GovWire

Bridgwater and Taunton College is a large tertiary college in Somerset. It has:

• a turnover in financial year 2022 of 57 million
• approximately 3,000 16-19 students
• 10,000 adult students
• a significant apprenticeship provision of around 3,000 apprentices on programme
• an Ofsted rating of Good, and its latest financial health score is Good

It is the principal delivery arm of the National College for Nuclear (southern hub) and has nationally important links with training for Hinkley nuclear power station. It operates over three sites, including a land-based site.

Bridgwater & Taunton College (BTC) has three main Campuses in:

• Bridgwater
• Taunton
• Cannington

In addition, there is a separate accommodation block at Trull, and three residential properties in Taunton.

The estate comprises a gross internal area of 100,000 square metres, all freehold.

The estates condition overall is:

• 7% category A
• 38% category B
• 41%category C
• 14% category D

The total running costs per year are:

• 2.1 million premises costs
• 3 million utility costs

The new build was completed for a budget of 5 million and delivered 1,700 metres squared of training workshop for trades and classroom space. The motor vehicle provision was relocated into an underutilised area of the college, improving overall use of space and allowing the new build to focus on construction trades.

The cost per metre squared was lower than would normally be expected in the sector due to the strict loss-adjuster calculation of a maximum cost envelope and the relatively simple structure of the replacement building.

Specific challenges of the project included:

• the need to rehouse student provision to alternative buildings as safely as quickly as possible
• significant safety works and decontamination required after the fire before any new building could begin
• planning for the new building needed to be achieved quickly

The college successfully navigated these challenges and approached the replacement building as an opportunity for better design.

Governance

The college has undertaken a considerable amount of capital development over the last 15 years, including the Advanced Engineering Centre, Construction Innovation Skills Centre, National College for Nuclear and an accommodation block. It therefore has well-organised arrangements for overseeing major capital projects.

It operates a permanent sub-committee of the Finance Committee which oversees large estates projects. This is the Building Projects Committee, which contains two governors, the principal and several college officers. One of the governors holds a professional specialism in estates and building projects. This committee was set up to allow dedicated governor oversight of major capital projects. The committee was therefore already in place and functioning well to oversee progress of the project and recommend decisions to the Finance Committee and the main board.

Accommodation strategy

The college produces an accommodation strategy every three years, but it is flexed in response to emerging skills priorities and available grant funding. As part of this regular development of the accommodation strategy, the college also invests in the development of several project plans which are ready to implement quickly, which would deliver elements of the strategy and are ready for initiation if funding becomes available.

The major fire, and subsequent disaster recovery processes presented an interesting challenge to the existing accommodation strategy. There had been no plan to redevelop the building which was destroyed, but the necessity to redevelop the site presented an opportunity to redesign parts of the site and reconfigure the strategy.

Client requirements and project brief

As with previous capital projects, the project required substantial input from the curriculum and end users to ensure the design was fit for purpose. It was key that the end users understood what was required from them and the importance of working within deadlines.

Respective roles for colleges, property advisers and the design team

As the project was funded from an insurance claim, the colleges insurers took charge of managing the tender and appointment of key contractors.

The insurers appointed loss adjusters who managed the relationship on behalf of insurers throughout, while the college appointed project managers who took control of the project from the colleges side. Although the ultimate responsibility for tender and cost control rested with the insurers, college staff had input into both the pre-tender specification and the ongoing design development after tender was awarded.

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