From: [ncc]
Sent: 08 September 2015 18:11
To: [dft]
Cc: [ncc]; [ncc]
Subject: FW: NNDR _ Councillors Letter
Good afternoon
Councillor Boswell wrote to the NCC Legal Officer asking to have the Council debate on
the NDR funding deferred pending clarification over his concerns around the impact of
inflation. He has now written to you in a similar vein.
The NCC Legal Officer investigated the concerns and determined that the debate could
continue, subject to the Director providing Councillors with a clarification over one figure
– where it was agreed that a quoted comparison figure of 22% (derived from another
report) should have been 15.68%. This clarification was provided at the start of the
meeting and the Legal Officer was content that the debate could continue and a sound
decision was made. This obviously differs from Cllr Boswell’s view - but it is the view of
the Legal Officer that represents the County Council on this matter.
As part of the target cost process with Balfour Beatty, the Council commissioned a
report from Franklin & Andrews to assess the level of construction inflation experienced
between 2010 and 2015 (see attached). This demonstrated that the BB target cost was
‘not unreasonable’ when compared to other typical schemes as represented by
nationally accepted measures of construction inflation. This was then further tested by
comparing the NDR cost per mile with the cost of the recently delivered A11 dualling per
mile. As set out in the report to Full Council, this again was ‘not unreasonable’. Neither
of these comparators impact on the target cost provided by BB, but they have informed
the officer view that the BB costs have been tested and are robust.
This led to the officer advice that retendering the contract would lead to delay, the cost
associated with this delay, and given our understanding of construction inflation, this
was likely to lead to higher tender costs and worse value for the public purse. This
obviously differs from Cllr Boswell’s view, but Members considered this information and
officer advice when coming to their decision.
Cllr Boswell concludes his letter by saying that alternatives should be assessed and
appraised. The scheme has of course been subject to and endorsed by the relevant
statutory processes. Cllr Boswell opposed the scheme through the examination in public
and continues to object to it. However, the scheme has been strongly supported in a
vote in Full Council and the County Council is committed to delivering this important
piece of infrastructure that underpins much of the Greater Norwich City Deal.
Kind regards,
xxxx xxxx
xxxxxx
Tel:01603 xxxx
Highways & Transport
Community and Environmental Services
Norfolk County Council
Highways enquiries: 0344 800 8009
mailto:xxxxxxxx@xxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Website: www.norfolk.gov.uk
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From: [dft]
Sent: 04 September 2015 16:00
To: [ncc]
Subject: NNDR _ Councillors Letter
Please find attached a letter sent to my line manager from Councillors Boswell and
Morgan following the 2 September meeting of Norfolk County Council which approved
the increase in funding for the NNDR scheme. I would welcome your comments and
answers to the various questions before we consider this at the Investment Board next
Wednesday.
I would be happy to discuss.
xxxx xxxx
Local Investment Division
Department for Transport
0207 944 xxxx