Gateway 14 Innovation & Skills Centre

Concepts

• ipswich
• construction work
• ft freehold skills & innovation centre
• skills & innovation centre
• skills and innovation centre
• gateway
• innovation
• freeport east
• wider freeport east
• co-working space

Location

Gateway 14 (a Freeport East tax site) at Stowmarket, Suffolk (off of Junction 50 of the A14)

Description

Development of a Skills & Innovation Centre on the Gateway 14 site (a Freeport East tax site) at Stowmarket, Suffolk. Including Cat B fit out. Approximately 33,552 sq ft 'hybrid' floor area comprising separate office units, co-working space, public cafe, flexible ground floor training and meeting rooms and service support/amenity areas. Approximately 150 car parking bays.

Total Quantity or Scope

Sale of a serviced site of 2.16 acres at Gateway 14 (part of Freeport East), at Stowmarket, Suffolk (the site) (the sale). The sale of the site will be accompanied by a works contract for the construction, including fit out, of a new 33,552 sq ft freehold Skills & Innovation Centre and 150 car parking spaces (the Works). The Site already has detailed planning permission for infrastructure to access it, and outline planning permission which can accommodate the Skills & Innovation Centre and 150 car parking spaces. The Council must, in order to enjoy the benefit of the Site and the new-build Skills & Innovation Centre, award a contract for the maintenance of the Gateway 14 development (e.g. the estate roads, open-space landscape maintenance, surface water attenuation, site security etc.) and a service charge will be payable in this respect (the Services). The Sale, the Works and the Services are referenced throughout as the Opportunity.

Award Detail

CPV Codes

• 45000000 - Construction work

Indicators

Legal Justification

The Council considers that it may award this contract without prior publication because: Gateway 14 (Ltd) (the Seller) has exclusive rights deriving from land ownership at the Site meaning that the Council is entitled to directly award the Opportunity pursuant to the negotiated procedure without prior publication of a call for competition in accordance with Regulation 32(2)(b)(iii) of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. The Seller is the freehold owner of the Site. The Council requires that the development takes place within the Site within the area of Freeport East, in order to benefit from £6m Seed Capital funding, which has been awarded to the Council by the government and will only be made available on the basis of the location of the Site within a Freeport; and the ability to recycle business rates and utilise them towards the cost to the Council of the Development. The Council has determined, following viability appraisals, that these capital contributions are essential in order to render the development viable. Viability issues prevent the Council instructing the Opportunity at a different site (which does not (and cannot) attract the Seed Capital Funding or the ability to recycle and business rates). No other site offers a viable options for the Council. The Council would not therefore be able to contract with anyone other than the Seller who controls, and has exclusive rights, over the Site. The Seller is unable/unwilling to facilitate the Sale unless the Council also contracts for the Works. This is on the basis that the Seller has a development agreement with Jaynic (East Anglia) Limited which affords Jaynic an exclusive development arrangement across the whole of the Gateway 14 Freeport area. As such, it would not be possible for the Council to acquire the Site and to separately procure a contractor for the Site. The Seller is, in addition, the freehold owner of the common parts of the development of Gateway 14. The Council must, in order to enjoy the benefit of the Site and the new-build Innovation & Skills Centre, award a contract for the maintenance of the Gateway 14 development (e.g. the estate roads, open-space landscape maintenance, surface water attenuation, site security etc) and a service charge will be payable in this respect. Again there is no credible alternative route to procure these services.

Other Information

There is no option for MSDC other than to go down this route to locate/develop the Skills and Innovation Centre at this location and due to Freeport status benefits including accessing £6m of seed fund capital grant. The Council is using the most prudent funding option. Without Freeport benefits the scheme is not viable and would not proceed. It is a social impact and skills gap benefitting intervention to deliver benefits to the local area and wider Freeport East (including labour force development) The date provided at V.2.1 is the date on which the contract award decision was made. No contract will be entered before the end of a minimum period of 10 days from publication.