How Do We Deliver Projects?

Why does it take so long?

There will be some considerable changes to the physical look of Thornhill over the remaining 5 years of the Thornhill Plus You programme.We are now moving into our 'Capital Delivery' (the 'Bricks and Mortar' developments) phase of the programme.

Of course, much has changed,but it is not always obvious that change is happening. Most of our 'revenue' programme has been delivered (a revenue project changes service delivery across health, education and employment), and you, your children or your grandchildren are probably benefiting from these: such as the midwifery team, health visiting or one of the Southampton Action For Employment (SAFE) courses, among others.

Capital projects delivered to date include:

• the skate park on Hinkler Green
• improved play areas on Lydgate Green and Hinkler Green
• new fencing along Bursledon Road
• crossing at the junction of Warburton Road and Bursledon Road

Another £20m will be spent in the next five years to improve homes, roads, recreation areas and the environment.The massive contract to deliver Better Homes to over 2000 households in partnership with the City Council, will be getting underway by Summer 2005.

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What is Thornhill Plus You spending its time doing?

It takes a huge amount of behind-the-scenes preparation to deliver high quality projects, and sometimes it is like a game of snakes and ladders! Hopefully the following will help to explain the process:

Stage 1. Consultation

Thornhill Plus You has the community at its heart. This means that no project is valid, no project will be approved, no project will be funded, no one is going to waste their time working on a project until the community has said that it is happy that the project will deliver results in putting right the problems that it has identified.

In 2000, a large amount of work was done with and by the community to determine what it is like to live in Thornhill, the concerns that you had and the best ways to go about changing this. A programme of projects was built around these findings and a Partnership Board was  established (60% of which are local residents) in order to oversee the effective delivery of the programme. They aim to ensure that community needs remain the focus of the programme, as well as ensuring projects delivered are of a high quality and are kept to budget.

Various other consultation events have been held since this time to fully understand the current feeling within the community on certain project ideas as things change over time. We also consult with the community through a range of events, mail drops etc. and consistently through Working Groups, which meet every month.

Stage 2. Fact Finding

Inevitably, the delivery of a project will come up against many obstacles. Therefore, research and studies are needed to establish realistic costs of delivering a project and to uncover potential problems. Also this phase is needed to reach agreements with our partners, such as the City Council.

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Stage 3. Project Application Stage

The relevant Working Group oversees the development of an application.
Typically an application is then drawn up to be taken to the next stage.

Stage 4.Thornhill Plus You Appraisal and Approval Process

The projects then have to go through the following process:
1. The Thornhill Plus You Appraisal Panel (which looks at technical aspects of the project such as Value for Money and Risk Management).
2.To the Thornhill Plus You Board (to look at strategic issues, recommendations of the Working Group and Appraisal Panel, and the overall ‘fit’ within the programme).
3.To the Government Office for approval if over £250,000.

Stage 5. Planning and Timing

Once the application is approved, preparation for the build can begin, although everything that can be resolved before approval is done so. Things likely to need resolving are Planning Permission, selecting a contractor to carry out the works, and so on.

At this stage, and indeed right through the process, it is important that we are linking Thornhill Plus You projects together, as well as linking our projects with other work going on in the area.

We are currently developing a ‘Framework Implementation Plan’ to identify these issues to ensure that money is not wasted and inconvenience to the community is kept to a minimum. Therefore, it might be necessary to delay one project until another has been delivered e.g. we don’t want to be digging up the road twice!

Stage 6.Work Starts!

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