Homes and Communities Agency SINGLE STAGE TENDER DOCUMENT FOR APPOINTMENT OF LANDSCAPE CONTRACTOR Dover, Connaught Barracks Term Landscape Maintenance Contract Number: LC130 HCA Tender Reference: HCAP12055 January 2012 Document Control Document Title Dover: Connaught Barracks Term Landscape Maintenance Contract Number: LC130 Tender Reference: HCAP12055 SINGLE STAGE TENDER DOCUMENT FOR APPOINTMENT OF LANDSCAPE CONTRACTOR Owner TEP Limited Document Number: GENWSTAMES12.003 Release January 2012 Version History Version 1.0 Author Lindsey Cunniff Checked Cath Neve Approved Cath Neve Contents INSTRUCTIONS TO TENDERERS PART A TENDER INFORMATION Page Number 1. Introduction A/1 2. Background Information A/2 3. Scope of Services A/3 4. The Contract A/3 5. Supervision of the Contract A/3 6. Pricing A/4 7. Procurement Process & Timetable A/4 8. Instructions for Completion A/5 9. Procurement Queries A/6 10. Transparency A/6 11. Submission of Completed Tender A/6 12. Tender Evaluation Matrix A/9 PART B DOCUMENTS TO BE RETURNED B1 Acknowledgment of Receipt and Intention to Respond (To be returned within 48 Hours) B2 Certificate of Non-Collusion and Non-Canvassing B3 Mandatory PQQ B4 Quality B5 Schedule of Works (Provided Digitally and to be returned as part of the Tender Return) B6 Form of Tender B7 Confirmation of Site Visit B8 Tender Return Checklist APPENDICIES Appendix 1: Site Access Request Form and Site Rules Appendix 2: Appointment of Landscape Contractor ‘The Contract’ Appendix 3: LC130 Dover, Connaught Barracks Maintenance Specification Appendix 4: Contract Drawings LC130 Dover: Connaught Barracks Homes and Communities Agency Term Landscape Maintenance INSTRUCTIONS TO TENDERERS 1. The person tendering must obtain for himself on his own responsibility and at his own expense all the information necessary to submit a Tender and examine the drawings, Conditions of Contract, Specifications and Schedules of Works prior to submitting his Tender. 2. Information with regard to the existing or proposed position of pipes, cables, wires etc, whether private or public utility or other statutory undertakers, is to be obtained by the Tenderer from the various private, public or statutory authorities and the Employer can in no way be held responsible for any inaccurate information obtained. 3. Should there be any doubt or ambiguity as to the meaning of any of the above mentioned information, such doubt shall be set out in writing by the person tendering. 4. No alteration may be made to any of the documents attached thereto without the written authorisation of the Employer. If any alterations are made or if these instructions are not fully complied with, the Tender will be rejected. 5. The Tenderer will be required to sign the Tender documents which shall form the basis of a legal contract. 6. Tenders must not be accompanied by statements that could be construed as rendering the Tender equivocal and/or placing it on a different footing from other Tenders. Only Tenders submitted without qualification strictly in accordance with the Tender documents issued (or subsequently amended by the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) will be accepted for consideration. 7. The HCA’s decision on whether or not a Tender is acceptable will be final. 8. The Tenderer shall satisfy himself before submitting his Tender that he has adequate labour to provide the service and that he is able to obtain all supplies and equipment required in connection with the service. 9. All information supplied by the HCA in connection with this Tender shall be treated as confidential by prospective Tenderers and shall not be revealed at any time to any person (including any Organisation) except for the purposes of the preparation and submission of this Tender. 10. Tenders submitted bearing any marks identifying the sender will not be opened. Particular care should be taken that the Tenderer’s identity is not apparent from any image or resulting from a postal franking device, appearing on the envelope or package. 11. Tenderers are to set out their Tender in the documents provided and bring forward the total to the Form of Tender. THIS MUST BE COMPLETED IN FULL IN BLACK INK. Documents should be returned as detailed within Part A, Section 11. The documents must be returned no later than 25th January 2012 at 13.00pm. 12. Prices quoted shall be exclusive of Value Added Tax where applicable. The Tender shall remain valid for acceptance for six months from the Tender return date. 13. The tender sum shall include profit, cash discount, labour, materials and all other expenses of any kind which are all to be borne by the Contractor in the provision of the service. 14. The tenders are to be evaluated against the following pre-determined award criteria. Tenderers should refer to the Tender Evaluation Matrix contained within Part A, Section 12 which provides further breakdown and detail as to individual ‘sub-criteria’ weightings. Evaluation Factor Relative rating Price 70% Quality 30% GENWSTAMES12.003, Version 1.0 January 2012 i LC130 Dover: Connaught Barracks Homes and Communities Agency Term Landscape Maintenance 15. The amount of the successful Tender and the name of the Tenderer may be published. As part of the Governments Transparency Agenda, HCA regularly makes available details of expenditure in excess of £500.00 by supplier. 16. Should any further documents or instructions be issued to Tenderers prior to the date for submission of Tenders, these will be deemed to be part of the Contract Documents. 17. Before any Tender can be accepted, the quality and price documents from all Tenderers satisfying the Mandatory PQQ section will be checked. The preferred Tenderer will be notified of any errors in computation of his Tender and afforded the opportunity to either amend, stand by the Tender or withdraw. Should the Tenderer elect to withdraw his offer, the next preferred Tender will be examined accordingly. 