Commercial Project - Little Oaks Playschool, Suffolk

We were approached back in 2021 by one of our contacts from the National Trust who were involved in a potential upcoming project: the construction of a brand-new preschool facility near Framlingham, Suffolk.

At the time, Planning Permission had been secured, but there was a need for a professional architectural and project management practice to take the project forward.

The building serves 50 young persons of preschool age. At the time of our appointment, the client was operating out of the local Scouts Hut, which was not fit for purpose. The client team was (and remains so) exceptionally successful at providing preschool care. Their growing demand led to a struggle to obtain the necessary funding to deliver the project.

RTA was commissioned to undertake the following services:

1. Lead Designer, including coordination of the design team.
2. Management and assistance with discharging new statutory connections (water/electricity/sewage, including a road closure).
3. Design refinement and ultimately submission of a non-material minor amendment to the original Planning Approval.
4. Principal Designer role under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 (CDM).
5. Preparation of Building Regulation drawings and obtaining approval from the Local Authority Building Control.
6. Preparation of the technical design, including production of construction drawings.
7. Production of a full Specification of Works using the NBS Chorus software with CAWS system.
8. Invitation to Tender, Tender action, and Tender Analysis with recommendations for the award of contract.
9. Contract Administration administering the industry-standard Intermediate Contract from the JCT suite of building contracts.
   1. Valuations
   2. Payment Certificates
   3. Variations
   4. Computation of the final account
   5. Issuing of the Final Certificate and making good defects certificate following the 12-month Rectification period
10. Weekly site visits during the contract period and reporting back to the client.

The project has been a success story due to the efforts and engagement of the client team throughout the project, the contractor (A&C Developments), and us working in a collaborative approach.

One year on from project completion, with demand ever greater, the client is looking at ways of securing additional funding to expand the facilities, and we have been invited to assist with this next phase.