Purpose

To seek Cabinet
Member approval to procure contractors to deliver two work packages
for the A6 Matlock to Whatstandwell Highway Retaining Wall
Maintenance Works and approval for the Executive Director –
Place to award contracts, in line with the Council’s
Financial Regulations and the Scheme of Delegation.
 

Decision

That the Cabinet Member:

 

a)                
Approves, under Protocol 1 of the Council’s Financial
Regulations and standing order contracts and the Public Regulations
(PCR) 2015, to procure suitable contract(s), to deliver the
remaining two work packages for the A6 Matlock to Whatstandwell
Highway Retaining Wall Maintenance Works; and

 

b)                
Gives approval for the Executive Director – Place to
award contracts, in line with the Council’s Financial
Regulations and the Scheme of
Delegation. 

Reasons for the decision

Carry out essential maintenance to ensure that the Council
meets its legislative duty to maintain the public highway in a
condition that is safe for users.

 

These repairs will strengthen and prolong the life of the
highway retaining walls, reducing the risk of collapse, improving
the resilience of the A6 and the highway network as a
whole.
 

Alternative options considered

Option 1: Do nothing - Under the Highways Act 1980, the
Council has a duty to maintain the public highway in a condition
that is safe for users; therefore, ‘do nothing’ is not
a viable option.

 

Option 2: Do less - The proposed repairs have been scaled
back by adopting a risk-scored prioritised approach to aid delivery
within budget allocation, therefore, already ‘doing
less’.
 

Option 3: Do something different - The planned repair designs
focused on minimising costs while still maintaining overall repair
effectiveness. Should the delivery of the two work packages be
delayed so that additional design was undertaken to try and reduce
costs further, additional design costs will be incurred, and the
delivery timescale could slip by several months. There would be no
guarantee of reducing costs through redesign and securing lower
priced tenders for the work packages as construction inflation
could negate the exercise.