New Sheffield homes cost city council an extra £700,000

The council had 73 new homes built at Daresbury View and Berners Road, Arbourthorne. The project has now cost £15,604,000 in total, a meeting of the council’s finance committee heard on Tuesday (April 16).

Committee members agreed to a drawdown of £700,000 from the council’s stock improvement programme budget to cover the extra cost.

A report to the committee said: “Following numerous commercial meetings between SCC [Sheffield City Council] and the contractor at project handover it became clear that both parties were not in agreement on the final account figure.

“Through numerous meetings with the contractor it has transpired that inflation was not included in their financial claims put forwards for valuation and payment throughout the contract delivery.

“Due to the high inflationary period that started immediately post contract this therefore equates to a significant increase in the project outturn budget.

Magnitude

"Although SCC have attempted to make provision for these costs within the cost reports, it is now clear that the magnitude of these claims is beyond what could have been expected.”

The contractor said the increase was due to additional costs over an extended contract period and inflation relating to the proportion of originally contracted works that had been delayed.

The report added: “This is considered to be a reasonable claim for consideration and was not something that was included in the forecast final costs due to the late nature of the claim being highlighted.

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“An agreement has now been reached in principle that a construction figure of £14,820,000 would reflect a mutually acceptable commercial settlement based upon the aforementioned issues experienced during the course of the contract, and this would require an increase of the overall project budget to £15,604,000, ie an increase of £700,000.”

The project, which involves a mixture of two, three and four-bedroom houses as well as apartments, started in 2020. However, as previously reported, it was hit by delays because of a shortage of labour and materials.

The committee also agreed to spend £3,500 from its housing investment programme to conduct feasibility works around the refurbishment of a block of six one-bedroom flats at 143-153 Wordsworth Avenue, Parson Cross.

Disrepair

The flats are all vacant and in a state of disrepair.

The budget agreed will cover the cost of developing detailed design work, full scope of works and costings for a full scheme of refurbishment to bring the block back into use.

Work will include measures to safeguard the building and its surroundings against future criminal damage and anti-social behaviour.

The project is set to be completed by March 2025.

The committee also agreed to approve £180,000 spending on the Gleadless Valley Masterplan.

Deprived

The report to the committee said: “To continue work on the delivery of the masterplan, the Gleadless Valley Team need funding for relevant surveys, consultation events, marketing and low-level investment opportunities in 24/25 and have submitted a final business case requesting a drawdown of £180,000 from this allocation for this purpose.”

The masterplan is a 10-year project that began in 2018. A proposed £90 million plan for the estate involves plans for new housing, green open spaces, shops and services. Gleadless Valley is one of the most deprived areas of Sheffield.

In February, MP Louise Haigh, who represents Gleadless Valley, said that many residents of the area feel let down by a lack of progress on delivering the masterplan.