BAM Nuttal Fail To Deliver On Christmas Pledge

Busway contractors BAM Nuttall will be stripped of a further £238,000 for late delivery by Cambridgeshire County Council as the Contractor has confirmed it will not deliver the Busway before shutting down for Christmas. In a public statement, the contractor stated the whole route would be complete before Christmas, but BAM Nuttall’s site team have said today they will not hit the date they set. So far only eleven out of 44 mandatory construction certificates for the southern section, that guarantee the works, have been submitted and the contractor is way behind the schedule they set themselves for providing the certificates.  Almost £14,000 a day will continue to be deducted from BAM Nuttall for late delivery of the project during the festive break on top of almost £9 million that has already been deducted.

Councillors approved plans to bring in new contractors to fix some of the defects once the route has been handed over and the contractor permitted their contracted 28 days to finish any outstanding tasks. All six defects are still outstanding despite a statement by BAM Nuttall ‘s Chief Executive in April saying the firm would fix the problems months ago. The Council plans to install an expansion joint on the River Great Ouse viaduct that was omitted by BAM Nuttall, adjust the levels of the St Ives Park and Ride car park so it drains properly and rain water does not pond as well as raise sections of the flooded cycleway as it is impassable for more than half the year. BAM Nuttall will be liable for the Council’s costs which will be deducted from the 5% of the contract value that is being held back from BAM Nuttall (called retention) that should be paid back to BAM Nuttall after completion.

The Council and bus operators have consistently stated they both want the defects that would cause the Busway to close again once it is open rectified before passenger services begin. When BAM Nuttall finish the job and complete all the necessary construction certificates the independent Project Manager has 21 days to certify the work as complete. BAM Nuttall will then have 28 days under the terms of the contract to correct any defects the Project Manager notifies them of – including the six between St Ives and Cambridge.

After this period the Council can step in with new contractors and fix the jobs as planned. Work on the cycleway will not hold up the opening of the Busway but will be carried out after the other defects as the flooded sections between Swavesey and St Ives must dry out first. Cambridgeshire residents have sadly become very accustomed to BAM Nuttall failing to hit the dates they have set for themselves, but the fact the contractor will not have the work done by Christmas will not be a big surprise to most as Council officers have said publically that they doubted this for some time.

What is promising is the fact the Council now has plans firmly in place to correct the problems that have held up the opening of the Busway between St Ives and Cambridge. By having new contractors ready to go we will try and make sure there are no further unnecessary delays, but until the route is handed over by BAM Nuttall we are very much in their hands. Cambridgeshire deserves the very best and the costs of correcting BAM Nuttall’s defective works will be deducted from the contractor and not paid for by taxpayers.

BAM NUTTALL – they are joking of course !!!!

I come from a business background and have had to defend my own company robustly on occasions in the past. But BAM Nuttall seem to be trying to rewrite history and believing their own story. I can accept they may have got it wrong, might have under bid the work, might have taken on too much but I can’t accept what they are saying now. They are taking the council and the people of Cambridgeshire as fools and that is not good enough.

Council leaders have described statements made by BAM Nuttall as laughable as the contractor’s Chief Executive Steve Fox has said the company needs to be told how to fix defective work on the Busway. Defective works include parts of a cycleway that have been built in a drainage ditch so they flood and are impassable for more than half the year, a car park that has been built with a gradient that does not conform with national standards so puddles form when it rains and a leaky bridge.

The latest interview given by Steve Fox where he talked about the notified defects and said” the Council has not clearly demonstrated that they are defects” and “if you tell us what to do we’ll even see if we can do it for you “. The Council has clearly indicated to BAM Nuttall why the works are defective and has even given the contractor solutions to deal with the problems. In addition BAM Nuttall told the people of Cambridgeshire in a public statement in April that it was working towards rectifying the six defects.

Any work that does not meet the standards set in the contract is documented by an independent Project Manager and notified to BAM Nuttall and the County Council. The contractor is then responsible for correcting defective work, even if they disagree with the independent assessment. Despite the public statement in April the contractors have made no meaningful progress and are now refusing to correct some defects without being instructed to do so – an order that means paying more to the contractor to correct defective work they built.

The Council has been clear that it is not prepared to accept the route on a ‘sold as seen’ basis with outstanding liabilities. Opening the route before the defects are corrected would also mean it would need to close again for the work to be carried out.

 

Bus operators demand defects are put right before the busway opens

Bus operator want outstanding defects that are stopping buses running between St Ives and Cambridge fixed before the Guided Busway opens so the track does not close again for corrections.  But bus operators also reiterated that the outstanding defects that are stopping buses running on the route from St Ives to Cambridge must be rectified before beginning to run services for passengers.
Stagecoach has invested over £3 million in some of the most environmentally friendly buses as we are confident the route will be well used by passengers. But these buses have not been able to be put in use on the route as yet. The parts of the track we have tested so far are of a good standard. BAM Nuttall will continue to be deducted damages of almost £14,000 a day for late delivery until they complete the route. So far over £8 million has been deducted by the Council in damages.

 

 

Buses run on final stretch of busway – but still work to do

Let us hope we are making progress. With the lost of the A14 improvements the guided busway is even more important. Buses have completed the first trial run on the final stretch of the Busway track through Trumpington Cutting – which means buses have now run on every section of the route. The first buses have run on the final stretch of the southern section, but there is still work for BAM Nuttall to complete before the route can be handed over to the Council. Buses also carried out preliminary tests on new traffic signals in Trumpington Cutting where buses will switch onto a section of single track guideway.

The Busway is expected to be handed over to the Council in mid-January when the contractors should have completed all the work. BAM Nuttall then has four weeks under the terms of the contract to fix all the notified defects on the project, including the six outstanding issues on the northern section of the route between St Ives and Cambridge. Council bosses are already making plans to fix the defects that have been stopping the Busway from St Ives to Cambridge opening after BAM Nuttall have had the four weeks they are allowed. The cost of rectifying defects will be charged to the contractor. BAM Nuttall was due to complete both sections of the Busway in February 2009 and the Council has deducted damages almost £14,000 each day – a total in excess of £8.3 million so far.

 

FEn Ditton August 2009 parish report

CYCLE WAY   HORNINGSEA TO FEN DITTON

A public consultation over the proposed Horningsea to Fen Ditton cycleway was held in Horningsea at which over 130 people attended. This is a real opportunity to get the much needed cycleway.

FLYING START FOR COUNTY COUNCIL APPRENTICESHIP SCHEME

A County Council apprenticeship scheme designed to help people into the world of work, has already received almost 200 applications for jobs. The council introduced the scheme to help develop its workforce particularly in the areas of social care, business support and Trading Standards. It is hoped that the scheme will result in 30 apprentices in its first year and more training opportunities could follow in future. The two-year apprenticeships will include work-based training and college or training course study including work towards NVQs, technical certificates and key skills qualifications. The apprenticeships are also a way for the County Council to create employment opportunities for people in a time of recession.

COUNCIL BACKS BUSINESS WITH NEW HIGH SPEED PAYMENT ADVICE SYSTEM

The County Council is supporting local businesses by helping them control their cash flow thanks to a new electronic payment advice system. The system uses e-mail to advise companies that their bills have been paid at the same time as the electronic payment is made. The high-speed service enables suppliers to track their income from goods and services supplied to the county council. The new e-mail remittance advice service is available to any of the thousands of suppliers used by the County Council.

COUNTY COUNCIL PAYS ITS WAY AHEAD OF TIME

The County Council is paying its bills ahead of target and its payment performance has been rated as the best by a county council in the country. During the last financial year, the Council paid 98% of undisputed invoices within the specified 30 days period and many bills were settled within days of being received by the authority. The authority which receives around 500,000 invoices annually is not only the biggest employer in the county, but it is also a significant spender and puts millions of pounds into the local economy every year.

CAMBRIDGESHIRE TRANSPORT COMMISSION REPORT

The County Council is considering the report made by the Cambridgeshire Transport Commission. For more information on the Commission and to download the full report please visit www.cambstransportcommission.co.uk.

In summary the Commission recommends that the Council should make a bid for Transport Innovation Funding (TiF). But it says that a congestion charge should not be brought in any sooner than 2017 and only after the TiF package of improvements are in and working, as well as completion of the A14 improvements and Chesterton Station. It also suggests that a charge would only be brought in when congestion has reached a stage that congestion is deemed to be unacceptable. That trigger point should be agreed by the Council, public, businesses, partner organisations and Government. It stresses this point could be deferred if people use the new public transport facilities.

The Council will consider the Commission’s findings and its options with a report going to Cabinet on September 29. A decision will then be reached on the way forward and this will be taken to Full Council in October.

BUSWAY HANDOVER DATE ANNOUNCED

Busway contractors BAM Nuttall have advised Cambridgeshire County Council that they expect to hand over the track between St Ives and Cambridge at the end of October. This news means that, provided BAM Nuttall achieves this date, Cambridgeshire County Council will be able to open the busway within a month of the handover once final testing and trials are complete. Planning issues with the noise barriers at Histon are now being dealt with and all parties involved have committed themselves to deliver the northern section of the busway for this date.
The Council plans to give some members of the public the chance to try out a longer stretch of the busway before it opens. When the busway opens it will take just 20 minutes to travel by bus along the track from St Ives to the Science Park in Cambridge with buses gliding along at up to 60mph.

CAMBRIDGE CENTRAL LIBRARY- RE-OPENING.

Work has started on fitting, stocking and preparing Cambridge Central Library for its re-opening to the public in late September. Staff and stock which were transferred to branch libraries during the £7.5 million rebuilding and refurbishment of the Lion Yard-based library have now started to move back and preparations are well in hand to prepare the new state-of-the-art facilities.

The Library will eventually house around 100,000 books – 40,000 of which will be new stock – self service facilities for borrowers and computerised stock control. There will be a much improved children’s library, a Learning Centre, base for the Connexions Service, more computers giving free access to e-mail and the internet, a café and improved facilities and storage for the Cambridgeshire Collection.

In addition, escalators have been installed giving access to all three floors and the mechanical, electrical and heating systems completely replaced.

REGIONAL PLANNERS TOLD NEW TOWN AND GROWTH PLANS UNACCEPTABLE

Cambridgeshire planning chiefs have vowed to continue to challenge Governments unreasonably high levels of new housing, including a new 20,000 home town at Alconbury in a new public consultation.

The Government have asked the East of England Regional Assembly (EERA) to consult on four options which would require between 3,600 and 4,560 new homes to be built in the County every year from 2011 up to 2031. This could include a 20,000 home town at Alconbury. Developers have put forward other ideas including new developments at Mereham and Hanley Grange. Councils across Cambridgeshire have united to campaign against these developments and are disappointed that lower levels of housing growth are not included.

A public consultation on the levels of housing growth and where new towns should be built in the Eastern Region is to be launched in September by EERA. The consultation will run for twelve weeks from September 2. Councils have agreed to help communities, including residents and businesses, to have their say in this consultation to make sure their voices are heard. The Cambridgeshire Councils have already written to EERA saying that proposals for a new town on Alconbury airfield are significantly flawed, and suggestions for high housing numbers recommended by Government in other parts of the county are unrealistic.

In their advice to EERA, Cambridgeshire planners also said proposals to build the town of Mereham between Wilburton and Stretham is not worthy of further consideration. This follows its rejection by East Cambridgeshrie District Council, Cambridgeshire County Council and an independent planning inspector.

PROPOSED HOUSING GROWTH FUND CUTS THREATEN £6 MILLION OF FUNDING.

Plans to deliver sustainable new communities across Cambridgeshire have suffered a massive blow after a major funding stream was threatened with cuts. Communities and Local Government (CLG) ministers sent a letter to the Leader of Cambridgeshire County Council, confirming its intentions to reduce the County’s Housing Growth Fund (HGF) capital allocation for 2010-11 by almost £6 million.

The fund, administered by Cambridgeshire Horizons, is used to support the delivery of much needed new homes and infrastructure across the county and significant cutbacks could now need to be made as a result of this considerable reduction in funding.

Cambridgeshire Horizons and the six Cambridgeshire local authorities are now working together to find a way forward to ensure the continued delivery of sustainable new communities to meet the proven demand in the local area. A short formal consultation exercise is due to be announced later this week, and the group will ensure its voice is heard loud and clear.

CAMBRIDGESHIRE YOUNGSTERS ON A QUEST

Youngsters across Cambridgeshire have been flocking into their local libraries to take part in Quest Seekers – the national summer reading challenge. In the first week alone, over 5,000 children have signed up. The challenge involves reading at least six books during the summer holidays and recording details on special Quest Seeker posters. All libraries offer special book testing sessions, where children can talk to staff about what they have been reading. As a special incentive, stickers and rewards – including activity sheets and bookmarks – are awarded to the children and everyone who completes the challenge will receive a medal and certificate at special presentation ceremonies.