Purpose

Proposed
decision:
To agree the re-procurement and the award of
new contracts for Public Rights of Way (PRoW) vegetation clearance, in consultation with
the Cabinet Member for Community and Regulatory Services, for a
further period of five years and an allowable extension of two
years subject to performance; and, to delegate authority to the
Director of Growth and Communities to take  other relevant actions, including, but not limited
to finalising the terms of and entering into  required contracts or other legal agreements, as
necessary to implement the decision. 
 
Reason for the decision:
The contracts to
manage the vegetation on the PRoW
network are due for renewal, with the previous contractual
arrangements ending at the end of the 2024-5 financial
year.
 
The proposed contracts
would have a five-year term with the option to extend for a further
two.
 
The annual spend on
vegetation clearance on the PRoW
network is approximately £400K. When considered over the
five-year term of the contracts, and allowing for inflationary
increases, the aggregate spend will exceed £2M. Given that
the likely expenditure will exceed £1m a key decision is
required to enable the procurement to proceed and, subject to
successful procurement, to award contracts for the delivery of
PRoW vegetation clearance
work.  
 
Background:
The Public Rights of Way network in Kent
extends to 6995Km. PRoW are public
highways and approximately 99% of the network in Kent is
maintainable at the public expense. Vegetation growing from the
surface of the highway (other than crops) is the responsibility of
the County Council to manage. Vegetation overgrowth is the single
most reported issue on the PRoW network
by the public.
 
The Asset Management Plan 2019 identified that
the optimum length of vegetation clearance is 1758802m per annum,
below which lengths of the network will be obstructed or unpleasant
to use. The authority would fail to meet its statutory obligation
to maintain the network.  The length
cleared will vary reflecting the nature/ length of the growing
season. Inevitably with a warmer climate we are experiencing longer
growing seasons.
 
Failure to deliver the optimum level of
service in the short term would simply defer the activity with
substantially greater costs being incurred at a
later date in order to recover the position. Ie the vegetation would still need to be cleared
but the additional growth would take longer to clear and would
require heavier machinery. 
 
Vegetation clearance ensures that the
PRoW network (public highway) is
available to the public, is safe and supports Kent’s economy,
health and well-being. Obstruction of,
or interruption to, access results in an associated loss in public
benefit & economic impact on businesses reliant on
visitors.
 
Preferred
option:
The outcome of market engagement for
vegetation clearance and preparation of the commercial case is a
recommendation that the work be split into 10 lots with no
individual supplier awarded more than three lots.  The recommended contract duration of 5-7 years
allows the service providers sufficient certainty to invest in
specialist equipment and their labour force. It is expected that
this will encourage more local SMEs to bid.  The expectation, based on previous procurement, is
that four contractors will deliver the contracts. The opportunity
for businesses to tender for the work will be published on the Kent
Business Portal.
 
Options (other
options considered but discarded):
Do nothing: This is not an option. The
County Council would not be delivering a minimum level of service
to meet its statutory obligations. It would be at risk of
third-party action to compel it to undertake the work and at risk
of increased numbers of third party
injury claims. The long terms costs of maintenance would be
increased appreciably.
 
Single supplier contract:  Previous procurement rounds have failed to
identify any single supplier that can deliver the levels of
clearance required or compete on price other than through
sub-contracting with significant implications for quality and
reliability. Previous rounds of procurement have not identified a
single supplier with the capacity to deliver the programme without
sub-contracting much of the work,  adding significant risk to the County
Council in terms of performance and delivery.
 
Multi supplier framework: The County
Council would not be able to enter contracts of sufficient length
that it would be financially and logistically fitting for
suppliers. The use of similar frameworks for small works in the
past has seen a rapid diminution in the contractors available
through the framework.
 
In house: There are significant
barriers to entry in terms of purchasing/ leasing the machinery
required and recruiting, retaining and
managing the scale of workforce required for what would be short
term seasonal contracts.
 
How the proposed
decision supports Framing Kent’s Future 2022-2026:
The procurement accords with the County
Council’s Strategy “Framing Kent’s
Future”:
i)        Levelling up
Kent:  Priority 1: supporting ambitions
to improve the health of Kent’s population particularly
promoting healthy behaviours  Priority 1-4
ii)        Infrastructure
for Communities, 
Priority 2: 2 Invests in Kent’s high-quality
landscapes.  6. Supports the choice of
alternative travel options by prioritising the maintenance of
accessible walking routes and cycle lanes
iii)       Environmental step
change. Priority 3: Improve access for our residents to green and
natural spaces especially in urban and deprived areas and through
our Public Rights of Way network to improve health and wellbeing
outcomes
 
How the proposed
decision supports Securing Kent’s Future:
The procurement of vegetation clearance
contracts seeks to secure best value in the delivery of what is a
statutory function (the maintenance of the publicly maintainable
highway). It seeks to deliver this work in the most efficient,
economic and effective way, consistent
with the prioritisation of the Council’s best value duty. In
that respect it is consistent with, and supports, Securing
Kent’s Future.

Decision

As Cabinet Member for Community and Regulatory
Services, I agree to:
 
•         AGREE
the re-procurement and the award of new contracts for PRoW
vegetation clearance, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for
Community and Regulatory Services, for a further period of five
years and an allowable extension of two years subject to
performance; and,
 
•         DELEGATE
authority to the Director of Growth and Communities to take other
relevant actions, including , but not limited to finalising the
terms of and entering into  required
contracts or other legal agreements, as necessary to implement the
decision.