Purpose

The Council has powers to provide bus
shelters, subject to obtaining permission from the Highway
Authority to install these on the highway,
and provides them as part of its aims and objectives to
encourage the use of public transport. The Council maintains a
waiting list of requests for bus shelters submitted by members of
the public and councillors, and as funding allows, considers the
provision of additional bus shelters at those sites where the level
of usage justifies the investment and the space available would
allow for a bus shelter to be provided.
 
Two new bus shelters are now proposed to be
installed at sites that meet the above criteria, one on Defoe Road
outside Ormiston Endeavour Academy, and one on James Bennett Avenue
outside John Lewis.
 
An exemption from the requirement for
competition in Contract Standing Orders is needed on the grounds of
urgency to cover the supply and installation of these two bus
shelters so that they can be purchased and installed in 2024/2025
utilising a budget for the same financial year. The associated
civil engineering works will be procured separately. Relevant
criteria of paragraph 3.10.2 of Part 4, Section 7 of the
Council’s Constitution are met.
 
The alternative decision would be to wait
until a full procurement exercise has been carried out but there is
insufficient time to allow for this.
 
An order for these bus shelters of a value of
£12,390 will be placed with Ace Shelters Ltd, subject to
obtaining permission from the Highway Authority for the
installation of the shelters. There are sufficient funds within the
Council’s Public Transport Initiatives budget to cover the
relevant costs. It is intended that the bus shelters, and
associated civil engineering works, will be delivered in Spring
2025.

Decision

To waive the requirement for competition
within the Council’s Contract Standing Orders in order to allow the purchase, as a matter of
urgency, of two bus shelters with a value of £12.390.
 
Reason:
To ensure that the bus shelters can be
purchased in the 2024/2025 financial year.