18. Tenderers who are unable to submit a Tender are requested to confirm this in writing as soon as possible, stating their reasons. They should also return all Tender documents. GENWSTAMES12.003, Version 1.0 January 2012 ii PART A INFORMATION • This section provides information on the required Services. • Contractors are required to READ THIS SECTION carefully to understand HCA requirements. [This page has intentionally been left blank for double-sided printing] LC130 Dover: Connaught Barracks Homes and Communities Agency Term Landscape Maintenance 1 INTRODUCTION The following Single Stage Tender takes the form of an ‘open procedure’ whereby all interested candidates who responded to the Contract Notice have been invited to Tender. This Single Stage Tender document has been issued by the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) in connection with a competitive procurement procedure. No information contained in this Single Stage Tender or in any communication made between the HCA and any Tenderer in connection with this Tender exercise, shall be relied upon as constituting a contract, agreement or representation that any contract shall be offered in accordance with this Single Stage Tender. The HCA reserves the right, subject to the appropriate procurement regulations, to change without notice the basis of, or the procedures for, the competitive tendering process or to terminate the process at any time. Under no circumstances shall the HCA incur any liability in respect of this Tender or any supporting documentation. The HCA will not reimburse the costs incurred by Tenderers in connection with the preparation and submission of their response to this Tender. Direct or indirect canvassing of any Ministers, public sector employee or agent by any potential bidder concerning this requirement, or any attempt to procure information from any of the above concerning this Tender may result in disqualification of the Tenderer from consideration for this requirement. The Homes and Communities Agency The Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) is the single housing and regeneration agency for England, helping to create great communities and affordable homes. The HCA is a national agency that works locally with an annual investment budget of more than £5bn. The HCA act as a bridge between national targets and local ambitions, harnessing the resources of public, private and voluntary sectors, providing a single point of contact for all those involved in helping communities to thrive. The HCA is a non-departmental public body whose sponsor government department is Department Communities and Local Government (DCLG). The HCA has a corporate website (www.homesandcommunities.co.uk) that explains how the HCA delivers its objectives through: • Growth and Renewal; • Affordable Housing; • Skills and Expertise; and • Quality and Innovation. In the delivery of this role, the HCA works closely with the government and Local Authorities to develop surplus public sector land for new and affordable housing. The HCA ‘holds’ large expanses of land and built estate which may be brought forward for development or use as public open space. These sites bring significant opportunities and will help make contributions to both government house building targets and quality of life. However, duties of care mean that they also bring with them health and safety, trespass and other liabilities and responsibilities. As part of the solution to manage such liabilities the HCA procure the services of Contractors to undertake routine and emergency landscape management and cleansing activities on its estate. The HCA approach to landscape maintenance is lead by the following principles to: • Deliver aesthetical benefits to both promote the sale of land to prospective developers and address potential impact of the landscape on adjacent residential and business properties; • Ensure that legal duties are met e.g. Environment Protection Act 1990; • Promote maintenance in accordance with biodiversity regulations and best practice; GENWSTAMES12.003, Version 1.0 January 2012 A/1 LC130 Dover: Connaught Barracks Homes and Communities Agency Term Landscape Maintenance • Assist with the most cost effective approach to securing landscape management; • Respond proactively to additional work requirements; and • Identify and rectify health and safety issues. The HCA procures the landscape maintenance services it requires through award of area based and site specific contracts. In order to ensure competitiveness the HCA is required to re-let these contracts on a regular basis. 2 BACKGROUND INFORMATION Connaught Barracks is located to the north of Dover town centre, adjacent to Dover Castle. The site covers a total area of 54.5 hectares comprising built estate associated with the former Ministry of Defense barracks, Fort Burgoyne a Scheduled Ancient Monument, agricultural land and a recreational ground including playing fields. The former MOD barracks are contained behind security fencing and are subject to 24 hour manned guarding provided by Securitas. The purpose of landscape maintenance within the area of the barracks is to maintain sight lines and safe access for patrolling security. Fort Burgoyne is the oldest structure on site (formerly referred to as Castle Hill Fort) constructed of stone and brick and surrounded by a defensive ditch. The construction of the Fort first started in 1861, however alterations to the Fort has occurred since its initial construction to take account of its changing usage. As a scheduled monument an agreement has been made under Section 17 of the Ancient Monument and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 between English Heritage and the HCA as owners of the monument. This agreement places responsibilities on the HCA to undertake specific works to maintain the integrity of the Fort and its defense structures. Obligations specifically include requirements to control vegetation spread to ensure that root action does not cause further deterioration to the structure. Works have been undertaken by the HCA to address vegetation encroachment however further works have been programmed within this Contract to ensure vegetation does not re-establish. A proportion of the site is agricultural land which is under tenancy. Works within this area are limited to cleansing. A recreational area is located on site which is publicly accessible. Maintenance works are undertaken to ensure that the area remains as such including maintaining the grass to no longer than 100mm. The long-term vision for the site is for disposal for residential development of approximately 500 new homes with the intention that the new development will complement and enhance the setting and historic character of the site. The HCA is currently seeking to appoint a Contractor for the provision of landscape maintenance and cleansing services at Connaught Barracks. The Contract is envisaged to have duration of 1 year with provision for a further 1 year extension on written instruction of the HCA. The Contract Sum shall remain fixed for the first year from the Commencement Date, following which any subsequent year extension (subject to written approval of the Employer) will then be subject to adjustment in accordance with the All Item Index of Retail Prices (RPI). The amount of the RPI adjustment to the Contract Sum shall be agreed at the start of the new financial year by the Employer. In the event the Contractor fails to achieve the required KPI score as detailed within Clause 3 ‘Key Performance Monitoring Instructions’ in the Appointment of Landscape Contractor then the Contractor shall not be entitled to any uplift of the Contract sum. The Tenderer should refer to Clause 9 ‘Payments’ in the Appointment of Landscape Contactor ‘The Contract’ included within Appendix 2. GENWSTAMES12.003, Version 1.0 January 2012 A/2