Decision

The Environment Portfolio Holder approved the extension of the following arboricultural services contracts within the arboricultural supply chain for a further 1 year (1st September 2027 – 31st August 2028).

•  Lot 1: Down To Earth Trees Ltd at an estimated value of £250k

•  Lot 3: All Angles Treecare Ltd at an estimated value of £250k

•  Lot 4: Arbortas Ltd at an estimated value of £250k

•  Lot 5: Framework (multiple suppliers) at an estimated value of £250k

The Environment Portfolio Holder allowed the Lot 2 and Lot 5 Framework contract with Gristwood and Toms Ltd, to expire at the end of the initial term which was the 31st of August 2027.

The Environment Portfolio Holder approved the modification of the arboricultural services contracts for Lots 1, 3 and 4 to include additional geographical areas set out in paragraph 4.19 for the extension period (1st September 2027 – 31st August 2028) at an estimated value of £70k for each contract.

Reasons for the decision

Officers were undertaking a full and detailed options appraisal for the future delivery model for arboricultural services, in line with the Council’s commissioning approach. This encompassed routine arboricultural operations, emergency call out provision, tree planting and establishment services.

The Council needed to maintain an uninterrupted service while a preferred future model was agreed and implemented; the report recommended exercising the option to extend three out of four of the geographically scoped contracts for an additional 12 months to 31st August 2028, noting that they had demonstrated good performance. As there was one contract where performance did not justify a contract extension, the report recommended that the associated workload be redistributed across the remaining three contractors to maintain operational sustainability, through a modification of these contracts.