Management of a £75m housing refurbishment programme, providing monthly valuations, variation review and final account agreement across an eight-year contract.
The client
Stevenage Borough Council is a local government authority in Hertfordshire, England, dedicated to serving the needs of its community. The council is responsible for providing a wide range of services, including housing, waste management, local planning and recreational facilities.
The project
Stevenage Borough Council identified approximately 530 residential blocks requiring significant refurbishment works. These properties were brought together into an eight-year programme covering improvements to internal communal areas, external building fabric and surrounding landscaping.
Two contractors were appointed to deliver the works. Detailed designs had already been developed for around 40 commonly occurring block types, known as ‘Archetypes’, which formed the basis for pricing the remaining properties.
A bespoke Schedule of Rates was developed for the programme, with additional works outside the schedule valued on a quotation basis. Works exceeding £5,000 required three quotations, while works over £75,000 were completely tendered. As the contract spanned eight years, rates were subject to annual uplifts in line with the BCIS All-in Maintenance General Cost Indices.
Our role
FFT was appointed approximately 18 months into the programme to provide Quantity Surveying services. Our responsibilities included monthly valuations with both contractors, reviewing variations to ensure the correct rates were applied, monitoring costs throughout delivery and preparing and agreeing annual final accounts.
Services provided
The challenges
The programme was delivered during a period of exceptional market volatility. The Covid-19 pandemic disrupted construction activity, affected material availability and created significant supply chain pressures, while Brexit contributed to labour shortages. Rising energy costs and the war in Ukraine further increased construction costs.
These unprecedented market conditions meant the contractual BCIS uplift mechanism no longer reflected actual cost movements, leading both contractors to request additional price increases.
Stevenage Borough Council sought FFT’s support in assessing these requests. We reviewed the contractors’ submissions against current market evidence, industry trends and forecast cost data before negotiating fair and commercially balanced rates. We also recommended regular cost reviews throughout the remainder of the programme to ensure pricing remained aligned with changing market conditions.
Added value
During the programme, FFT identified several variation items that repeatedly occurred across multiple properties. We recommended incorporating these items into the bespoke Schedule of Rates, allowing them to be valued consistently for the remainder of the contract, with agreed BCIS uplifts applied where appropriate.
This streamlined the valuation process, reduced the need for repeated negotiations and provided greater cost certainty for both the council and its contractors.
The outcome
FFT provided robust commercial management throughout the programme, ensuring valuations, variations and final accounts were managed accurately and efficiently. Through cost reviews and successful negotiation of fair market rates, we helped Stevenage Borough Council maintain cost certainty during a period of market volatility, while streamlining the valuation process and supporting the successful delivery of the eight-year refurbishment programme.