Purpose

Pelham Court and Fennycroft Tower form part of the Council's building safety programme. Phase 1 requires multidisciplinary consultancy support to develop the technical design and specification, provide regulatory and Principal Designer support, prepare procurement documentation for the construction phase and provide the retained professional services set out in the tender documents.
The approved procurement strategy is a two-stage model. Phase 1 consultancy services were procured through competitive mini-competition under the appropriate South East Consortium consultancy framework arrangements. Phase 2 construction delivery will be procured separately in accordance with the approved strategy.
Separate mini-competitions were undertaken for Pelham Court and Fennycroft Tower using a published evaluation methodology of 70% quality and 30% price. Tender submissions were independently evaluated, commercially reviewed and moderated. Post-tender clarifications were used only to establish the submitted tender position, reconcile apparent spreadsheet or arithmetic issues and confirm commercial and contractual positions. Bidders were not permitted to submit a revised tender or improve their offer after the deadline.
The evaluation and moderation process is complete. Blakeney Leigh Ltd achieved the highest final score for both procurements. The bidder has confirmed the binding tender sums, resource commitment and acceptance position required for award, with no outstanding tender issue affecting either recommended award.
The recommended awards remain within the approved project budget envelopes and provide the required Phase 1 professional services to progress design development, regulatory requirements and preparation of the separate Phase 2 procurements.
Commissioning process:
The procurements were completed as competitive mini-competitions under the South East Consortium framework in accordance with the relevant framework call-off provisions, the Council's Contract Procedure Rules and applicable procurement legislation and transitional arrangements.
The procurement file retains the approved procurement strategy and Commercial Board papers, tender documentation, scopes of services, pricing schedules, bidder submissions, clarification logs and correspondence, individual evaluation records, moderation records, commercial compliance review and final evaluation ranking.
The evaluation identified a number of bidder-specific clarification and compliance matters.
These were assessed consistently and recorded in the final evaluation workbook. The successful bidder has no outstanding commercial, contractual or scope qualification preventing award.
Commercial Board:
The procurement strategy for Pelham Court and Fennycroft Road sought approval for competitive mini-competitions under the South East Consortium framework, the two-stage delivery model and delegated authority to the Assistant Director Property, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder, to award Phase 1 and Phase 2 contracts within the approved budget envelopes, subject to satisfactory tender evaluation and affordability validation.

Decision

To approve the award of two Phase 1 multidisciplinary consultancy contracts to Blakeney Leigh Ltd through competitive mini-competitions under the South East Consortium framework:
•Pelham Court: £343,250 excluding VAT.
•Fennycroft Tower: £167,500 excluding VAT.
The combined value of the two awards is £510,750 excluding VAT. The appointments cover the Lead Designer, Principal Designer, Quantity Surveyor and Clerk of Works services set out in the published Scope of Services for each scheme.

Alternative options considered

Consideration was given to undertaking a further competitive procurement exercise. However, this was not considered proportionate given the need to maintain continuity and avoid unnecessary delay to the project. The recommended approach is therefore considered the most appropriate option.