(a)

the Department for Education approved a capital allocation of £9.4m for the Marine Academy Plymouth, of which Plymouth City Council was a co-sponsor;

(b)

the allocation was on the basis that the delivery of this capital investment was procured through the Partnership for Schools Academies Framework and managed through the local authority;

(c)

a feasibility study had been undertaken on the building options and had been through a pre-application planning process.  The study had received approval by Partnership for Schools on 24 November 2011;

(d)

a report on the All Saints Academy would be submitted to a future meeting of Cabinet;

(e)

the tender process included the option to use the successful

contractors to deliver the University Technical College at a later stage should the Council wish to do so, saving a considerable amount of procurement time;

(f)

following a tender process and evaluation of the tenders received,  BAM Construction Ltd was recommended as the selected panel member (preferred bidder). This recommendation had been endorsed by the Academy, and by the Academy’s main sponsors who were the University of Plymouth;

(g)

the capital investment into the city would have an important impact on the local economy. It was estimated that as much as 80% of this value would be spent in Plymouth and the demand for skilled trades would also allow the Council to negotiate with the contractor to take on apprentices as part of the proposal.

(1)

approval is given to the appointment of BAM Construction Ltd as the selected panel member to deliver the capital improvements to the Marine Academy Plymouth and that expenditure of the design fees is awarded to this contractor; 

(2)

the final approval to agree the scope and quality of works is delegated to the Director for Place.