Welsh Assembly Government building projects at Aberystwyth and Llandudno Junction

As the Assembly approaches the Christmas Recess period I thought I should write to update all Assembly Members on the progress made on our 2 construction projects at Aberystwyth and Llandudno Junction.

Aberystwyth

We signed an NEC3 Option C (Target Cost) contract with Carillion Construction Limited in September and the Contractor has mobilised on site, the site boundary has been established and site hoarding has now been erected.

Extensive geo-environmental survey work, required by the Environment Agency (EA), has also been completed and formal discharge of all pre-construction planning conditions has been received. This means that we may now start construction works and the drilling rigs will be on site before Christmas. Early in the New Year the structural steel will be erected and completion of the development is scheduled for April 2009.

I can also let you know that Ceredigion CC is in negotiation with Wilmott Dixon for the construction of their own office HQ on the adjacent site and a formal decision is expected shortly. Furthermore the Court Service is looking seriously at a third site which also adjoins ours with a view to developing an office building.

As part of the Welsh Assembly Government's policy of reducing our Carbon Footprint and encouraging all forms of 'green energy' we are in discussion with Ceredigion CC regarding the possibility of a collaborative partnership to heat both of our buildings using biomass fuel from a shared facility. In doing so we will be building on our experience of sustainable energy systems utilised in the Senedd. A further update on this facility will be provided in due course.

Llandudno Junction project

Over past months, there has inevitably been some speculation in North Wales about the reasons behind the lack of progress on the building of the new North Wales HQ at Llandudno Junction. In November, the Deputy First Minister spoke at the North Wales Economic Forum again re-emphasising our determination to proceed with the project
Earlier this year I took the decision to suspend further work on the design of the project in order to satisfy myself that we had clearly defined our requirements and to look again at the overall cost plan.

The professional services design contract was therefore terminated on the completion of the design work undertaken to RIBA F1 Stage (suitable for tender purposes). Completion of this design work was necessary in order to go back out to the market with a more clearly defined requirement.

We have appointed new Managing Agents and will be undertaking some further design work in order that we can submit a formal planning application to Conwy CBC early in Jan 2008.

By doing this we feel that this will offer greater clarity to the market when submitting tenders and will make the planning process easier and we do not think there will be any adverse impact on the overall programme of a construction completion in late 2009.

The next step for my officials will be to issue a Prior Information Notice (PIN) under the OJEU procedure, this will be issued prior to Christmas. The purpose of the Notice is to alert the market to the impending OJEU publication of an Invitation of Expressions of Interest for the re-procurement of the project.

We anticipate there to be a number of credible contractors interested in undertaking this development.

Whilst there has been some delay in procuring this project, the actions taken have more clearly defined our requirements and the current level of interest in the project from a range of major contractors offers the prospect of achieving value for money for the public purse.

We will be in a position to enter into a contract in the summer 2008 with construction completed towards the end of 2009. There will then be a period of client fit-out leading to mobilisation in spring 2010.