Agenda item

(The Director of Communities) To consider the attached report (CHB-001-2014/15).

The Assistant Director (Housing Property and Development) presented a report to the Cabinet Committee regarding the tender process for the Design and Build Contract for Phase 1 of the Council Housebuilding Programme.

The Assistant Director advised that a tender exercise had been undertaken in accordance with Contract Standing Orders for the Design and Build Contract for Phase 1 of the Council Housebuilding Programme which had resulted in 4 out of 5 tenders being returned. The tenders were then evaluated by Pellings LLP, the Employer’s Agent acting on behalf of the Council’s Development Agent, East Thames. However, it was recommended by Pellings LLP that any appointment should be subject to the Council undertaking a financial evaluation of the tenderers that were being considered which should be carried out and reported to the Cabinet Committee in order for a decision to be made on which tender to accept.

He advised that whilst all 12 of the Contractors on the East Thames Contractors Framework List were contacted, only 2 expressed an interest to tender. Therefore, a further 3 Contractors known to Pellings LLP, as having the necessary experience of working on similar schemes of size and nature, were added as a result. All of those invited to tender were registered on Constructionline and therefore could be invited to tender under the Council’s Contract Standing Orders. The Tender List was made up of the following Contractors:

• Countryside Properties Ltd –  (Original East Thames Contractors Framework List)
• Hill Partnership Ltd –  (Original East Thames Contractors Framework List)
• Broadway Construction Ltd – (Suggested by Pellings LLP)
• Bugler Developments Ltd –  (Suggested by Pellings LLP)
• MK Building Contractors (UK) Ltd - (Suggested by Pellings LLP)

Tenders were issued to all 5 Contractors listed above, based on a JCT Design and Build Contract using the designs approved by the Area Plans Sub-Committee and the comprehensive set of Council’s Employers’ Requirements. The pre-tender estimate for the works was £3,119,000

The tenders were received on 27 June 2014 and opened by the Housing Portfolio Holder on the same day. The tenders were registered as follows:

Arithmetical checks were carried out by Pellings LLP on all of the tenders received, with the two lowest tenders being analysed in detail. The tenders submitted by MK Building Contractors (UK) Ltd and Broadway Construction Ltd as lowest and second lowest respectively represented fully compliant bids.

Whilst a detailed tender evaluation report has been received from Pellings LLP, it was their recommendation that any appointment was subject to financial checks by the Council. Due to the limited time available to undertake this in advance of the Agenda being published, it was recommended that a further evaluation into the financial credit standing of the lowest and second lowest tenderers be carried out, and the outcome reported to the Cabinet Committee before a decision was reached.

The Chairman proposed that the meeting then went into private session to discuss the confidential part of this report.