Decision details
Award of a Contract under Contract Standing Order (CSO) 9.07.1, to renew the interim 12-month contract for ecological management services for the Paddock Enhancement Project with a waiver of procurement (under CSO 8.03).
Decision Maker: Assistant Director for Regeneration and Economic Development
Decision status: Recommendations Approved
Is Key decision?: No
Is subject to call in?: No
Decision:
The Assistant Director of Regeneration and Economic Development is
requested to:
1. Waive Contract Standing Order (CSO) 8.03 (requirement to obtain
at least three competitive quotations) as permitted by CSO
10.01.2(d); and to approve the implementation of CSO 9.07.1c and
award a contract for ecological management services and community
engagement and outreach services for the Paddock Enhancement
Project to The Conservation Volunteers. The contract value is
£72,000.
2. Note the recommendation to include this item on the Forward Plan
for a Cabinet Decision on Agreement to Lease in 2022 – to
replace this proposed 12-month interim contract upon its completion
on 31st Oct 2022.
Reasons for the decision:
See Section 4 of the report.
Alternative options considered:
Not extending the contract
The current interim contract for site management would expire on
31st October 2021, and the Council would lose the momentum of the
positive work undertaken in partnership with TCV to date. TCV would
be unable to continue site management activities, and this would
also affect the delivery of community engagement activities. An
alternative provider would need to be secured to continue to
deliver the project aims, leading to delays and the potential loss
of momentum and goodwill in relation to community engagement.
Offering a shorter contract extension
A shorter extension, e.g. 6 months or 9 months, risks creating
uncertainty for TCV and affecting the planning of activity
programmes and longer-term financing options. The renewal of the
12-month interim contract provides time for the Agreement to Lease
proposals to be developed and put before Cabinet in the Spring of
2022, and for the transition to any new service specifications in
Autumn 2022.
Offering a longer management contract
The Paddock project budget has an allowance for 3.5 years of
development funding for site management and community engagement.
It was envisaged that this would cover a 1-year interim contract,
with the remainder drawn down during the Agreement to Lease period,
with TCV's activities being self-financing on the site by the time
the Lease was completed. This time period remains the same with the
Lease proposed to complete in 2024, but the preferred option
extends the interim arrangement prior to the Agreement to Lease
being entered, to allow for greater certainty that TCV are
performing well against their KPIs before a Cabinet decision is
taken.
Open procurement
TCV has performed well over the course of the current interim
contract, and the Council’s intention is to continue the
current working arrangements to allow sufficient time for a
decision to be taken to Cabinet and an Agreement to Lease to be
enacted.
Publication date: 04/11/2021
Date of decision: 27/10/2021
Accompanying Documents: