Purpose

To seek Cabinet Member approval
to invite tenders through the appropriate procurement route for the
provision of:
 

·     
Highway improvement works to replace the double mini
roundabout arrangement at the junction of Islington with Church
Road and Coronation Road with a new signalised junction with push
button crossing facilities.. The scheme
also includes a modification  to the
existing A565 Liverpool Road / Bypass signalised
junction.

·     
Public realm improvements in the Town Centre to be
complement the highway improvement works.
It is expected that the first
element of the works, the highway improvement works, will commence
on site in September 2023 and be completed prior to Christmas. The
second element, the public realm, will commence in January
2024.
 
The nature of the timescales
for both elements create a natural break in the works centred
around the busy Christmas period for the Town centre in the month
of December. This provides the opportunity to have two separate
tenders and assess the bids for both elements separately, focusing
on a higher quality ratio for the public realm element than the
highway improvement element.
 

Decision

Cabinet Member approval is given
for:
 

(1)       
the tender process to procure a contractor for the
schemes; and

(2)       
the Assistant Director of Place (Highways &
Public Protection) to be granted delegated authority to award the
Contracts resulting from the procurement process.

Reasons for the decisions:
 
The Council have signed a Grant Funding
Agreement with the Liverpool City
Region Combined Authority which identifies the City Region
Sustainable Transport Settlement (CRSTS) Year 2 spend against this
project. This needs to be expended before March 2024.
 
The Procurement Strategy
outlined within the report aims to ensure the engagement of a
suitably experienced contractor(s) who has demonstrated compliance
with the Council’s statutory requirements, quality criteria
and submitted an acceptable tender price for both
projects.
 
Alternative Options
Considered and Rejected: (including any
Risk Implications)
 
The scheme budget significantly
exceeds the financial limits for the Minor Works Term Service
Contract and therefore cannot be considered for delivery using this
option.
 
Although the Council is
considering the SCAPE framework for other works within the borough
the nature of the first element of the works, the highway
improvements to the existing junctions, would provide local
contractors an opportunity to bid for work within Sefton. The start
of the second element, which is the public realm works may coincide
with the Southport public realm works which is being considered for
procurement using SCAPE. Therefore, without the benefit of being
able to fully assess the performance of Balfour Beaty prior to
issuing further works through SCAPE it was decided to procure the
public realm element for Crosby via the traditional tender
process.