The Education Committee told the States as recently as last year that the project would cost about £25m., but it admitted yesterday that the figure had since climbed to approximately £40-50m.
The development is currently on hold, with sixth form students preparing to move temporarily to La Mare de Carteret from September, but despite the spiralling construction costs Education still hopes to open a new sixth form centre at Les Ozouets by 2029.
Education vice-president Sam Haskins, speaking in the absence of the committee’s president, Andrea Dudley-Owen, told the Guernsey Press that the revised costs came as no surprise.
‘The estimated costs have risen from initial high-level projected costs of £24m. which were put together in 2022/23 and it is important to note that at the time they were not market tested and did not include contingency, including optimism bias,’ said Deputy Haskins.
‘New estimated projected costs have increased to circa £40-50m. and this is entirely predictable considering that all known costs are now included within the updated figures and we are estimating into the future, assuming completion in 2029, seven years after the initial estimate.’
The committee’s plans have been in the spotlight again since the Guernsey Press revealed earlier this week that the Education Office and other staff will move into the current sixth form centre at Les Varendes when students are relocated to La Mare de Carteret in September.
The Guernsey Press subsequently learned of the spiralling costs of the second phase of the redevelopment of Les Ozouets – which will follow the construction of The Guernsey Institute on the site – after briefings were provided to politicians and officials at several meetings late last month and early this month.
Deputy Haskins yesterday blamed the problem on decisions made by the States Assembly.
‘It was explained during the funding debate that separating the Les Ozouets project into two phases, and delaying a sizeable proportion of the work on the site, would increase costs significantly,’ he said.
‘As time passes, inflation rises, material costs go up and project staff costs continue. Phasing the work means the efficiencies of all the work happening at once are lost, and we have needed to build additional contingencies into the costs.
‘Ultimately, the States’ decision to delay and phase the work has caused the estimated increase in the overall project.’
The revised costs were calculated when the Policy & Resources Committee asked other committees, including Education, Sport & Culture, to estimate the funds required for capital projects being handed over to the next Assembly, which will be elected on 18 June.
Phase two at Les Ozouets currently has no start date. Foundations are being laid for the work, at an estimated cost of £1m., but no further funds will be drawn down in this political term. Approval will be needed from the next Assembly before the project goes ahead in full.
‘These [revised] estimated costs were just theoretical, have not gone through any tender process or value engineering, and much more work will be required to get an accurate figure when a plan is in place to progress this phase of the project,’ said Deputy Haskins.
Two members of Education, Deputies Andy Cameron and Adrian Gabriel, have previously voted to keep the sixth form centre at Les Varendes, which would retain an 11-18 site in the States sector, but the committee yesterday gave no indication that it was re-considering its plans for three 11-16 schools and a sixth form centre next to the Guernsey Institute at Les Ozouets.
‘The committee remains under direction to deliver the States-agreed model of secondary and post-16 education,’ said Deputy Haskins.
Phase two of the redevelopment of Les Ozouets also includes a building for horticulture studies which is understood to have an estimated cost of less than £1m.
The States agreed last year to go ahead with the redevelopment of The Guernsey Institute and refurbishment of the 11-16 school at Les Varendes at an indicative cost of £87m.
You need to be logged in to comment. If you had an account on our previous site, you can migrate your old account and comment profile to this site by visiting this page and entering the email address for your old account. We'll then send you an email with a link to follow to complete the process.