The Third Way for building control?

Five years ago Salford City Council was looking for what seemed at the time to be a radical alternative to local authority service delivery. A number of questions were raised. How could we develop cost-effective improvements, provide more financial certainty for the authority, and provide potential for business growth as well as a share in the rewards for all concerned?  A Joint Venture Company (JVC) was the answer.

Following invitations for interested partners, a relatively short but intensive evaluation phase confirmed that Capita Symonds and Morrison Construction would be the preferred partners – and Urban Vision was formed in 2005.

Whilst there was, naturally, a degree of trepidation within the ranks, surveyors were keen to work within an organisation that appreciated the competitive nature of the building control business.

Initially, relatively simple but long term frustrations were addressed. At last the ‘callout’ system was formalised – a new system that recognised the importance of this service and the high degree of responsibility and commitment it placed on the team. We also required our own ‘in house’ structural engineer. A simple business case proved that this made sense and would improve the service and reduce costs. After years of resistance our own structural engineer was recruited and this has proved to be both an operational and financial success.

In 2006/7 our workload increased dramatically as the industry as a whole went into overdrive. Recruitment was difficult for us all, and the JVC enabled Urban Vision to offer alternatives to local authority employment contracts, including terms and conditions that reflected our competitors.

What happened next? Urban Vision Building Control had a choice – as a commercial organisation we could determine our own destiny – and sticking with our core area of expertise and LABC made sense.

Major commercial wins at the time included BBC Media City, the redevelopment of Salford’s Hope Hospital, as well as PAS prison work, demolition project management, and they all added to a rapidly growing market.

The need to establish links within the Capita Symonds group was obvious, raising awareness of the expertise available within LABC. Urban Vision can raise the profile of LABC, highlighting the benefits that LABC can add to the design team, whether in a traditional building control role or providing guidance and specialist support normally sought elsewhere.

Reassuring clients that LABC has both the technical expertise and commercial awareness to support design teams is essential to us all - retaining and winning new clients, targeting all market sectors and feeding work back into LABC are fundamental elements of the Capita Symonds strategy.

New business initiatives at Urban Vision include:

• Many organisations operate within framework arrangements providing support within predetermined agreements – the Urban Vision’s Business Development Team provides support to both identify and bid for a place within these contractual arrangements, an area of business not previously targeted.
  
  
• Securing key partners – Urban Vision is currently working with Capita Symonds on a major college development in North Wales within the PAS – a scheme that otherwise was heading to alternative suppliers.
  
  
• A recent framework agreement with two housing organisations provides guidance on Building Regulation issues. Another local organisation requires ongoing monitoring of housing stock and Urban Vision are now undertaking programmed ‘safety surveys’ on their behalf.
  
  
• A more recent enquiry has resulted in discussions with a university undertaking government-funded research –? identifying and exploring the issues which impinge upon effective sustainability improvements to existing housing stock.
  
  
• Technical evaluation –providing design and financial certainty for clients.
  
  
• Supporting authorities seeking guidance on alternative approaches to delivering building control.

Meanwhile, Capita Symonds has secured an arrangement within Breckland Council to provide both Building and Development Control services. More than 50 staff were transferred to a new organisation providing guaranteed services for the authority together with financial certainty and the flexibility necessary to develop the service as a stand-alone business.

In the current climate, increasing competition for a diminishing market together with the government’s need to identify significant public sector savings means more and more authorities are looking at the way they deliver services.

LABC is the driving force in promoting this public sector service; their success in raising the profile of our service, the development of new initiatives and the marketing of our business to all key players is obvious. Should we generally remain entrenched in a ‘them and us’, private/public approach to our service? Perhaps not. There is a ‘middle ground’ that opens up new opportunities, and even, perhaps, a more ‘sustainable’ future.

Yes, Capita Symonds is a commercial organisation looking for business opportunities, and supporting local authorities in delivering building control can provide opportunities for all concerned. The pressures of direct competition and now the ever-increasing demands to reduce costs, require local authorities to rethink services.

Capita Symonds can provide support in numerous ways. Initially understanding and agreeing objectives is fundamental. Capita Symonds can help support the everyday operational role, be a strategic partner to collaborative working groups, support the LABC business strategy and assist in the development of alternative service models. And yes, Capita Symonds can operate within and support LABC as the preferred building control option.