THE management of the Market Place regeneration project could have been improved.
This was the verdict of an independent report commissioned by Wokingham Borough Council’s previous leader, Cllr Charlotte Haitham Taylor and discussed on Monday evening at a meeting of its Overview and Scrutiny Committee.
Radian Systems Limited wrote the report after the scheme ran nine months over schedule, after previously undocumented underground utility pipes were discovered.
And the brutal report said that the council should have had better communication with the public over the scheme’s delays, and that project management had been an issue. Safety issues were also raised.
It noted: “There was some public frustration expressed during the life of the project; traffic was delayed and disrupted and access to the Market Place was difficult.
“None of this should have been unexpected and in retrospect could have been better communicated and managed”.
The delay caused by the underground pipe work was, the project noted, partly down to the parties debating responsibility for what should happen next.
However, it also praised the quality of the finished project saying it “has created the impact and changes envisaged by the council”, with positive responses from the public as a result.
And the project overspend is thought to be no more than 5%, although final figures have yet to be received.
The report noted: “The initial contractors’ cost estimate for the scheme was £4.6m. Through value engineering and taking on some elements of risk the Council managed to reduce the costs to £4.2m. We understand that the project was completed at a figure of approximately £4.4m.”
On Monday evening, Cllr Philip Mirfin, the executive member for regeneration, along with council officers responsible for the regeneration project, were grilled by the overview and scrutiny committee, chaired by Cllr Guy Grandison.
The meeting looked at issues including the number of units let for the Peach Place development, who is advising on lettings and the total debt for residents as a result of the projects.
Speaking to The Wokingham Paper after the meeting, Cllr Rachel Burgess said there can be no excuses for the way in which the Market Place project unfolded, notably with the health and safety issues she raised for visually impaired residents during the build. These include the studs by the road crossings blending in with the paving stones and the heart of the kerbs.
She said: “The evidence compiled for the Committee shows that time and time again residents raised the issue of a lack of colour contrast between the roadway and the pavement in the town centre, the indistinct colour of the brass studs, and the difficulties this causes for those with disabilities. Indeed it was clearly raised by disability groups as far back as 2015 – but it seems this was continually ignored.
“Once more this Conservative Council didn’t listen – residents are left to judge whether they were uncaring or simply incompetent.”
She added: “The same safety issue arises with parking bays – remember, these are the same level as the pavement and not distinct in colour. What is to stop a child wandering on to a parking bay just as a car pulls in?
“I can only conclude that the desire for aesthetic perfection in Wokingham has been prioritised at the expense of pedestrian safety.”
And she also blasted the council for their handling of the town centre retailers who have been struggling: last August we printed an open letter signed by more than 40 shops saying the council had not done enough to help them.
“Feedback from some town centre retailers is damning – with one saying the project was a disaster from the start, and another that almost every issue they raised was not resolved. The evidence presented showed that retailers raised a host of good ideas to ensure the works went as smoothly as possible way back in October 2017 – sadly many of these ideas were ignored, and for some the efforts made were too little, too late,” Cllr Burgess said.
She also had concerns over the delay for the completion of Peach Place, which had been due to open in November. It is currently slated to be finished by the spring.
“Residents have little confidence that these unit will be ready as planned,” she said, adding: “ALL our residents deserve to enjoy our regenerated town centre – we need an appropriate mix of different outlets to achieve this. If demolishing Applebys and replacing it with an upmarket bakery is anything to go by, it seems that those on lower incomes may have to go elsewhere, or simply stay at home.”
And Liberal Democrat Cllr Clive Jones was also concerned.
“We didn’t get answers to all the questions we asked on Monday,” he said. “Four people sat there answering with, ‘We are going to have to come back with written answers’. They will have to come back before the committee if they can’t come back with satisfactory written answers. I suspect they will be back.”
Cllr Jones did praise the report. “I do think it is independent,” he said. “It’s a really damning report for Wokingham Borough Council, as opposed to [joint partners] Wokingham Town Council. It shows the borough council was completely out of its depth.
“It says that actions by Wokingham Borough Council led to the cost increases and overruns. There were no collaborative work environments: this is what we’ve been saying all along. It shows that management by senior officers and senior executive members – the Conservatives – was appalling.
“The commissioning of the report happened by Cllr Charlotte Haitham Taylor was leader of the council and she deserves credit for it. But lots of questions have not been answered and they do need answering.”
Cllr Philip Mirfin, executive member for regeneration, welcomed the report, saying that it had been a unique opportunity to get an independent overview.
“I have to see the report, and its contents, as a positive,” he told The Wokingham Paper. “There were inadequacies during the project, and we weren’t getting the right sort of feedback to the questions I had been asking. It’s something that should have had happened right from the very start of the project.”
Cllr Mirfin said that he then insisted on there being weekly update meetings with the project’s leaders to help co-ordinate and finish the project.
“The report shows that there were clear issues of governance and ownership,” he said, adding that it was vital that it was an independent report.
“It took a long time [for the council] to find someone to do it and they gave us a very good report,” he said.
“Some of the people involved in the Market Place project have left the council already, while we accept that a new approach is required for future projects.”
And the financial issues are still to be settled, but Cllr Mirfin felt that the projected overspend was likely to be around 4.7%, something that he felt was remarkably good “for a project this large and with the problems under the road surfaces”.
“We’re still waiting for the final figure,” he added.
Cllr Mirfin and council officers were given a grilling by the Overview and Scrutiny committee.
He said: “Cllr Jones had lots of questions, the meeting went to 10pm. He was given lots of leeway by chairman Cllr Guy Grandison and we certainly answered as fully as we could. Cllr Grandson gave at least two hours to the Market Place questions, so it had a fair opportunity.”
One of the issues that was raised was that 11 additional retailers were on the verge of signing up to Peach Place.
Cllr Mirfin explained: “We’d love to announce them but we can’t until the contracts have been signed. We’re hoping that some will be in a position to be announced next week.”
