain the Colleges competitive position and retain underlying student numbers. 5.5 Tameside Council is also in the process of reviewing its accommodation strategy, and as part of an exercise to consolidate its staff in a modern fit for purpose building many of its outlying buildings have been closed and sold and leases terminated. The current Tameside Council Offices based in Ashton Town Centre is a costly building to run, and the Council is paying a premium for space, which is not used. 5.6 The intention is to demolish the existing Council Offices and build a replacement joint service centre, with the opportunity to design the building around future service delivery models and share accommodation across the public sector in Tameside. 5.7 The programme of activities is governed by the Joint Ashton Town Centre Redevelopment and College Relocation board. The board is chaired by Councillor Kieran Quinn with representation from The College board of governors and Executive Members of the Council. 5.8 The project is broken down into 3 main phases (the timescales of which are likely to run concurrently) 6 THE ECONOMIC BENEFITS OF THE PROGRAMME 6.1 An economic and financial appraisal completed by Place First on behalf of the Council demonstrates that this project will deliver Tameside around 97m of benefits over the next 12 years alongside the on-going growth and expansion of the college whose current economic impact is worth approximately 170m GVA over that period. The Council and the College will work together to maximise the local benefits of this investment. 6.2 The College currently employs over 400 FTE employees and in excess of 7,000 students. These individuals contribute to the local economy in a variety of different ways ranging from renting accommodation through to purchasing day-to-day items such as food and beverages. By continuing to support the College the number of individuals both employed and taught by the College will grow representing an opportunity for the local economy. By assisting with relocation of a proportion of these students to the centre of town the local retail and leisure market has the opportunity to provide additional services that would not have otherwise been provided. A new college estate provides a significant opportunity to make the college more competitive in a changing student market place. It is more likely to be sustainable. The design and connectivity of the new build along with a positive framework for promoting additional economic activity will be a key part of the next phase of works. 6.3 The project will have a significant impact on the economic resilience of Ashton and in terms of sustainable high quality skills provision the wider Tameside area. It is a 76m joint project with the college to deliver a new college campus and shared accommodation space with the Council with over 3000 students and ultimately around staff are moving into the town centre which will help make the centre a vital and thriving retail core.

10 6.4 The College itself has a significant intake of local students and retaining that investment within the local economy by providing opportunities for employment and long term careers is of critical importance. It is estimated that the Gross Value Added (GVA) of the curriculum impacts alone is 151m and the staff will contribute 40m of gross impacts. Over the next 2 years as the project develops it is estimated that the net benefits will be in the range of 35-40m. The construction alone will provide an opportunity of 28m Gross Value Added (GVA) into the local economy and through the local supply chain we will seek to ensure that is spent locally. There will be secondary benefits of the project, which will be worth in the region of 50m of Gross Value Added (GVA) to the local economy. This will come through extra spend in the town centre, development occurring on sites released, growth in the town centre economy and other factors. The investment will also enable the Council to realise over 4.8m of accommodation savings over that period as we exit outlying buildings and consolidate in the new Administrative Centre. It will also enable receipt of over 6m in capital monies back to the Council which will be reinvested in the borough s infrastructure. 7 PHASE 1 Two new Centres of Excellence for Tameside College 7.1 The College will construct a new Advanced Learning Centre on the Camp Street Car Park. The building, which will have a gross internal floor area of 4,500 m 2, will offer A-Level provision, Dance and Theatre studies. It is expected that around 3,230 students and 150 staff will be located at the new Learning Centre for Work Related Learning - Management / Finance, A-Levels, Creative and Academic Studies. Image 1 - Artist s impression ( A CGI representation) of the facility on Camp Street 7.2 The second aspect of Phase 1 includes a new Advanced Engineering Centre on the existing Beaufort Road campus. This facility is to provide 4,500 Sqm of classroom, laboratories and work space to establish Tameside College as one of the principle hubs for Advanced engineering in Greater Manchester.

