Agenda item

Report attached from the Leader and Cabinet Member for Strategic Growth.

The Leader and Cabinet Member for Strategic Growth presented the report which sought approval for the Prestwich Regeneration LLP (the Joint Venture company [JV]) of which the Council are 50%, to appoint the main contractor for the main works for the delivery of Phase 1A of the Prestwich Village Regeneration Scheme.

It was noted that this report is the second stage and a follow-up to the Cabinet report 16th July 2024 where approval was given for the legal structure and procurement strategy to appoint the Developer for the Scheme, which in turn will secure the services of a contractor using a Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (PCR) compliant procurement route.

Councillor Bernstein did highlight his concern regarding the report being received late. The Leader assured members that this will always try to be avoided in the future and apologised to members.

Decision:

Cabinet:

1. Agree consent for the Council (as 50% of the JV [LLP]) to provide approval to the JV [LLP] to appoint and enter into a building contract with VINCI as the main contractor to deliver Phase 1A (Travel Hub).
2. Accepted the tender report recommendation that VINCI undertake the main works at a sum contained within Part B, subject to the agreement of any contract amendments and clarifications, and within the previously approved cost envelope 
3. Delegated authority to the Director of Law and Democratic Services in consultation with the Executive Director of Place to finalise and execute the building contract (noting that approval to be able to negotiate and complete detailed legal and procurement agreements associated with the delivery of the Scheme was given on 16th July 2024), consultant appointments, warranties and any other related ancillary agreements.
4. Delegate authority to the Director of Law and Democratic Services in consultation with the Executive Director of Place to execute the Pagabo Client Access Agreement on behalf of the Council as a Member of the JV [LLP].

Reasons for recommendation(s)

The use of Pagabo alongside objective criteria assessment is a PCR compliant procurement route which gives the ability to award the contract under this framework to deliver the main construction works for Phase 1A. This also ensures the successful completion of the strategic enablement phase of the Scheme that will unlock the next development phases in Prestwich.

The use of a PCR compliant framework reduces the need to undertake a full tender process and significantly reduces the time required to appoint a main contractor. It also facilitates access to contractors of an appropriate tier and level of experience to deliver the travel hub. This ensures that Phase 1A is delivered competently, within the expected timescales and reduces risk of contractor failure.

Through the procurement process, VINCI were able to offer the ability to deliver at the scale and complexity needed, demonstrated they had the ability to contract with the JV [LLP] terms and were able to evidence the financial standing to secure deliverability. Their financial standing was assessed as good, and they are considered a sustainable enterprise.

Secured delivery of the Travel Hub is in line with the approved funding envelope of £14m with significant risk transfer to the Main Contractor negotiated by the Developer.

Alternative options considered and rejected

The use of a procurement framework to undertake a mini competition was considered but discounted. This was because the framework provider was able to offer objective summary comparison data to allow the Council to differentiate between commercial and quality measures for each contractor. This information was sourced by the framework following the competitive dialogue carried out during the framework tender process. As such, a mini-competition was not considered necessary. However, further, objective measures have been used by the Council to further differentiate between contractors to ensure value for money has been secured for the project.

The use of an alternative procurement framework was discounted due to commercial efficiencies of using Pagabo for the Developer Framework and Contractor Framework.

A full and open tender process on The Chest was discounted due to the timescales involved in undertaking a full PCR compliant tender process for the selection of a Main Contractor and the knock-on impact this would have on the commencement of works on site.