Decision

The Director of
Neighbourhood Services has decided to approve the Direct Award of a
contract for a period of 3 years with effect from 1 July 2025 to
Gaist Solutions Ltd following a procurement process through the
Blackpool RAMS Framework for the purpose of carrying out a highway
condition network survey at a total cost of £400,000.
Estimated annual expenditure £130,000

Reasons for the decision

The Department of
Transport requires local authorities to report on the condition of
their highway annually. To obtain these national indicators a road
condition survey is required. 
 
Survey Consultants,
Gaist Solutions Ltd, have been awarded the contract to carry out a
driven highway condition survey and calculate the national
indicators that are required for reporting to the Department for
Transport.
 
This 3-year contract
will enable the collection of Highway and Footway Network Condition
Data on all classified roads (A, B, C and U). The Data will also be
used to inform future Highway Structural Maintenance Programmes of
work and to gather asset data to enable life cycle planning on
Wirral’s highway assets.
 
This contract will
assist in providing an accurate means of benchmarking performance
against Liverpool City Region authorities.
 

Alternative options considered

The contract with
Gaist is procured via Blackpool RAMS framework. Gaist are the only
named supplier.
 
A two-year contract
term was considered but discounted as term too short.