Purpose

We require a 3 month extension (31st July to
31st October 2025) of current contract detailed above, with the
current incumbent – Marlborough Highways. Due to unforeseen
delays in the ITT process the documents have gone out later than
envisaged and therefore we need to leave sufficient time for the
mobilisation period following contract award.

Content

The Cabinet considered a report
of the Executive Director (Environment and Place) that sought
approval to the proposed extension of the highways term contract
for a period of 8 months to 31st March 2026.
 
Resolved:
 
That the extension of the
current highways term maintenance contract from the 31st
July 2025 to 31st March 2026, for the reasons set out in
the submitted report, be approved.
 
Reasons for
decision:
 
1. The increased scope and
developments with Devolution and LGR require a robust contract to
cover these elements, and a contract extension is therefore
required to ensure that this can be achieved through a robust
procurement process allowing sufficient time for
mobilisation.
 
2. Any extension needs to cover
the winter maintenance season, from October to March hence the
recommendation to extend to end of March 2026. Changing a highway
contract part way through the winter season introduces a high
degree of risk and is not considered industry best
practice.
 
3. The contract extension would
also align more effectively with financial year requirements and
allow the contractor to start with a clear understanding of their
full annual budget allocation and that all the previous contract
works could be completed and invoiced to ensure the effective
closing out and demobilisation of that contract in alignment with
the end of the financial year.
 
Other Options:
 
Alternative options are limited
for the reasons set out in the report .
 
Note: This is an Executive
Function
Not eligible for
call-in
Cabinet Member: Cllr
Cowan