£70,000 – the cost of producing Melksham Market Place plans

The plans for the re-development of Melksham Market Place have cost £70,000 to produce, Melksham News has discovered.

Wiltshire Council spent ‘approx 60K’ for the scheme development up to January and a further ‘approx 10k for development of the reduced cost options to present date’, the council has told Melksham News.

The cost, paid to Atkins, the council’s consultants for highways projects, has brought an angry response in the town. It’s the equivalent of six months’ salary of Prime Minister David Cameron.

Mayor Terri Welch said, “This is where all our money goes. It’s appalling; it’s an enormous amount of money just to draw up plans.

“But at a time when we’re being told Wiltshire Council can’t afford to keep the toilets open and are getting rid of our street cleaner, is it the best use of the council’s money?

“To be fair, it’s not necessarily Atkins’ fault; they are doing as they have been asked. The problem is with Wiltshire Council not being decisive and continually changing the plans.

“If you ran your home or business like this, you would be bust. Doesn’t Wiltshire Council have in-house staff or architects who could do this sort of work? If not, perhaps they could look to take them on; it surely would save a lot of money.

“This is only the tip of the iceberg; I hate to think what the costs are for this sort of work for projects like the campus and the football and rugby facilities.

“The town council has a few comments on the Market Place plans but it makes you think how much this will all cost if more plans are needed.”

Jonathon Seed, chair of Melksham Area Board, commented, “The proposed improvement plans to the Market Place in Melksham form part of the overall Melksham Community Campus project. The design for the Market Place and entrance to the new campus evolved following local involvement and consultation. The campus programme is managed by an in-house council team overseeing the delivery across the county, including Melksham.

“Contractors are selected to deliver the build programme under the management of the in-house  team.

“The overall cost of the Market Place improvements will be around £500K as part of the total investment of £23 million for the Melksham campus at Woolmore Farm and Melksham House sites.

“Atkins will be commissioned to do the technical designs for the Market Place improvements and necessary highways works. The design fee for this work will be around £65,000 representing approx. 5% of the overall cost for this scheme.

“This fee is consistent with the cost for design on capital construction projects such as the Market Place. It is planned that work will start in summer 2016 for completion pre-Christmas to ensure the town’s 2016 Christmas light switch on is not affected.

“The council does not employ a team of build/engineering designers and contractors to deliver major construction projects. In the case of major schemes such as the campus programme or highways improvements, a tendering process takes place and the contractor/bidder offering the best quality, value for money and expertise required, is appointed to carry out the approved design and build programme.

“The council’s in-house team is accountable for the delivery, budget, assuring the quality standards and the time scale for completion.”

A spokesperson for Atkins said, “We don’t comment on the commercial arrangements with any of our clients.”