Build Cost. For the purpose of their assessment the applicant has provided a summary of costs and basic breakdown, but no detail of specification or materials is included in this summary. The total submitted construction costs are £4,913,968 and include demolition works, associated external works costs and a 5% contingency, but exclude professional fees. Also included within this figure are the following over/extra costs: £68,800: Demolition £45,000: Piling works £137,500: Extra value for windows We have not been provided with a ground condition report but due to the height of the proposed building it is assumed that piling works will be required, and these costs will be reflected within the BCIS figures for this size of structure. Similarly, we have not been provided with any details of why additional costs are required for the windows but it is assumed that is relates to noise attenuation due to its busy central location. Based on the quantity of windows the costs do not seem unreasonable. If the demolition costs, additional window costs and contingency are stripped out of the total, the remaining figure for base build costs and external works is £4,473,670. Based on a total gross internal area of 2,936.7m2, this equates to an overall build rate of £1,523.37 per m2 including all external works and utility connection costs. This build rate site broadly in line with current BCIS Lower Quartile rate levels for a 6+ storey residential block adjusted for this location. There are some areas of the proposed scheme which will not require as high a cost as the current residential BCIS rate such as the basement storage areas and to a lesser extent the commercial areas, but overall, taking account of the anticipated sales revenue and general nature and value of the location we consider the submitted construction costs not to be overstated and have therefore included the same within our appraisal.
Build Cost. Residential:
Build Cost. The applicant has assessed the overall base build costs at £4,600,000 on the basis of approximately £1,341 per m2 which is assumed to include a build contingency. We have taken account of the BCIS rates for building these types of properties and have adjusted for location. On this basis we consider the base build costs to be reasonable as the construction rate sits between current Lower Quartile and Median figures for a 3-5 storey block which is what we would expect to see in this lower value location. The proposed block will be part 6 storey and it is worth noting that the BCIS guide figures increase dramatically for a 6 storey+ block. In addition, £50,000 has been included for a landscaped decking area for car parking and amenity which is also deemed reasonable for this scheme and will essentially cover the costs of all landscaping and external works required. Whilst this will be minimal due to the site coverage of the new building, there will still be associated costs to be accounted for.
Build Cost. The applicant has not provided a detailed breakdown of costs for this scheme but have instead relied on the BCIS guide. They have adopted the following base build rates: Detached Houses - £1,371 per m2 Semi-Det. Houses - £1,138 per m2 In their report the applicant has stated that the scheme will be built out by a local builder; Xxxxxx Mill Estates in this instance. For a scheme in a lower value location such as this we would normally expect to see build cost base rates closer to the Lower Quartile BCIS figures. However, the applicant has indicated that a BCIS Median level of cost is appropriate as smaller schemes such as this will not benefit from quantum discounts available to volume housebuilders who are able to order in bulk and we would agree that with smaller developments such as this, economies of scale are less easily achieved when compared with larger green field schemes. The above proposed figures put forward actually sit between the current Lower Quartile and Median costs, with the detached property costs (which make up the majority of the scheme) being close to the Lower Quartile figure. Current BCIS figures adjusted to the Southampton location are as follows: Detached: Lower Q = £1,346 per m2 Median = £1,606 per m2 Semi-detached: Lower Q = 1,072 per m2 Median = £1,180 per m2 We therefore consider them not to be overstated and have included the same in our appraisal. In addition an external works cost allowance of 15% of base construction costs has been included (to include the proposed children’s play area), which again is roughly what we would expect to see for a scheme of this nature. Overall we have included a base build cost of £1,526,861 (excluding contingency, professional fees or abnormal costs), plus external works costs of £229,029 which is in line with the applicant’s submitted figures.
Build Cost. GLH have been provided with budget construction costings prepared by the applicants cost consultants, Projex Building Solutions, and the total cost is estimated at £61,330,000. This figure includes a 5% construction contingency and also includes Public Realm, Incoming services and demolition. Our internal QS have reviewed the cost plan provided and estimates the total build cost at £59,121,764 excluding any contingency which compares to the applicants cost of £58,402,202 excluding contingency (calculated by our QS). Our QS cost plan is attached as appendix 2. The overall base build costs excluding contingency are approx 1% different.
