Content

Salford City Council – Record of
Decision
 
I Councillor Youd, Lead Member
for Finance and Support Services and chairman of the Procurement
Board, accept the recommendation of the Procurement Board and in
exercise of the powers contained within the Council Constitution do
hereby:
 
·    
approve to Award the Contract forHighway Design
Consultancy Support, as detailed in the table below:

Detail
required

Answers

Title/Description of Contracted
Service/Supply/Project

Highway Design Consultancy Support

Procurement Reference numbers (DN
and CR number supplied by Procurement)

 

Name of Successful
Contractor

Waterman Infrastructure and
Environment

Supplier Registration
Number
(to be supplied by
Procurement

03269195

Proclass Classification
No.
(to be completed by
procurement)

150000

Type of
organisation
(to be supplied by
Procurement)

Private Limited
Company

Status of
Organisation
(to be supplied by
Procurement)

Non-SME

Contract Value
(£)

£97,558.40

Total contract value £
(including extensions)

£ 292,675.20 total
project value

Contract
Duration

6 months

Contract Start
Date

05/01/2026

Contract End
Date

03/07/2026

Optional Extension Period
1

6 months

Optional Extension Period
2

6 months

Who will approve each Extension
Period?

Executive Director (extension <
£150k)

Contact Officer (Name &
number)

Stephen Hands (07809
085252)

 

 

 

Lead Service
Group

Place

How the contract was
procured?
(to be supplied by
procurement)

Direct Award/ Call
off

Framework Details (where
applicable)
(procurement body, framework
reference & title, start/ end date

ESPO Framework
664_25
Start Date 01-09-25
End Date 31-08-27
Lot 5 Highways, Traffic and
Transport

Funding
Source

Grant

Ethical Contractor (EC):
Mayor’s Employment Charter

No
 

EC: Committed to sign The
Mayor’s Employment Charter

Yes
 
 

EC: Committed to the principles
outlined in the Mayor’s Employment
charter

Yes
 

EC: Accredited Living Wage
Employer

Yes
 

EC: Committed to becoming
Accredited Living wage Employer

N/A
?

 
The Reasons are: to progress priority projects and meet
expenditure deadlines.
 
Options considered and rejected
were: competitive tender but
this would move project completion beyond the funding deadline and
would disrupt the performance of the current team.   
 
Assessment of Risk: Project delivery, current
funding and future bid opportunities are at risk if key projects
are not progressed without delay.
 
The source of funding
is: Grant – CRSTS
Re-prioritisation and CRSTS Revenue funding.
 
Legal Advice obtained: Yes – The Shared Legal
Service
When
commissioning contracts for the procurement of goods, services, or
the execution of works, the Council must comply with public
procurement legislation and its own Contractual Standing Orders
(CSO’s), failing which a contract may be subject to legal
challenge from an aggrieved provider. The proposed award of the
contract follows a direct award in accordance with the ESPO
Framework 664_25 Lot 5 for Highways Traffic and
Transport.
 
The
purpose of a framework agreement is to select through a
procurement/ evaluation process a number of providers who can meet
the service requirements of the Council, as and when those services
are required. If they are required then the Council will undertake
an exercise to call off the services from one or more of the
providers who have been selected to be on the framework and this
may be through any number of ways e.g. mini-competition, direct
allocation etc. depending on the circumstances. A contract will
then be formed between the Council and the chosen
provider/s.
 
Reasons for
requesting the award of the contract under the ESPO framework are
set out in the report, namely the lack of available resource within
the Council  and there being some
urgency due to timescales involved in delivery of some of the
proposed schemes, but as this is a call off
contract let under a framework and a compliant route to market, any
risk would be considered to be very low, assuming always that the
Council has  followed the procedure set
out in the Framework Agreement to ensure the award is
compliant.
 
Financial Advice
obtained: Yes – The
Finance Team
The
Highway Design team has experienced a reduction in staff due to
factors such as retirements and difficulties in attracting suitably
qualified candidates. In addition, new requirements to develop
pipeline projects for future funding opportunities have placed
further demands on the team, which cannot be met with the current
level of resource.
 
To address this shortfall,
additional support was brought in from Waterman Aspen in late June
through a Direct Award via the ESPO Framework. This additional
resource has proven highly valuable, enabling progress on the
Ordsall Neighbourhood project towards public engagement and
advancing the Broughton Cycleway, one of the Council’s
priority pipeline projects.
 
Both
projects initiated by the consultancy staff are scheduled to move
into their next stages in January 2026. The in-house team remains
fully committed to existing projects and does not have the capacity
to take on these upcoming work stages. Given the need to maintain
the programme and meet strict funding deadlines, there is
insufficient time to undertake a competitive tender
process.
 
The total cost of the two
consultancy staff is £97,558.40, which will be fully covered
by CRSTS1 revenue funding (£549,000 in total). It has been
confirmed that £200,000 of this grant is allocated to the
Highway Design team, ensuring that the proposed expenditure is
within available budget.
 
Procurement Advice obtained:
Yes – The Corporate Procurement Team
ESPO
Framework 664_25 for Consultancy Services is available to all
public sector bodies to use.  It was
procured under the Public Contracts Regulations of 2015.
 
Call-Off contracts can be procured via direct award or
mini-competition, and with direct award the onus is on the
contracting authority to demonstrate, despite the absence of
competition, why the call-off represents the most economical
solution for its requirements.
The
published framework rates must not be exceeded under a direct
award.
 
Framework Schedule 3 – Form of Contract and
Call-Off Terms must be completed to
form the contract between the parties and the Confirmation of Award
Form must be completed and sent to ESPO.
 
Details of the contract award must be published on Contracts
Finder and the details entered on the Contracts
Register.
 
Whilst the direct award option
on this framework allows for quick access to vetted suppliers at
the published framework rates, it may not be the cheapest option.
Ideally in future, commissioners must consider running further
competitions through the frameworks to ensure that the Council can
demonstrate value for money.
 
HR Advice obtained: Yes –
Tricia Battersby HR & OD Business Partner
The significant pressures
currently impacting the Highways Design Team are fully
acknowledged.
 
In the absence of interim
support, there is a clear risk of delays to high-profile and funded
projects. Given the ongoing challenges in recruiting experienced
candidates to permanent roles, the proposed approach offers a
pragmatic solution to maintain momentum across the
programme.
 
The Service remains committed
to securing permanent appointments. A Senior Engineer post is
currently being advertised, which if successfully filled will
provide additional capacity in the short term to address the
current spike in demand.
 
In parallel, the Service is
progressing plans for career pathway posts. Once the necessary
approvals are in place, a further recruitment exercise will be
launched. This initiative is designed to support internal staff
development, ensuring they are not disadvantaged. The career
pathway will offer a structured progression route, helping to
retain talent by recognising high performance and the achievement
of defined goals.
 
Climate Change Implications
obtained: Yes - Stephen Hands, Senior Group Leader, Highway
Design
The named project and other
pipeline opportunities supports the delivery of aspirations in the
Greater Manchester 2040 Transport Strategy which seeks to deliver a
step change in how people travel across Greater Manchester, with
the aspiration for 50% of all journeys to be made by walking,
cycling and public transport. These roles contribute towards the
delivery of Salford’s Highways Capital  programme which seeks to promote sustainable modes
as part of Salford’s commitment to reducing the carbon
impacts associated with travel in our City.
 
The following documents have
been used to assist the decision process:
·    
Report of the Executive Director for Place to
Procurement Board on 25th November 2024,
Procurement of Consultancy Resources to Support
the Delivery of the Infrastructure Programme in the Place
Directorate
 
Contact Officer: Stephen Hands
Telephone number: 07809 085252
 
This matter is not subject to
consideration by another Lead Member.
 
The appropriate Scrutiny
Committee to call-in the decision is the Growth and Prosperity
Panel.
 
 

Signed:    Cllr J Youd
       
Dated:   8 December
2025.
         
   Lead Member
 
 
 

FOR DEMOCRATIC SERVICES USE
ONLY
 
*         This
decision was published on 9
December 2025
*         This
decision will come in force at 4.00 p.m. on 16 December
2025 unless it is called-in in
accordance with the Decision Making Process Rules.