Westminster has awarded a £3.69m contract to rebuild 17-23 Third Avenue as the Queen's Park Family Hub, £916,000 under estimate. It opens in autumn 2027.

Westminster City Council has awarded a £3.69m building contract to turn a former school on Third Avenue into the new Queen’s Park Family Hub, with the doors due to open in autumn 2027.

Cllr Paul Fisher, the cabinet member for value for money and finance, approved the award to Borras Construction Ltd on 7 August. The decision took effect on 15 August. (Decision 3551, Westminster City Council)

The tender came in well under budget. The council had estimated the works at £4.604m before going to market, and the winning price was £3,688,228.99 excluding VAT, £916,000 less. Including VAT the contract is worth £4,425,874.79.

What is being built, and where

The site is 17-23 Third Avenue, W10 4RS, the former St Marylebone Bridge School, next to Queen’s Park Gardens. The existing building will be refurbished and a new extension built alongside it.

Planning permission was granted on 11 June 2026 under reference 25/08122/COFUL. The permitted scheme covers:

  • use of the site as a family hub with associated community spaces
  • refurbishment and alteration of the existing building
  • a new building alongside it
  • air source heat pumps
  • cycle and bin stores
  • works to trees

(Westminster planning register, 25/08122/COFUL)

The hub will not be a new service. It replaces the one operating from 88 Bravington Road, which moves into the larger building. The council says the extra space is for community use as well as the hub itself.

The report notes what sits nearby: Queen’s Park Primary School, the Avenues Youth Project and Queen’s Park Library. (Cabinet member report VFM26-10, PDF)

Timeline of the Queen's Park Family Hub project from the January 2026 tender to completion in September 2027
Key dates for the Queen's Park Family Hub. Source: Westminster City Council cabinet member report VFM26-10 and the council's planning register.

How the contract was let

The council ran a mini-competition under the Fusion 21 refurbishment and new build framework. Six suppliers on the framework expressed interest and were invited to tender in January. Three bids came back by the April deadline.

Borras Construction scored highest on combined quality and cost, at 90.50%. The commercial evaluation was done by consultants AtkinsRealis, which also confirmed the submitted costs were reasonable.

Borras Construction Ltd, company number 01520021, is an active company incorporated in October 1980 and registered in St Albans, with commercial building construction as its listed business. (Companies House)

The work will run under a JCT Design and Build 2024 contract. The council has delegated authority to its executive director of finance and resources to approve contingency spending and contract variations. That means no fresh decision is needed, and it is the usual route by which a fixed price stops being fixed.

What the builder has committed to

Social value and sustainability carried 10% of the evaluation weighting, with a further 3% for equality, diversity, inclusion and human rights. Borras committed 94.30 points under the council’s social value model, including:

  • one full-time job for a Westminster resident from a priority group
  • adult employability support and careers work with under-18s
  • donations, resources, event and office space for voluntary and community organisations
  • volunteering hours, including environmental volunteering
  • engagement with local schools, community groups and Queen’s Park Community Council

The contractor has agreed to pay the London Living Wage where applicable. Delivery against these commitments is reported to the council monthly.

On the building itself, the council lists green roof elements, sustainable drainage, biodiversity enhancement, protection of retained trees and environmental reporting on waste and carbon during construction.

The dates to watch

There is a wrinkle in the report worth flagging. The recommendation approved a contract period of 1 August 2026 to 1 September 2027, and the executive summary repeats that. The project timetable in the same document puts contract commencement and mobilisation at 1 September 2026, with contract terms finalised and signed between 4 and 31 August. Completion is given as 1 September 2027 throughout.

The report also carries the standard caveat that the timetable is subject to change. It names unforeseen problems in an existing building as a risk, mitigated by condition surveys and a client contingency.

What it means for you

If you use the family hub at 88 Bravington Road, it is still there. Nothing in this decision changes the service today. The move happens when the Third Avenue building is finished, currently scheduled for September 2027.

If you live on or near Third Avenue, expect a construction site from this autumn through to autumn 2027, including tree works and the erection of a new building. The council says community engagement during the build is part of the contractor’s obligations, so the site team is the route for complaints about noise, dust or access.

If you are looking for work or a placement, the contractor’s commitments include a full-time job ringfenced for a Westminster resident from a priority group, plus employability support and careers engagement for under-18s.

If you want to read the detail, the planning file carries 130 documents, including the drawings. Note that parts of the contract report are exempt from publication on commercial grounds, so the tender prices of the two unsuccessful bidders are not public.

We track Westminster applications and decisions on our Westminster planning news page.

Sources