Residential accommodation at Hendon investment appraisal

Report: 11
Date: 20 March 2001
By: Commissioner

Summary

There is an impending shortfall of residential accommodation at Hendon Training School due to the increase in recruiting. In-service residential courses and the need to take the residential blocks out of use on a phased basis to refurbish them exacerbate this.

An Investment Appraisal has considered a number of options to satisfy both the short and long-term demand and the consequences of the refurbishment programme. The least expensive, option 3, necessitates the leasing of accommodation in the short-term and the construction of an additional residential building on the Hendon site to provide long-term relief. Option 3 is favoured by the MPS Resource Allocation Committee.

A. Recommendations

The Committee is asked to:

1. note of the shortfall in residential accommodation at Hendon;
2. endorse the proposals to refurbish residential accommodation at Hendon;
3. consider which option to pursue to address short-term needs;
4. consider which option, if any, to pursue to address long-term needs;
5. note that, other than for the refurbishment, no funding has been identified for the new revenue (FY 2001/02) or capital (FY 2002/03 onwards) options. A further proposal on funding will be submitted following decision on the preferred option and consideration of revenue funding priorities.

B. Supporting information

Background

1. The residential accommodation at Hendon comprises 925 bedrooms, communal toilet facilities, restaurants and lounges. The number of recruits expected to pass through Hendon over the next two years will exceed the number of bedrooms currently available and the situation is exacerbated by the need for at least 218 bedrooms for in-service residential courses. If recruiting consistently meets its targets and in-service training continues at Hendon there will be a shortfall of 283 bedrooms in 2001/02 and 367 bedrooms during 2002/03 (see Appendix 1 [1]).

2. The buildings were built 30 years ago and the services, fabric and finishes are at the end of their life and need replacing. The cost of this basic internal refurbishment is £18.4m. The windows are currently being replaced, together with repairs to the external cladding and roofs, at a cost of £1.68m.

Short term considerations and the refurbishment programme

3. In the short term the use of other existing MPA facilities in Finchley Section House (110 bedrooms) and the conversion of houses in Rowan Drive (60 bedrooms) will provide an additional 170 bedrooms overall. Whist this addresses the shortfall for recruits it will not be sufficient to meet the demand for bedrooms for residential courses for the next two years.

4. The problem is made worse by the need to vacate the Tower Blocks to undertake the refurbishment works. The West Tower contains 406 bedrooms and the North and South Towers 260 and 259 respectively. The works could start on site in early 2002 and would take 3½ years because of the phasing. During this time there would be a maximum shortfall of 456 bedrooms in 2001/02. If in-service residential courses were discontinued this would be reduced to 238.

5. However once the 2001/02 and 2002/03 recruiting peaks are over there is a period of three years when the demand for bedrooms for recruits reduces to a maximum of 800. If the refurbishment work is programmed to miss the period of highest demand and starts on site in 2003, the maximum shortfall will reduce to either 323 or 105 respectively, in 2005/06 (see Appendix 2).

Investment appraisal (long and short-term options)

6. The management of the Training School has produced a Business Case in support of some improved permanent facilities; this recognises that the existing bedrooms will remain as currently configured (without en-suite facilities). This Investment Appraisal considers options to meet their requirement. For completeness it reviews the cost of a number of options for providing enhanced facilities and it addresses the provision of temporary accommodation to compensate for the additional shortfall caused by the refurbishment works.

7. Numerous options have been considered to overcome the short and long-term problems (see Appendix 6); but only three appear to provide realistic solutions.

Option 1 (build new bedrooms at Hendon and retain Rowan Drive permanently)

8. In this option 112 new bedrooms with en-suite facilities would be built on the Hendon site (in a block adjacent to building 36), before any work to the Tower Blocks begins. These new bedrooms will cover the remaining shortfall for recruits and be used as decanting space, along with Finchley SH and Rowan Drive, during the refurbishment works. In the long term the addition of 112 rooms coupled with the continued use of the accommodation in Rowan Drive will meet the current predicted demand for recruiting for the remainder of the decade. It will also allow in-service residential training to be re-introduced at Hendon and Finchley Section House to be returned to the ordinary residential estate, once the refurbishment works are complete.

9. Space is available at Hendon for this provision without the need to demolish any existing building and it should be possible to obtain planning permission for a four-storey block. However the start of the refurbishment works would be delayed until 2003 with completion towards the end of 2006. The current estimate for the provision of a building providing 112 bedrooms is £3m.

10. Whilst this delay extends the risk of a major plant failure (and an increase in annual maintenance cost) in the Tower Blocks it does move the refurbishment programme past the peak demand period for bedrooms into a period where recruit numbers stabilise at a lower level. This option would provide 1,097 bedrooms in the long term if the accommodation in Rowan Drive continued in use, including 112 bedrooms of a higher standard with en-suite facilities for future in-service training.

11. This option does not meet the short-term demand for in-service residential courses. The cost reflects the additional expenses, to be paid to officers attending on a non-residential basis. (See Appendix 3).

Option 2 (temporary leasing of accommodation adjacent to Mill Hill barracks)

12. This option considers a temporary lease of ex MoD residential accommodation currently available adjacent to Mill Hill barracks and the transportation of the trainees the three miles to and from Hendon. Sufficient accommodation is available, in a flexible manner, to meet all the short-term needs.

13. The Mill Hill facility is available now and would require very little work to bring it into use as furnished bedroom accommodation. Preparation and furnishing will cost in the order of £600k and the average annual running cost including rent, community charge, energy, cleaning and security together with some administration will be in the order of £1m per annum for 364 bedrooms (averaged over the five years). The cost of transporting the trainees to and from Hendon will be approximately £400k per annum. Catering will continued to be provided at Hendon during the works.

14. This option will not permanently extend the residential capacity of the Hendon Estate above that currently available, together with that which is being formed in the Rowan Drive houses. Total long-term capacity in this instance will be 985 bedrooms leaving a permanent shortfall for in-service residential training courses. Costs therefore include expenses, which would need to be paid to officers attending on a non-residential basis. (See Appendix 4).

Option 3 (combined new build bedrooms and the temporary leasing of accommodation adjacent to Mill Hill barracks)

15. This is a combination of the previous two options and provides 112 additional bedrooms to meet long term demand together with accommodation at Mill Hill barracks (297 bedrooms averaged over the five years) to overcome the short-term problem. In this option Finchley S H is not required and continues in use to meet the increased demand for section house bedrooms. (See Appendix 5).

Consultation

16. This report has been prepared with the participation of Personnel Dept. Finance Dept have been consulted on the inclusion of the basic scheme in the Capital Building Programme and if the expenditure is capital or revenue. Transport Dept have been consulted on the cost of transporting Trainees between Mill Hill and Hendon.

C. Financial implications

After consultation with Finance Dept the cost of the basic refurbishment has been included in the capital building programme. The leasing and running costs associated with the Mill Hill Barracks option would be revenue but the construction costs of the new bedroom block would be capital expenditure. No provision has been made in budgets for either the revenue or the capital expenditure needed to build the new bedrooms. The summary at Appendix 6 gives the estimated cost of all options in "Net Present Value" terms. It also shows the capital and revenue costs over the period of the refurbishment.

D. Background papers

• Investment Appraisal

E. Contact details

The author of this report is K R Sewell.

For information contact:

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

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