Marylebone police station – investment appraisal

Report: 8
Date: 19 November 2001
By: Commissioner

Summary

This report reviews options for the future use of Marylebone Divisional Police Station (DM) and Robert Mark Section House. The continuing need for DM is agreed at Borough Command level and the appraisal demonstrates the preferred option for enabling this to be achieved. Territorial Policing supports the proposals and funding has been included in the 2002/03 and future years capital programme, pending approval.

A. Recommendations

Members are asked:

1. to agree to work progressing on the preferred option for alterations and improvements to Marylebone Police Station and conversion of Robert Mark Section House to operational police use in order to satisfy the requirements of the brief; and
2. to recommend to the FP&BV that the project be included in the future programme of capital works for start on site in 2002/03 and in the medium term financial forecasts.

B. Supporting information

1. The project brief was prepared in conjunction with the users who fully support the proposals forming option 1. Relevant detail is contained in Appendix D of the Investment Appraisal.

2. Marylebone is the charging and custody centre for DM division (which includes Oxford Street) and is one of five divisional police stations serving the City of Westminster. The basement of the Police Station houses a Department of Information computer suite, which is scheduled for relocation. The firing range on the fifth floor, used by SO19, will remain.

3. The adjoining Robert Mark Section House was closed to residential use in August 1997 under the Residential Estate Strategy. A number of proposals for alternative uses were considered. It was reopened to house tenants decanted from Trenchard House to enable its planned disposal.

4. The existing custody suite (1991) is inadequate both in number of cells and the quality of accommodation. The number of prisoners has decreased recently; partly due to anti-crime initiatives, but also thought to be influenced by a decline in police resources, now being reversed by recent recruitment improvements, and numbers are expected to increase in future. The general standard of accommodation is below that expected of a modern facility and additional cells and improvements are required to remedy failings. The users' business case refers to criticism to this effect in the Lay Visitors report for 2000 and adverse reporting in the local press.

5. The scope and nature of the project will necessitate decanting occupants of the police station whilst the works are undertaken. It is also considered sensible to undertake future planned maintenance works at the same time and avoid further disruption in the near future.

6. Conversion of the Section House will provide the increased office and storage facilities required as a result of the brigading of the Criminal Justice Unit and for additional traffic units. Combining the proposed works at Marylebone into one contract will generate economies of scale and the Section House will provide decant space for the police station prior to its final conversion. The current residents will have to be re-housed. Because of changes in recruitment strategy, it is proposed to bring a number of currently disused section houses back into service, and they will provide alternative accommodation. (Note: the separate paper on Residential Estates Strategy, agenda item 7).

Option 1:
Alteration and improvement of existing buildings

7. Meeting the requirements of the brief is only possible within the current financial envelope by extending the custody suite to occupy the whole of the ground floor of the existing Police Station, with the front office facilities moving to the Section House. Other requirements can be met through conversion of the Section House.

8. The short–term loss of custody facilities during the conversion works will be met by use of overspill arrangements at nearby police stations.

9. This is considered the most beneficial solution and has been considered for costing in the Investment Appraisal as option 1.

10. The use of PFI is not considered practical in respect of option 1. It would not provide the necessary opportunities for income generation and innovation, especially as the site is held on lease by the MPS (expiry date September 2118). For Marylebone much of the spending is on maintenance items already included in revenue budget forecasts, and separate capital funding has been identified. A PFI option has not therefore been included for further consideration.

11. Construction work for option 1 has been assumed to commence in 4th quarter 2002 and to take 21 months, with final occupation in 2004. A phased programme allows for the conversion of the Section House to provide decant accommodation for existing police users prior to works to the existing police station.

12. Of the range of options considered in the Investment Appraisal, only one other is summarised in this paper for the purposes of comparison.

Option 2:
Development of a theoretical alternative site

13. Provision of a purpose-built facility elsewhere would be an option, although no potential sites have currently been identified. Even if a site could be identified and procured within a reasonable time, the operational date for a new facility would be considerably later than for option 1. For comparative purposes, a theoretical site has been assumed, and a scheme costed using the Home Office Design Guide as option 2.

14. The new build option could have PFI potential, although as a 'one-off' project the value is small for a PFI solution. The use of PFI is required only where capital funding is not available.

15. The total of accommodation provided under the proposals is approximately 433m2 greater that the requirement identified by the users. The additional space will be available for other operational use.

C. Financial implications

1. The Cost Plan estimate for the proposed works at 3rd Quarter 2002 price levels is £10,658,000 exclusive of DoI infrastructure costs. Professional fees are estimated at 15%.

2. DoI Infrastructure costs are estimated at an additional £522,500 plus fees. It is assumed that PCs and handsets currently in use will be retained.

3. This gives total project cost of £12,855,000, excluding VAT, which has been incorporated in the bid for capital allocation for 2002/03 and future years.

4. Costs are planned to fall into three financial years, with a small retention carried into a fourth year.

Option 1

Option 2

5. Discounted Present Values are shown at Appendix C of the Investment Appraisal. They can be summarised as follows:

Option 1: Alterations and Improvements to the existing premises and conversion of the Section House to operational use: £31,222k

Option 2: Purchase of an alternative site and construction of new purpose-built facilities to satisfy the brief: £39,110k

6. Additional revenue expenditure will be incurred under both options. Recent expenditure has been below 'normal' levels as generally only emergency maintenance and repairs have been carried out pending the major works. This process occurs across a large and dynamic estate with savings offsetting extras to enable delivery of maintenance to be retained within the annual budget. Any necessary growth bid for 2005/06 will be identified in the revenue bid for that and subsequent years.

7. The move from residential to operational use under option 1 means a change to business rates in respect of the areas concerned. The rateable value of the premises as a whole will be reassessed as a result of the improvements and the benefit of 'transitional relief', which currently reduces the amount actually paid, will be lost. The change to office use will increase annual charges. It is anticipated that the Section House Warden will be redeployed with no cost effect. The increases would be higher under option 2, as the rateable value of a new building will be greater than the reassessed value of the existing premises.

8. The net effect on revenue for each of the two options is summarised below:

Option 1

Option 2

9. Funding for the project has currently been allocated in the capital works programme beginning in financial year 2002/3 (note: funding includes 'revenue' works assessed at approximately 25% of the cost).

D. Background papers

Investment Appraisal and Appendices (available to Members only)

E. Contact details

The author of this report is Trevor Lawrence, Director, Property Services Department.

For information contact:

MPA general: 020 7202 0202
Media enquiries: 020 7202 0217/18

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