East Ayrshire Council

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Department of Educational and Social Services

BUILDING LEARNING COMMUNITIES

Background

Public Private Partnership is a key element in the Scottish Executive's strategy for delivering modern high quality schools.

East Ayrshire, following a feasilbility study in late 2000, agreed to adopt this programme as one element of their school estate strategy and gave it the name "Building Learning Communities".

Thereafter a detailed and costed Outline Business Case was submitted to the Scottish Executive in December 2001 and this resulted in an offer of funding from the Exective in the summer of 2002.

By 2003 a Project Team and associated professional Advisers had been appointed, a Revised Business Case prepared and approved by Council in 2004 along with the shortlisting of three companies who would bid the project. The Invitation to Negotiate documents were issued early in 2005, with two excellent bids submitted in May/June.

Following a very detailed and rigerous evaluation Council, on 19 October 2005, appointed First Class Consortium (FCC) as the Project's Preferred Bidder.

FCC is a consortium comprising Hochtief and Norddeutche Landesbank (Nord LB) with construction work being sub-contracted to Barr Ltd and McLaughlin and Harvey. The facilities management role will be provided by Mitie. As a consortium they are relative newcomers to the market having been formed in 2003, however all individual companies have long traditions and bring with them a solid track record.

Following lenghty and protracted negotiations Financial Close was reached on Thursday 27 July 2006. The signing of the contracts allowed construction work to start at all four sites immediately thereafter.