Purpose

Wyre Council procured Arcadis Consulting (UK) Ltd (“Arcadis”) via the ESPO procurement framework to undertake a Habitats Regulations Assessment and Sustainability Appraisal of the emerging Wyre Local Plan. The contract value is £46,965.

The Habitats Regulations Assessment (HRA) is a statutory technical assessment of the Wyre Local Plan to evaluate whether the plan could negatively impact protected European Sites. It involves several key stages: Screening; Appropriate Assessment; and Mitigation Measures. The scope of the work needed and whether all stages are necessary cannot be determined a procurement and is dependent upon the outcome of findings at each stage and statutory consultation.

To support the scoping of the HRA for the Screening Stage, a method statement was prepared and Natural England consulted. The outcome of the consultation with Natural England has resulted in the need to carry out further assessment work that was not envisaged at procurement. It is therefore necessary to extend the scope of work needed at the screening stage. A quote of £19,990 for the additional work at Screening stage has been obtained. There may be an additional cost for purchasing Wetland Bird Survey and Fylde Bird Club data, which will be dependent on the records required. It is estimated, based upon the previously HRA work for the adopted Local Plan, that this could cost between circa £2,500-5,000.

Decision

Extend the existing contract with Arcadis to include the additional works as part of the Habitats Regulations Assessment for the Local Plan.

Alternative options considered

None. Local planning authorities need to undertake technical assessments to support the Local Plan. The scope of the Habitats Regulation Assessment is dependent upon the outcome at each assessment stage, which cannot be fully envisaged at procurement. It is therefore necessary to undertake additional work which will incur an additional fee.

A new procurement exercise was considered and rejected due to the additional time it would take which would not offer a satisfactory alternative and may result in further additional fee.