Purpose

To
seek Cabinet Member approval to invite tenders through the
appropriate procurement route for the provision of structural
support services to the Council which will include the completion
of inspections, structural design work 
and structural assessment of Planning
Applications.
 

Decision

Decision(s):

 

(1) 
The approved tender process to procure the provision
of Structural Support Services, to be published on The Chest using
an Open Tender process, as outlined in the report, be
noted.
(2) 
That the contract period of four years, from 1 March
2026 to 28 February 2030, was authorised, with an option to extend
on a year-by-year basis until 28 February 2033, subject to
performance, be noted.
(3) 
Delegated Authority was given to the Head of
Highways and Public Protection to award the Contract resulting from
the procurement and any extensions, which was subject to
consultation with Cabinet Member Housing and Highways, be
noted.
 

Reason(s) for the Decision(s):

 

In order to
ensure that the Council maintains its Structural
Assets, it is imperative that the that a Structural Supplier is
appointed. Their role will be to complete all necessary routine
inspections, determine the scope and manage the implementation of
repairs and protection works, provide structural calculations and
advice to support highway improvement schemes and planning
applications and provide a response service to determine the impact
of damage. A new single supplier Contract, potentially over a
7-year programme, enables a long-term relationship to be developed,
which should benefit the Council and the supplier.
 
Alternative Options Considered and Rejected:
 
The
provision of all the specialist skills and capabilities through an
in-house team would require additional recruitment. This is
unlikely to be not practicable within current budget constraints
and recruitment challenges.
 
The
Structures Supply work could remain within the TTSS commission.
This is not preferred, due to the concern that the main provider
may not have the local expertise or ability to respond quickly.
Local firms with some structural knowledge would also be prevented
for bidding for the work.
 
Support for individual schemes could be procured individually
and independently through separate procurement processes. This has
been rejected because it would require officer time and resources
for each procurement. In some situations, the timescales imposed
for submitting proposals and funding bids mean that a stand-alone
procurement process is either not feasible or would substantially
detract from the time available for completing the submission. This
approach would also mean that there is much less potential to
develop strong working relationships with an individual service
provider and for them to develop local knowledge.