11 7.3 Located on Stamford Street, the Centre is an iconic five storey building providing a cutting edge learning facility to support the growth of advanced engineering and technology in Tameside, supported by local employers and providing higher level skills. Employers and students will be involved in the design of the workshop and laboratory spaces and the new equipment required ensuring Tameside retains its credentials as the manufacturing hub of Greater Manchester. Contractors are scheduled to start on site in the summer of 2014 for completion by September The type of facilities available to students will include: Electronics and Engineering Science Hydraulics CNC and Advanced Manufacturing CAD and CAM Programmable Logic Rapid Prototyping Additive Layer Manufacture Medical and Forensic Science Laboratories Computing Laboratories Image 2. A visual representation of the proposed facility on Stamford Street Phase 1 Costs and project detail 7.4 Phase 1 is to be funded through a number of sources. The Skills Funding Agency have approved in principle the provision of around 9m towards the project. This funding will be confirmed on the 25 November Other funding for this phase comes from College Borrowing, Land receipts and College Reserves. Table 3. funding mix for phase 1 Funding Source Amount SFA 6.6m College reserves 9.4m College Borrowing 0m Council contribution (Land Value) 1.9m Sales of Stockport Road/Hyde Clarendon 5m TOTAL 22.9m

12 7.5 Phase 1 is to be procured and managed by Tameside College who will be responsible for all associated financial and legal risk with this phase of the project. Options and risk 7.6 The Council is a critical stakeholder in this project. Phase 1 would not be possible if the Council was either unwilling or unable to provide the Camp Street Car Park. Other sites have been investigated by the College but discounted on the basis of suitability of location. Option 1 - Do nothing 7.7 The Council could either refuse to allow the College to construct the Advanced Learning Centre on Camp Street or it could look to receive full market value for the site. However, following either course of action would result in the college failing to deliver the Advanced Learning Centre in Ashton Town Centre. Equally, if this were not delivered then Tameside would fail to deliver on its economic ambition both in terms of the need to drive skills and aspiration as well as through a vital and sustainable town centre. The economic and financial benefits outlined above would not materialise in this case. In this option the Council retains a key land asset and ongoing revenue income from the car park estimated to be 277k per annum. Option 2 Support Phase This will require that the Council provides gives up Camp Street Car Park land asset and associated revenue income. Supporting the college however would allow Tameside to benefit from the economic and financial results of the wider programme outlined in the economic case above Risk and mitigation 7.9 Table 4 sets out the high level risks and mitigation for phase 1. Risk That the College fail to secure SFA funding Mitigation The Council and College are jointly working to develop strong and sound proposals. The full development proposals have now been submitted to the SFA. Construction risks The College have employed experienced construction project managers to help mitigate any construction risks. The Council are working closely with the College project team to help deliver the project. Procurement risks The College have employed experienced project managers and legal advisers to help negotiate procurement issues. 7.9 RECOMMENDATION That the Council supports the joint development project and in order to facilitate the Phase 1 development authorise the granting of a long leasehold of the Camp Street Car Park at a peppercorn rent to Tameside College subject to any necessary legal requirements regarding the disposal of Camp Street Carpark, and the execution of a Partnership/Development Agreement setting out the obligations of each party for the whole development project. 8. PHASE 2 - AN ADVANCED SKILLS CENTRE FOR TAMESIDE COLLEGE AND JOINT SERVICE CENTRE FOR TAMESIDE COUNCIL 8.1 Phase 2 will include a Tameside College Advanced Skills Centre and a new Joint Service Centre for Tameside Council. 8.2 The Advanced Skills Centre will be approximately 7,000sq.m in size and provide the latest learning spaces for the College s commercial offer. The Centre will provide a new and exciting learning and skills centre for students studying a wide range of vocational subjects

13 including: hair and beauty, hospitality and catering, bakery and confectionary, travel and tourism and business skills. 