Bournemouth Borough Council had received a commitment of Growth Deal funds from Dorset LEP to deliver public realm and communications infrastructure in the Lansdowne area of Bournemouth and instructed HJA to develop a full business case and green book compliant options appraisal to help secure these funds.
To develop the strategic case for the investments we conducted a documentary review to understand the context for the development as well as looking at case studies elsewhere and preparing a logic chain based on the outlined objectives of the public sector intervention. HJA set out the targets, outputs and outcomes of the proposed scheme and made an assessment of the high level benefits, risks, constraints and dependencies involved.
For the economic case we undertook options analysis using an approach based on best practice guidance set out in the HM Treasury Green Book, and Government Guidance on employment density and additionality. We considered five options shortlisted by Bournemouth Borough Council – for each shortlisted option we calculated the gross direct effect and net additional local benefits of the developments that could be brought forward as a result of the intervention. This allowed us to calculate the benefit-to-cost ratio and the net present value of the public sector investment in the area. We conducted sensitivity testing on the benefits from the schemes as well as taking into account optimism bias.
Following this, we considered a range of results from the analysis to identify a preferred option. This involved setting out the cost of delivery and affordability of each option as well as comparing how each option contributed to the targets, outputs and outcomes of the development. A set of methods for monitoring key outcomes was also drawn up.
The commercial case involved outlining the procurement strategy of the development, as well as an assessment of major risks to the project and setting out contractual milestones and estimated delivery dates. For the financial case, we set out a profile of the sources of funding for the development, which included public sector, private and also match funding. Finally, the management case included details of management responsibilities, governance and reporting arrangements as well as the programme delivery plan and key milestones of the development.
The analysis allowed Bournemouth Borough Council to understand the costs and benefits associated with each of their shortlisted options for public realm and infrastructure improvements in the Lansdowne area of Bournemouth. It provided a basis to prepare a full Green Book compliant business case for their chosen option in the future. A number of the proposed developments have since been delivered following the securing of funding for the scheme.
