Issue - meetings

[Report  of the Director for Environment and Neighbourhoods. To be introduced by the Cabinet Member for Tackling Inequality and Resident Services.

The contract is due to expire at the end of September 2023, provision was included for a possible two year extensions to the current contract.  Cabinet approval is sought to for a two year extension of this contract.

The Cabinet Member for Tackling Inequality and Resident Services introduced the report which requested approval to extend the street lighting maintenance contract for a further two years to 30 September 2025, and to the revised project spend of £8m.  The contract was originally awarded to Marlborough Highways Ltd on 1 October 2019 for a minimum of 4 years (with the options to extend for 2 + 2 years).

In response to questions from Councillor Emery, the following information was provided:

-       The Council were pleased with the performance received from the contractors.

-       The Council had responsibility for maintaining the light columns and bulbs.  However, any issues with the electricity supply was the responsibility of UK Power Networks and so was subject to their response times.

RESOLVED to

1.            Approve the extension of the existing contract awarded to Marlborough Highways Ltd for the maintenance of the Council’s street lighting assets for a period of a further 2 years from 1 October 2023 to 30 September 2025.

2.            Approve an increase in total expenditure through the contract from £12m to £20m, with the significant investment in LED street lighting being the main driver of increased spending through the contract.

Reasons for decision

The decision is required to allow the Highways and Parking Service to continue to commission street lighting services.

Alternative options considered

The Council could consider retendering the contract to test the market. However, besides the significant cost of the procurement exercise, there might be limited value in such an option having regard to the following factors:

·           Potential disruption to the current benefit of delivery of both street lighting and highway works contracts through a single contractor operating from the same depot within the borough.

·           Relative competitiveness of the initial tender – tender evaluations revealed that overall, in a combination of price and quality, the successful contractor achieved an overall margin of 4% over the nearest competitor. In terms of pricing, the contract secured a price margin of 7.5%.

·           Current uncertainties within the market (due to inflationary costs and material supply problems) would lead to contractors perceiving greater risks when tendering. This would likely to be reflected in inflated prices received in any new tendering round.