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Second Report of the Council on alterations to the Raised Faculty Building

The COUNCIL beg leave to report to the University as follows:

1. In their Report of 20 January 1997 (Reporter, 1996-97, p. 365), the Council gave a full account of a scheme to provide additional accommodation in the Raised Faculty Building for the three Faculties that occupy the building, the Faculties of English, Modern and Medieval Languages, and Philosophy. Following the approval of the recommendations of the Report, a planning application was lodged and planning permission was granted on 10 December 1997. It was not possible to proceed to tender at that time because full funding to meet the estimated costs had not been identified.

2. Detailed development of the proposals, in consultation with the three Faculties concerned, has proceeded in the interval. Minor modifications have been made as a result of this process, but the proposals remain in essence as set out in the Council's earlier Report. The main objectives are to maximize the net usable space within the building, to provide access for the disabled, and to upgrade fire precautions to meet the requirements of current legislation.

3. Costs have risen since January 1997; the estimated cost of the scheme now stands at £5.7m, excluding loose items of equipment and other features which are to be funded separately. The costs have been subjected to rigorous scrutiny, and a cost-cutting exercise has been undertaken to ensure that the proposals are set at an economical level. The high cost of the scheme is partly due to the status of the Raised Faculty Building as a listed building.

4. Full funding for the scheme has now been identified. In recognition of the top priority assigned to this project by the General Board for the provision of capital funds (see paragraph 7 of the Council's earlier Report), the Council have agreed to make available an additional sum of £1.5m from the New Buildings Sinking Fund, supplementing the £1m already earmarked from moneys provided by the University Press (ibid.), and the £1.5m provided out of an additional non-recurrent allocation to the New Buildings Sinking Fund which was included in the estimates for 1997-98 (see paragraph 3 of the 1997 Allocations Report, Reporter, 1996-97, p. 769). The Trustees of the Isaac Newton Trust have offered a grant of £0.515m (see paragraph 7 of the Council's earlier Report); this offer was originally conditional upon twice that sum being raised from outside sources, but the Trustees have generously waived the condition in view of the difficulty of raising outside funds for refurbishment works. The appeal launched by the three Faculties has to date raised £0.582m, the Buildings Maintenance Fund will provide £0.350m for the maintenance element of the scheme, and interest on sums on deposit amounts to £0.392m. Thus a total of £5.839m has been raised. Fund-raising efforts are continuing, to provide a buffer in case the tender prices exceed the estimates.

5. In addition, the General Board have agreed to provide up to £120,000 from the Minor Works Fund towards the cost of security arrangements, up to £100,000 from the Furniture Fund for new furniture, and up to £230,000 from the Equipment Fund in 1999-2000 and 2000-01 for equipment. With these additional items the total cost of the scheme amounts to £6.15m.

6. The main construction work will take place in two phases, work on the north wing being undertaken first, during the period July to December 1999; work on the remainder of the building will commence in January 2000, and is expected to be completed by August 2000. This phasing will allow the books from the library in the north wing to be decanted at the beginning of the Long Vacation 1999 and replaced in the refurbished north wing in December 1999. When this operation has been completed the books from the library in the south wing will be decanted, allowing the second phase of the works to commence in January 2000. Decanting space will be provided in temporary accommodation which will be situated in the void under the north wing.

7. The additional running costs of the modified building are expected to be £38,500 a year; as indicated in paragraph 6 of the Council's earlier Report, it is expected that these costs will be partly offset by savings consequent on improvements in the fabric of the building and its services.

8. The Council recommend:

That the Treasurer be authorized to accept a tender for the works described in this Report within the available funding.

7 December 1998

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Cambridge University Reporter, 9 December 1998
Copyright © 1998 The Chancellor, Masters and Scholars of the University of Cambridge.