8.3 The new Joint Service Centre for Tameside Council and partners will at least half the size of the existing Council Offices and will provide a more cost effective and customer friendly building that will deliver considerable cost savings and provide better access to services for local residents. It will also include roughly 7,000m2 for Tameside college Services and 1700 m2 for Wilkinson s who are keen to retain a flagship store in the Town Centre. The new developments will be located on the site of the current Council Offices and will be sensitively designed to sit alongside the prestigious Ashton Town Hall and old Water Board offices, which are both listed buildings. Current plans anticipate this phase of work will be completed by September Image 3. An artist s impression of the potential view of the new facilities. The business case for a new Joint Services Centre building 8.4 The current Council Offices were built in the 1970 s against a requirement to quickly house the various councils and staff that merged to form the New Tameside Council following local Government reorganisation, which brought 9 Town Halls together. Construction techniques and building materials utilised in the build mean that today, the inherent costs associated with heating and running the building equate to costs 2 million to operate each year. This excludes any capital works, which are required to repair or maintain the building. Currently there is a 2m backlog of capital works that would be required to keep the building operational into the future. The inherent condition of the building is poor and quickly deteriorating. Layouts and configuration fit for the 1970 s no longer suit the requirements of modern service delivery. The building is now too large for the Council s purposes. Despite the relocation of over 200 additional staff into the building it is still under occupied by approximately 50% especially taken into account flexible and modern ways of working, which are facilitated by modern technology. Whilst the Council has a number of partners based in the building such as the Citizen s Advice Bureau, Police and HMRC, the current format of the building would make it difficult to find suitable potential occupiers to fill vacant space in the building. 8.5 Even ignoring the strategic and economic case for the demolition of the existing Council Offices and the construction of a new Shared Service Centre the business case alone can be demonstrated by the ongoing cost savings that would be achieved through the provision of a new build Shared Service Centre. 8.6 The existing building covers a floor area of 19,000 m2 the new building including space for

14 existing tenants will be roughly half of this space, the redeveloped building is estimated to cost approximately 500,000 a year to operate a saving of nearly 1.5m per year. This is without taking into account the further 1million running costs that would be achieved through the 16 buildings which can be vacated as a consequence. Phase 2 Costs and project detail 8.7 The initial estimated fitted out capital costs for Phase 2 of the Tameside College Relocation and Council Office Redevelopment Scheme, which includes the demolition of the existing Council Offices, the construction of replacement office space, college space and space for Wilkinson s Stores is approximately 38 million. The indicative Council capital budget to fund the development is currently 20 million (this is subject to governance and approval). Therefore, there is a significant gap to close and work is ongoing looking at possibilities of receipts from land and asset sales as well as contributions from the college and AGMA. 8.8 Phase 2 is to be procured and managed by Tameside Council and the project will be delivered through the Tameside Investment Partnership. The Council will own and occupy the joint services centre and provide facilities for partners and other tenants including The College Advanced Skills Centre through lease arrangements. 8.9 At this stage only high level costings are in place. The Tameside Investment Partnership is providing support at risk to the council in the preparation of the project costings and other elements of work required to deliver phase 2. Options and risk 8.10 The Council will be the accountable body for this development. Phase 2 will not be possible if the Council does not agree to the proposition to demolish the current Council Offices. Option 1 - Do nothing The Council could do nothing and continue paying 2m per annum in running costs for the current Council Offices. However, there is a need to address both backlog capital maintenance and refurbish the building to ensure continues to meet health and safety requirements and is fit for purpose. If the Council continued with the status quo it would not benefit from the 1.5m pa running cost savings, nor importantly would the Borough benefit from the wider economic benefits of the whole programme outlined above. Option 2 Refurbish the existing Council Offices 8.12 Some running cost savings could be achieved by refurbishing the current Council Offices and reducing the environmental, facilities management and operational costs. The initial estimates of the cost of this would be in the region of 20m. This option would not resolve the issues created by layout and service redesign. Moreover, only the economic benefits outlined in the report would be achieved by creating the Joint Service Centre and Advanced Skills Centre. Option 3 Demolish existing Council Offices and rebuild a smaller more efficient office 8.13 The cost of demolishing the existing Council Offices is estimated to be around 2m. Depending on the final space requirement, the cost of constructing a new build administration centre would be around 15-20m. This option would deliver early operational efficiencies. Clearly demolition and rebuild will require decant of existing staff from the current offices. It will also require a solution for the current Council Offices ground floor tenant Wilkinsons. The costs of this activity is currently being modelled. This option would fail to deliver all of the wider economic benefits to the Town Centre outlined above in the economic case as it will not bring down a critical mass of students and staff to the town centre.

