The proposed sum is for monitoring and technical advice, not the repair work itself. A report prepared for Cabinet says the remedial works will be carried out by the contractor, with a multidisciplinary team appointed to monitor delivery and provide specialist expertise. Cabinet is scheduled to consider the proposal on 12 October. It remains a recommendation for members to decide, rather than an approved budget.
Defects found after the building opened
The council’s report says later fire-safety investigations found latent defects in the building’s compartmentation, passive and active fire-protection systems, means of escape and sections of the external wall. Compartmentation refers to walls and floors intended to slow the spread of fire between different parts of a building. Intrusive surveys confirmed deficiencies requiring remedial work.
The report warns that the defects could compromise fire safety if they are not addressed. It does not describe a fire at the office. Nor does it say that the building has been closed. The council says interim safety measures have been put in place on specialist advice and will remain until all identified defects have been remedied. On that basis, it says the building remains safe for staff, visitors and other users during the interim period.
The planned construction phase is expected to last 25 months. The report cautions that further defects could emerge as work proceeds, increasing the programme’s cost or duration. It also identifies the risk of delay if the contractor’s designs or works are late, and says work that does not follow the approved design may need to be redone. If the repairs are not sufficient, the building could remain non-compliant, the report says.
What the oversight money would cover
The £770,136 proposal is divided among four parts. The largest, £260,880, is for a specialist fire-engineering adviser, an expert fire-safety consultant and a clerk of works on site. A separate £245,256 would fund consultant project managers to monitor the contractor.
The report also proposes £144,000 to retain Capita’s property director and a technical adviser, citing their knowledge of the building’s history. A provisional £120,000 is intended for mechanical and electrical engineering support and, if needed, specialists in cladding and façades. These are oversight and advisory costs; the report says the contractor is responsible for undertaking the remediation works.
Spending is forecast across three financial years: £145,338 in 2026/27, £374,878 in 2027/28 and £249,920 in 2028/29. The report says there is no dedicated budget allocation for these costs at present. It proposes charging them to existing works and staffing codes while recording the costs connected with the defects and their remedy.
Recovery and disruption remain uncertain
The council says it considers the defects to stem from the original design and construction. It is pursuing a claim process to seek recovery of eligible costs from parties it considers responsible, subject to the outcome of legal and contractual proceedings. The report gives neither a value for that claim nor a date by which any recovery might be settled. The £770,136 is therefore proposed expenditure, not a sum the council says it has already recovered from another party.
Remediation is expected to disrupt the office. The report says staff and tenants will have to move out of affected areas floor by floor and later return, while some parts of the building will be restricted during the works. That is a forecast for the construction programme; the agenda does not itself set out a detailed floor-by-floor timetable.
The Cabinet decision will determine whether the proposed monitoring and engineering support can be procured on the terms in the report. The council is also seeking approval for a waiver of its usual contract rules for the fire-engineering support procurement. Until Cabinet has considered the recommendation, the proposed oversight budget and procurement arrangements should not be treated as final.
