Decision made:

To approve the contract award.

Reasons for decision:

The approved procurement process has been closely followed and it is the opinion of the Open Space Strategy Officers that the bid represents good value for money in today’s market.

Other options considered and rejected:

The retendering of the contract has been considered to attract more bids; however, it is the opinion of Open Space Strategy Officers that the bid represents very good value for money in the current market.

A further procurement process which would not complete until new year would reflect the general upward trend in pricing under inflation and it is likely that any further bids submitted would not be as economically advantageous to the Council.