15 Option 4 Demolish existing Council Offices, and rebuild a smaller more efficient office together with an advanced skills centre This option provide a similar case to option 3 including early release of operational efficiencies around the current building and it would also provide the full range of economic and financial benefits outlined in the economic case The high level risk and mitigation for pursuing this option is set out below: Risk That the full funding package fails to materialise Risk that the College backs out of this proposal. Construction risks Procurement risks Risks around decant Mitigation The Council and College are jointly working to develop a strong bid to the AGMA town centre s fund and other funding streams are being looked at to help provide match funding for this project. The project is recognised by AGMA as a priority for the current funding stream related to Town Centres. The Council and College will jointly sign a partnership agreement which will commit both parties to the principles inherent in Phase 2. The Council will be utilising the Tameside Investment Partnership that successfully delivered over 250m investment in Tameside s BSF programme on time and on budget. The TIP mechanism has been procured through OJEU and provides a compliant basis upon which to proceed. Decanting large numbers of staff from the current Council Offices will inevitably provide some logistical difficulties both in terms of operation of the Council but also service delivery. A comprehensive logistics plan and significant project team is being developed to begin planning for the decant. Planning Risks There are significant risks around dealing sensitively with the 2 heritage assets in the vicinity of the current Council Offices the Town Hall and the old Water board building. Early discussions with English Heritage through the conservation officer will help mitigate these issues. The appointed architect is fully conversant in dealing with heritage issues. Communication risks Development risks [future location of Wilkinsons, masts on current Council Offices building, re-siting an electricity sub-station, There are risks around public perception and local buy in to this project. A comprehensive communications strategy has been developed as part of the early activity of the joint board. A new communication portal and brand Vision Tameside ( has been developed to keep the public informed and provide clear, unambiguous details about the project and its progress. Resolving existing and future development issues will be planned into the project programme. A joint project/programme Board of senior members and officers has been set up to ensure that project delivered and manage the programme and risks RECOMMENDATION That the Council accepts the business case for and supports the further development of Phase 2 with the aim of entering into a Partnership/Development Agreement with the College subject to further governance setting out the detailed costings project details and agreement with the College in respect of the obligations of each party over the nature of the Advanced Skills Centre and Joint Service Centre.

16 9. PHASE 3 THE REDEVELOPMENT OF THE BEAUFORT ROAD CAMPUS 9.1 Phase 3 will include new build space for construction and potentially a new administration block and site reconfiguration. This will consolidate the campus on one end of the site, freeing up part of the Beaufort road site for other development. 9.2 This development will ensure that the future College estate offers learners modern, inspirational learning spaces. Alongside the new Advanced Technologies Centre (phase 1), students will have access to facilities for engineering, construction and the built environment, sport and public services and health and social care provision. Provision for students with severe learning difficulties and/or disabilities and central administrative services for Tameside College will continue to be based at the Beaufort Road campus. Image 6. An artist s impression of the potential view of the redeveloped Beaufort Road Campus. Phase 3 Costs and project detail 9.3 Phase 3 will be managed, funded and run by Tameside College. The development will be undertaken on the Beaufort road site to upgrade and replace existing facilities as part of a fundamental overhaul of the remaining estate. The exact details of this phase still require some development. The exact nature of the development will depend on which elements of the college curriculum end up moving down with Phase 2 into the Advanced Skills Centre. Further work is also required to determine what development is required for some of the more modern parts of the estate (demolish or refurbish). The details of this phase are still in their infancy, and the funding requires a future submission to the SFA. Achieving this submission is currently at risk. There are no other financial or other risks identified for the Council at this stage SIGNIFICANT STRANDS OF COUNCIL ACTIVITY REQUIRED GOING FORWARD Decant the Council Offices 10.1 This is a major logistical operation which will require the continued operation of back office functions and service provision from multiple sites across the borough. A Programme team will be required to run and manage this process which will include: Mapping existing users and their requirements within the building Provision of IT redundancy and systems migration during the decant process Continuity plan for affected services Plan for storage and archive of documents currently within Council Offices identifying appropriate and available accommodation across the borough

