Architectural commission. Cromlet Park, Invergordon, Ross-shire

Descriptions

The Highland Council and Albyn Housing Society wish to jointly commission an architect to deliver a detailed planning consent for the council land holding identified on the Land Register as ROS3993. This appointment will be managed by Albyn Housing Society Ltd acting as Development Agent for The Highland Council. This is an exciting and innovative commission to maximise the potential of a town centre site in a mix of private development opportunities and affordable housing, associated recreation and amenity space and potentially some commercial facilities, in an area which for the purposes of the plan will be called Cromlet Park. Unit numbers should be guided by the local plan but maximise the potential of the site to deliver economically. The appointment will also cover a full architectural service to deliver a first phase of circa twenty five affordable units with the emphasis being on single storey, amenity and particular needs provision. The successful architect will be required to work with The Highland Council and Albyn Housing Society Ltd to develop a site which meets the needs of the community and makes a positive contribution to the character and sustainability of the town of Invergordon. The outcome will be a mix of affordable housing and private developer opportunities in several phases. The design should focus primarily on solutions which enable people to live well. The architect will arrange and chair collaborative meetings with the relevant planning and roads authorities along with other statutory consultees and service providers at the outset to ensure that the plan produced clearly identifies both constraints and opportunities. In line with the Major Development status of this site, the appropriate level of community engagement will be required. This may include but not be limited to attendance at community council, community development trust and parent council meetings. The tender price submitted should be based on a full consultancy package whether in house or externally sourced with the exception of the cost consultant whose appointment will sit with the clients. All relevant consultants will contract directly with the client(s) but be coordinated as part of the architect’s commission. Costs and details of the full team should be included in this tender submission. The Client will be either Albyn Housing Society or The Highland Council subject to the vagaries of the development programme. The client commissioned a contaminated land information review, scoping and site investigation strategy in 2013, which will inform the development of the site. For the purposes of tender, the architect should assume that there will be no contractor designed elements. Target dates associated to this commission are: End February 2020 for tender return and a first outline proposal four weeks from date of appointment. The target start date for phase one is November 2020. This commission will be appointed per SCA/2018 up to and including Stage 3 Design Development for the site at large. In addition there will be an appointment up to and including stage 5 Construction for a first phase of twenty five units. Depending on performance, the council reserve the right to agree commercial terms with the appointed architect to extend the scope of this appointment on subsequent phases over future financial years. The target Start on Site date for Phase 1 will be November 2020. The tender for this piece of work will be assessed on a quality/price ratio of 60% quality:40% price. Tenders will only be considered from bidders who achieve 70% or above quality score in the ESPD.