BSTC has approved the process for the appointment of a contractor to move the Storm Tower, and has resolved to meet the gap in funding to complete the project, should it be needed.
The tender process for the Storm Tower relocation project closed recently, with a total of five bids received for the work. Three of these were ruled out on account of cost and project delivery timescales, but two are still in the mix and are considered viable by the project team.
Interviews will take place with these two experienced contractors on Monday, 6 March. The BSTC interview team includes the project’s quantity surveyor, structural engineer as well as BSTC officers, and it will be looking at the quality and deliverability of the bids as well as cost.
As anticipated, there is a funding gap for completion of the project, of between £46,000 and £60,000. The project team has approached the National Lottery Heritage Fund for additional support, and while the team is hopeful further funding could be forthcoming, a decision on extra Lottery support is unlikely to take place before mid April.
However, if the relocation of the Storm Tower is to take place this year, a contractor needs to be appointed within the next two weeks, so to allow the project to continue on track, BSTC agreed at last night’s Full Council meeting to meet the funding gap – although it is very much hoped that funding shortfall will be significantly reduced by further Lottery contributions.
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