17 Wilkinsons Relocation 10.2 Wilkinsons, which is located on the ground floor of Council Offices, has a lease until 2016 and they have confirmed that they wish to maintain a presence in Ashton Town Centre. They currently they pay a rent of 250,000 and their optimum space requirement is approximately 1,700 m2, near to good public transport links, high footfall and on a single floor. The current store employs approximately 70 staff and Wilkinsons management are keen to have no gaps in operation. Consequently, a temporary store will be required to be identified to allow them to continue to trade whilst the current building is being demolished and the new one constructed. Working Differently Programme 10.3 The opportunity of the new Joint Services Centre, its structure, and the available space will require council staff to work differently. This might be in terms of hot-desking, utilisation of technology, actual service delivery or even remote working. The new Joint Service Centre will be designed with these principles embedded in the fabric of the building. The working differently process however will need to be begun before then, and in reality trialed and embedded during the decant phase. Development and Construction of Phase A Carillion Project Director is now in post to lead the development and construction aspects of Phase 2. Ryders, an architectural design practice has been selected and procured by Carillion to work on the project. The Carillion team is in place now to develop the project to stage 0. Funding and AGMA Bids Phase Discussions are continuing with AGMA and the GMIST team around the development of a funding bid to the Town Centres fund to support Phase 2. Communications 10.5 A detailed joint communications plan has been developed by the Council and the College media teams. A Vision Tameside website has been created to support communications, which can be found at A brochure and briefings paper can be found at Appendix A. Governance 10.6 A joint Tameside College Relocation and Council Office Redevelopment Board of Senior Members and Officers of both the Council and the College has been set up to oversee the development of the project. 11 RECOMMENDATIONS 11.1 As detailed at the front of the report.

18 Montague Road STAMFORD STREET BEAUFORT ROAD Mossley Road PENNY MEADOW PARK PARADE Scotlan Street Henrietta Street PARK PARADE Street WELLINGTON ROAD (A670) Turner Lane OLDHAM ROAD (A627) VISIONTAMESIDE NEW CAMPUS PLAN VISIONTAMESIDE To Oldham M63 (J20) Ashton Bus Station Arcades Shopping Centre Ladysmith Shopping Centre Ashton Train Station To Manchester & M60 (J23) Phoenix Indoor Market Stalybridge Train Station To Mossley, Husserdfield & Sheffield Abingdon St Dorset St Stamford Street Crickets Lane Memorial Gardens Stamford Street Central Old Street Young People in Tameside deserve to learn in the very best of learning environments. The Council made a commitment under Building Schools for the Future to deliver outstanding schools for the borough. Now, in 2013, we are making a commitment to ensure that every young person leaving school in Tameside gains access to the very best post 16 provision in outstanding facilities. Tameside College is in the top 3 Further Education Colleges in Greater Manchester and has success rates in the top 10 per cent of providers nationally. Every year almost 500 young people leave the borough to study elsewhere. Our new build programme puts excellent teaching into world class facilities on the doorstep for our young people and communities. PHASE 2 PHASE 1 Indoor Market PHASE 3 PHASE 1 START HERE GO ANYWHERE TAMESIDE COLLEGE IN PARTNERSHIP WITH TAMESIDE METROPOLITAN BOROUGH COUNCIL IS ANNOUNCING PLANS FOR AN AMBITIOUS REDEVELOPMENT STRATEGY TO BRING GREATER ECONOMIC PROSPERITY AND TRANSFORM LEARNING AND SKILLS IN TAMESIDE. The multi million pound master plan VisionTameside delivers a new exciting future for Ashton Town Centre attracting new businesses into Tameside, creating new jobs and future opportunities for Tameside Residents. Central to this plan is a transformational three phase development of the Tameside College Campus. Over the next four years the College plans to build three new Advanced Learning Centres, based in Ashton Town Centre and at the Beaufort Road site. These new Learning and Skills Centres will be built in three phases and will offer people in Tameside state of the art facilities that equip them for the challenges of a changing economy requiring a highly skilled workforce. The College is funding the majority of phase one through its own reserves with further support through grant funding from the Skills Funding Agency. Confirmation of the grant allocation is due in November 2013.

