Property

Building blocks

Despite the current climate, some independent schools will continue to undertake building and refurbishment work. John Durtnell sets out the points a bursar should consider to get best value from building projects

Today’s parents expect facilities that their parents wouldn’t even have dreamt about and, as a result, independent schools have for many years been financing ambitious building projects worth millions of pounds in a bid to safeguard their future. Very often, it has become the bursar’s job to oversee these projects and to ensure that the school’s money is being spent effectively: so how best can you achieve these goals?

First of all, know what you want to build. This might sound obvious, but nothing pushes up costs more quickly than second thoughts, particularly once work has started on site. Also, avoid bespoke features that are going to be costly to maintain or replace. Secondly, choose the right architect, one who has extensive schools experience and can do the calculations as well as draw the pictures. This may sound cynical, but there is an increasing tendency for much of the detailed design work to be left to the main contractor. This can be a recipe for trouble unless the contractor you choose – the third vital step – has the experience to cope.

A word of warning here: the credit crunch is affecting your market, of course. With many new housing developments being cancelled or postponed sine die, there are a lot of builders desperate for new sources of work. Good, you may think: more competition, lower prices. Well, up to a point.

What is actually happening is that builders with no previous experience of the schools market are now bidding for school projects and are presenting themselves as experts. Be wary. If you want your project to run smoothly, check references and pick the contractor that has a solid track record in working for schools. It will save you much money and many sleepless nights.

What makes school contracts so different?
Since much school building work involves extending or replacing an existing building or in-filling a space, a typical school site will have restricted access. It will be surrounded by other buildings that remain in use throughout the contract, so that there has to be a heightened awareness of health and safety issues relating not just to the contractor’s workforce, but also to users of the school’s facilities, whether staff, pupils or parents.

A contractor has to be flexible to accommodate exam sessions and open days, and has to ensure that appropriate behaviour is exhibited by the site workforce.

There is the perennial question of whether you should go for a traditional contract in which the school employs an architect and a main contractor, or whether you should opt instead for a design-and-build contract in which the
main contractor is responsible both for the design of the building and for its construction. On balance, a traditional
contract works better because the professionals involved – the architect, the builder and others – are doing what
they are actually qualified to do.

This just leaves the question of how hands-on you should be during a contract. A professional team will hold regular site meetings and you, as the client’s representative, will be kept fully informed of the progress (or otherwise) of the job, so while the occasional site visit is a sensible exercise, you should not be required constantly to don wellies or come up with answers.

That is the task of your building team – leaving you free to discuss with the headteacher and governors the important matter of which famous person is going to open your beautiful new facility.

John Durtnell is chairman of R Durtnell & Sons Ltd.

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