Agenda item

The report sought approval to award a contract for the Replacement and Installation of Communal Cold Water Storage Tanks (or conversion to mains feed) to Tenderer A for the 191 tanks identified, in line with the values set out within the exempt part of the report.

The Cabinet Member raised whether the Council were awarding the contract to a single company and if it was a call-off contract. In response, the officer explained that the contract was awarded to a company with nationwide approval for such work, and that it is a call-off contract, meaning there are no monthly or annual fees. The contractor would only be paid for work completed as instructed by Haringey Council.

The Cabinet Member for Housing and Planning (Deputy Leader):

RESOLVED:

1.    To approve the award of a contract for the Replacement of Communal Cold Water Storage Tanks for the 191 tanks identified (or conversion to mains feed) to Tenderer A with a start date of 1st November 2024 with a contract duration of 2 years.

Reasons for decision

The replacement and installation of cold-water storage tanks was due to the current tanks being 30+ years old and beyond economical repair.

The current tanks were rusted and corroded, which was a risk of them being non-compliant within L8 Water Regulations. This had progressively deteriorated over the last 5 years and identified on the yearly planned maintenance visits.

By upgrading the cold-water storage tanks to new insulated plastic tanks, the Council was  reducing the risk of leaks that can cause damage to our buildings, and effects of ambient temperature that can lead to freezing or risk of legionella, therefore improving the quality and standard of housing stock.

The Housing Repair Service were unable to deliver this programme using in-house resources, due to the nature and specialism needed to carry out these works.

Prior to replacing the tanks a mains pressure and capacity assessment would be made along with a survey of the installations to establish if the tank could be removed and converted to direct mains supply. This would be done in communication with the water supply company and the water byelaws and regulations and would result in a reduced on-going water safety monitoring cost.

This was a call-off contract, in that there was no monthly or annual fee, and the contractor would only receive payment for works completed on instruction from Haringey Council.

Alternative options considered.

Do Nothing – This was not an option as it would increase the risks of leaks, loss of water and legionella disease. It would also leave Haringey exposed to potential prosecution for failing to take reasonable care to safeguard its residents and would result in contravention of current Health & safety regulations.

Conduct the work through in-house resources. - The Council was unable to deliver these works in-house due to a lack on suitably trained and certified operatives. The Council did not have enough operatives, and the timescales required to recruit and train them would result in the same outcome as set out in 5.1 above.