Consultants Brief – Pembroke Road Options Appraisal
The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea wish to appoint consultants to undertake an options appraisal of the site known as Pembroke Road, a mixed use site located in W8, London. The results of this appraisal will be used by the Council as the first step in determining the future options for the site.
The Site
The site comprises two separate elements north and south of Pembroke Road, W8, referred to as Broadwood Terrace (north) and Chesterton Square (south).
Located in the western part of the Royal Borough, the site measures circa 1.3 ha and is bounded by Warwick Road to the west, West Cromwell Road to the south, and Pembroke Gardens to the north and is bisected by Pembroke Road, with access provided by a footbridge.
Broadwood Terrace is located to the north of Pembroke Road and to the east of Warwick Road. It comprises:
9,500 sq m of Sui Generis Local Authority depot accommodation including vehicle storage, equipment storage and circulation space arranged over basement to first floor levels;
24 Class C3 ‘dwelling house’ units comprising 1,595 sq m of residential floor space. The Local Authority depot can be accessed via Pembroke Road or Warwick Road with vehicle movements facilitated by a spiral ramp leading from the basement level to roof-top parking. The building presents part 5 / part 6 storeys to Warwick Road with 3 levels of blank depot façade and 3 levels of residential.
Chesterton Square is located to the south of Pembroke Road and to the east of Warwick Road. It comprises:
2,453 sq m is occupied as Class B1 Local Authority office accommodation;
7,113 sq m being a Sui Generis Local Authority depot including vehicle storage, workshop and staff training / staff mess space;
92 Class C3 ‘dwelling house’ units comprising 6,600 sq m of residential floor space, alongside central communal open space.
This part of the site accommodates four principal buildings, the largest of which comprises 6 / 7 storeys, presenting 3 levels of depot / office façade to Warwick Road with 3 levels of residential accommodation and balconies above.
There are a total of 116 units across both sites comprising 55 tenants, 3 service tenancies, 1 office and 58 leaseholders.
Options appraisal
The current depot accommodation accounts for 61% of total floor space and uses significantly more site area than required. A bi-borough depot review, in conjunction with the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, is currently underway and the results of this review will determine the level of depot accommodation required to be retained on this site. This review is anticipated to be complete by June 2013.
The current office accommodation is dated and poorly configured. These facilities are underutilised and given the Council’s business needs, it is expected that they will become even less well used in the future.
As a result of the above, the Council wishes to explore the future options for the site. The Council would like consultants to review the following options:
1. Refurbishment and re-letting of the existing accommodation, with the potential for introduction of new accommodation on the footprint of the southern site;
2. Partial redevelopment of the vacated depot and office space with the residential accommodation left in situ, potential for the introduction of new accommodation on the footprint of the southern site;
3. Partial demolition and redevelopment of either the north or south site; 4. Full redevelopment across both sites.
A number of permutations will be possible within the options outlined above, and all should be considered fully.
The following should also be taken into account:
All options produced must be planning compliant;
The driver for this options appraisal is the increasing underutilisation of the current facilities and the best use of Council assets;
All options must be explored fully and given equal weight to allow the Council to consider them in a balanced manner;
The Council has a preference for revenue generation from commercial uses but capital receipts will also be considered;
Any options which propose full or partial demolition will need to deliver an increase in housing over and above what can be achieved otherwise;
Partial or full redevelopment options must provide sufficient accommodation for all current Council tenants to be re-housed on site in suitably sized accommodation;
Planning Policy Context
Any options proposed will need to have regard to the adopted Development Plan for the site which currently comprises the following documents:
- The adopted 2011 London Plan (Spatial Development Strategy for Greater London); - The adopted RBKC 2010 Core Strategy DPD;
- Those extant policies contained in the adopted 2002 RBKC Unitary Development Plan (UDP).
Regard should also be had to all other additional planning guidance which is considered as a ‘material consideration’ in the determination of planning applications.
Existing Uses
- The total site area across both sites is 13,169 sq m. The south site measures 8,968 sq m and approximately 25% of the footprint is undeveloped. The north site measures 4,201 sq m.
- The sites accommodate the following:
o A total of 16,613 sq m of sui generis Local Authority depot space is representing 61% of total floor space;
o A total of 2,453 sq m of Class B1 Local Authority office space representing 9% of total floor space;
o A total of 8,195 sq m or 116 units of Class C3 residential accommodation representing 30% of total floor space.
Alternative Uses
Residential – with regard to the full and partial redevelopment options the objective of the Council is to deliver a net increase in residential accommodation. No loss of affordable housing will be acceptable.
Commercial office - The existing B1 commercial office accommodation is protected under current planning policy. A reduction in quantum may be considered if it could be demonstrated that the quality, offer, layout or specification was tailored towards addressing an identified need for employment space in this part of Kensington and Chelsea (for example, catering for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs)). It should be noted that emerging planning policy may allow the change of B1 office to C3 residential under permitted development. As a result all 3 options should be explored.
Local Authority Depot - The results of the bi-borough depot review will determine the level of depot space required to be retained on site.
Retail – the LPA may support the introduction of small-scale retail units of less than 400 sq m as part of a mixed-use scheme.
Social and Community Facilities – the LPA would support the introduction of social and community facilities onto the site, including education, health and community uses, if the proposal can be shown to predominantly serve, or provide significant benefits to, Borough residents.
Programme
It is currently proposed that the successful consultants will be appointed in July 2013. The Council would like to be in a position to assess a preferred option for this site by December 2013.
Outputs
Full massing studies and associated financial appraisals will be required for all the options produced to allow comparison of the options. A level of resident consultation will also be required on the proposed options.
The ultimate output for this commission will be the production of a high quality report which provides a full assessment of the options considered and a recommendation on the preferred option.
Evaluation Criteria
Qualitative Response - Skills and Experience
The responses to the following questions will be weighted at 60%.
Q1. Please provide an outline of the approach and methodology you will use to deliver the brief (as listed above).
(10%) Q2. Please demonstrate relevant skills and experience in dealing with similar options
appraisal studies for mixed use schemes in sensitive locations.
(10%) Q3. Please demonstrate previous experience and provide high quality, relevant examples
of similar projects which have been delivered.
(15%) Q4. Please provide details of a Project Team with relevant skills and experience to deliver
the brief (as listed above).
(10%) Q5. Please provide a summary of your proposed approach to the project and
demonstrate your experience of public engagement and consultation.
(15%) The successful firm will be expected to appoint and manage all required sub consultants directly or be able to provide the required service in house.
As a minimum it is envisaged that the following advice will be required:
- Commercial advice on the letting and development markets in all relevant sectors; - Design;
- Planning;
- Financial appraisals; - Rights of light;
- Specialist advice in regard to housing re-provision on any options involving redevelopment and potential decant of residents;
- Structural/cost advice
Other sub consultancy work streams may be required and details should be included in the tender documents.
Proposed Scoring Matrix
The above qualitative questions will be scored using the following scoring matrix:-
Score Description Definition
0 Unacceptable No response or response completely fails to address all of the Council’s requirements.
1 Unsatisfactory Very limited or vague response which fails to address key areas or meet key Council requirements, or the response received contains a large number of weaknesses or omissions in a majority of aspects.
2 Very Weak The response addresses a number of key Council requirements but is unsatisfactory in a number of material respects. The proposal contains some material weaknesses or omissions which give the Council some serious concerns.
3 Weak The response addresses a number of key Council requirements but is unsatisfactory in a number of material respects. The proposal contains some material weaknesses or omissions which give the Council some areas for concern.
4 Poor The response generally meets the key Council requirements but with some aspects which give the Council concern because either they are incomplete or contain minimal material weaknesses or omissions, or differ from the Council’s requirement necessary to meet the criteria in at least one aspect.
5 Acceptable The response addresses a majority of key Council requirements and is generally satisfactory but does not demonstrate any clear strength.
6 Satisfactory The response is generally good in all material respects but does contain some minor weaknesses or omissions. The proposal does, however, contain a clear strength.
7 Good The response is of a good quality in all respects with good concepts and approaches, but contains a few minor weaknesses or omissions with a clear strength in a key area.
8 Very Good High quality response with clear, coherent and high quality proposals that present a fully workable response with clear strengths in key areas, and any minor weaknesses or omissions which may be present in the response may be acceptable as offered.
9 Outstanding Very high quality, considered response with outstanding features in a majority of areas. A very strong response overall with no material weaknesses or omissions.
10 Exceptional Exemplar response in all material respects. The response also demonstrates significant strengths and has no weaknesses or omissions.
All bidders are required to score a minimum of 3 marks for each of the qualitative questions to be considered for this work.
Costing Response
The Cost responses will be weighted at 40%.
Please provide a breakdown of the cost to deliver the services outlined in the brief (as listed above).
Tender requirements
The following should be included with tender documents:
An indicative programme to complete the review and report back to the Council; A summary of the proposed methodology and approach to undertaking and
delivering the options appraisal including consultation; A summary of the skills and experience of the project team; Examples of relevant experience