19 PHASE 1 SEP 2015 ADVANCED LEARNING CENTRE SEP 2015 ADVANCED TECHNOLOGIES CENTRE PHASE 2 SEP 2017 ADVANCED SKILLS CENTRE & JOINT SERVICE CENTRE FOR TMBC PHASE 3 SEP 2017 CENTRES OF EXCELLENCE Artist impression of what the new development could look like The College plans to build two new iconic Centres of Excellence that reflect the changing needs of young people and Tameside community. The second new building for Tameside College in Phase 1 is the Advanced Technologies Centre. The second phase of VisionTameside creates a new Advanced Skills Centre for Tameside College alongside a new Joint Service Centre for Tameside Council and partners. In Phase 3 Tameside College will redevelop the Beaufort Road Campus. Designed by Architects IBI Taylor Young and located close to the Market Square the first of these buildings, the Advanced Learning Centre, will provide the latest in learning environments to more than 600 young people. Allowing for funding and planning schedules, the College anticipates the first students to be studying at the Camp Street site in September This development will provide students with world class facilities and excellent links to the train, bus and tram transport hubs in the centre of Ashton under Lyne. The Advanced Learning Centre brings together three areas of study A Levels, Digital and Creative Skills and Performing Arts. The type of facilities available to students include: n State of the art laboratories and flexible modern classrooms equipped with the latest technology n Technologically advanced learning resource centres n Social spaces for students n New media suites, complete with recording studios, radio and TV studios n Visual arts spaces for students studying 3D design, ceramics, art, photography and fashion n Digital arts spaces for students studying graphics, animation and games design with access to superfast broadband linked to MediaCityUK n Performance spaces including: 200 seat theatre, dance studios, workshop space. The theatre will be used for student performances throughout the year and accommodate touring and community theatre projects. Located on Stamford Street, the Centre is an iconic five storey building providing a cutting edge learning facility to support the growth of advanced engineering and technology in Tameside, supported by local employers and providing higher level skills. Employers and students will be involved in the design of the workshop and laboratory spaces and the new equipment required to ensure Tameside retains its credentials as the manufacturing hub of Greater Manchester. Contractors are scheduled to start on site in the summer of 2014 for completion by September The type of facilities available to students include: n Electronics and Engineering Science n Hydraulics n CNC and Advanced Manufacturing n CAD and CAM n Programmable Logic n Rapid Prototyping n Additive Layer Manufacture n Medical and Forensic Science Laboratories n Computing Laboratories The Advanced Skills Centre will be approximately 7,000sq.m in size and provide the latest learning spaces for the College s commercial offer. The Centre will provide a new and exciting learning and skills centre for students studying a wide range of vocational subjects including: hair and beauty, hospitality and catering, bakery and confectionary, travel and tourism and business skills. The new Joint Service Centre for Tameside Council and partners will be around half the size of the existing council offices and will provide a more cost effective and customer friendly building that will deliver considerable cost savings and provide better access to services for local residents. The new developments will be located on the site of the current main administration building and will be sensitively designed to sit alongside the prestigious Ashton Town Hall and old Water Board offices which are both listed buildings. Current plans anticipate this phase of work will be completed by September This will ensure that the estate offers learners modern, inspirational learning spaces. Alongside the new Advanced Technologies Centre, students will have access to facilities for engineering, construction and the built environment, sport and public services and health and social care provision. Provision for students with severe learning difficulties and/or disabilities and central administrative services for Tameside College will continue to be based at the Beaufort Road campus.