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: