New council houses in Tipton to cost nearly £1m over budget, council confirms
A project to build new council housing in Tipton has gone nearly £1m over budget.
The 18 new flats and bungalows in Beever Road off Toll End Road, Tipton, were completed last June to the tune of £4.4m but will now cost an extra £929,449 according to Sandwell Council.
The council said the overspend on the mix of two-bed bungalows and one-bed flats was because of “several unforeseen and regulatory-driven challenges” and was a “worst-case estimate.”
The council said the original budget had only covered construction of the new council houses and had left out consultant and survey fees and any money used to ‘deliver, manage and co-ordinate’ the project “fell outside the original budget.”
Inflation, changes to building regulations and work by the Environment Agency had also added to costs, the council said.
Sandwell Council approved the plans at the end of 2021 and handed Harper Group the £4.4m contract in September 2022. The homes were built by June last year.
The council report said inflation on labour, plant, and material costs, which increased in the five months between the contract being awarded and work beginning, added £90,000 to the bill.
The council also said construction of the new housing was in “full flow” when the Environment Agency closed the site for three-and-a-half months adding £23,000 to costs.
The Environment Agency said more drainage work was needed in Beever Road which also added to the overspend.
Building regulations changes added an extra £173,000, the need for stronger retaining walls required an extra £98,000 and the removal of Japanese knotweed added a further £65,000 to costs.
The report said: “The budget position is a reflection of external regulatory requirements, unexpected ground and site conditions, and changes introduced during the course of the project.”
The council said all but the forgotten survey and consultant fees could not have been “reasonably foreseen at tender stage” and were “necessary to either comply with statutory obligations, protect health and safety, or accommodate client-driven changes.”
The ‘underutilised’ patch of grass in Beever Road was prone to fly-tipping and anti-social behaviour after earlier being allotments and the site of post-war pre-fabricated homes.
The council said ground conditions at the site were “particularly challenging” because of historic mineshafts, existing watercourses and contaminated land.
