Agenda item

[Report of the Director of Environment and Neighbourhoods.  To be introduced by the Cabinet Member for Climate Change, Equalities and Leisure]

Agreement to award of contract for essential repair works to two footbridges along Parkland Walk, Upper Tollington Park footbridge and Vicarage (Haslemere) footbridge following competitive procurement process.

The Cabinet Member for Climate Change, Equalities and Leisure introduced the report which sought approval for the award by Cabinet of the Parkland Walk Bridges refurbishment works contract for the repairs to the Vicarage and Upper Tollington footbridges.

The Cabinet Member and Mark Stevens, Assistant Director Direct Services, responded to questions from Councillor Cawley-Harrison:

-           There had been some tree clearance along the Parkland Walk.  Where there were trees within 5 metres of the bridges, these had been cleared for the work to be carried out.  Other trees had also been removed to aid social distancing.  All works had been carried out in conjunction with the Friends of Parkland Walk, trees fficers and the biodiversity officer.

-           Part of the Parkland Walk was within the borough of Islington, where there had been a severe cut back of trees.

Further to considering exempt information at item 29, 

RESOLVED to

1.      Approve, in accordance with CSO 9.07.01(d), the award of the contract for the Upper Tollington and Vicarage footbridges refurbishment works to Bidder 1 identified in the exempt report in the sum of £556,471.43 + VAT with provision to increase this sum, as necessary, by an amount not exceeding the risk and contingency allowance set out in the exempt Part B of this report.

2.      Authorise the issue of a Letter of Intent (LOI) for the amount of £55,647, being 10% of the contract price.

Reasons for decision

The appointment of the preferred bidder will enable the Council to deliver repairs to the bridges, minimising future maintenance of the structures and ensuring their continued use by residents and Parkland Walk users.    

Officers have undertaken a tendering exercise to secure a contractor to deliver the Upper Tollington and Vicarage footbridges refurbishment works.  Through this process, Bidder 1 has scored the highest and has demonstrated that it should be awarded the contract. 

In awarding the contract to Bidder 1, the Council is securing delivery of the Upper Tollington and Vicarage footbridges refurbishment works. It is the Council’s intention for the works to be undertaken between April 2021 and September 2021. 

Alternative options considered

Option 1: Do nothing

Pursuing this option would fail to address the essential repairs identified during the bridge inspection and assessment process.  There are risks associated with not undertaking the repairs - a delay in addressing the issues will result in increased costs to address further deterioration through emergency works.  This option is not recommended.

Option 2 Direct Award to Term Maintenance Contractor

This option was discounted since it was considered more cost effective to test the market by undertaking a competitive procurement process to secure the most economically advantageous tender to the Council. 

Option 3 In-house delivery

This option was discounted as the Council currently does not have the requisite in-house resource and expertise to undertake the works.  

Option 4 Postpone the repairs and re-tender the contract at a future date

The Council previously tendered for repair works to one of the bridges (Vicarage footbridge) in November 2019 and received one compliant tender submission.  Following evaluation, it could not be demonstrated that the submission represented value for money.  Feedback from suppliers at that time indicated that the scope of repair works was insufficient in volume for them to be able to submit a competitive tender.  The Council subsequently added Upper Tollington Bridge to the scope and repackaged the tender documents.  The tender was due to be issued in March 2020 but was postponed due to Lockdown 1.0.  The condition of the bridges is deteriorating faster than was anticipated when the original bid for capital funding was submitted.  Further postponement of the repair works carries risks to the Council; this option is therefore not recommended.