Decision Maker: Strategic Director of Environment & Operations

Outcome: For Determination

Is Key Decision?: Yes

Is Callable In?: No

Date of Decision: December 13, 2024

Purpose: To approve the procurement strategy for the provision of a new tree-maintenance services contract. A new long-term tree-maintenance services contract is required following the expiry of the previous contract on the 31st of May 2024. The Council spends approximately £100,000 per year with external contractors for tree-maintenance services and therefore, an open tender exercise is required to demonstrate value for money. The tender will be advertised on Find a Tender Service, Contracts Finder and issued on The Chest e-tendering portal. The Council is seeking to work collaboratively with a supplier of arboriculture services to help deliver high quality maintenance of our tree stock and ensure the safety of all employees, residents and visitors to the Council’s land holdings. The supplier will provide extra capacity alongside the Council’s in-house arboriculture team. The Council originally entered into contract with Greenfingers Landscape Ltd in June 2022 however, on the 1st of June 2023 Tivoli Group Ltd acquired 100% of the share capital of Greenfingers Landscape Ltd and a contract novation was agreed with the Council. Following discussions with Tivoli Group Ltd, the Council decided not to execute the final one-year contract extension option and has therefore, been operating outside of a formal agreement since June 2024. The previous tender exercise was highly competitive with 16 submissions received. Following this success, we are looking to conduct another open tender exercise and award to the highest scoring bidder using the evaluation criteria detailed below: Price – 45% Quality – 40% Social Value – 15% It is proposed that the contract is established for an initial three years with the option to extend for a further one year. The Council are currently operating outside of a formal agreement for tree-maintenance services. Formally procuring a long-term contract will reduce risk to the council if any disputes, performance or any other issues arise. It will also demonstrate value for money through effective use of competition. No major financial implications, the cost of the services to be undertaken will be met from within existing budgets. The successful contractor will be required to fix their prices for 12 months and any future price increases will be capped at no more than RPIx. The procurement process will be carried out in accordance with the Council’s Contract and Procurement Procedure rules and the Public Contract Regulations 2015. The contract will be in a form approved by legal officers. Members from the Contracts and Procurement Team and the Environment Department will be required to develop the tender documents, evaluate the bids received and manage the subsequent contract.

Content: To approve the procurement strategy for the provision of a new contract for tree-maintenance services.