Decisions made

To approve the funding identified for the enhancement of Fairview Play Area.

Reasons for recommendations:

The current safety surfacing needs replacement, it has been patched, has holes in it, has been filled with alternative materials and has shrunk at the edges. Rather than take the old surface to tip, the chosen method of resurfacing will overlay with Notts Sport Childsplay sand filled carpet. This is manufactured locally in Leigh and has an 8 year warranty.

Alternative options considered and rejected:

To replace the safety surfacing with wet pour again. This was rejected as it could incur similar acts of vandalism. The sand filled carpet is more durable and fire retardant.

The creation of woodland on the pieces of identified Council owned land will help deliver the target of planting 116,875 trees by 2025. The creation of woodland will help to increase the woodland cover of the Borough and increase biodiversity.

To not plant trees on the land and to put the land back into grazing licences. Chorley Council will receive a payment for creating the new woodlands and annual income for 10 years from the England Woodland Creation Grant. This will cover any lost revenue.

That the current mayoral car be replaced by a Jaguar I Pace electric powered vehicle in line with the Council’s commitment to tackling climate change and air quality.

Reasons for recommendation(s):

The lease on the current Mayoral car has ended and it is important that a new vehicle is provided to ensure the Mayor is able to fulfil his important civic and community role, that the environmental commitments and aspirations of the Council are met, a British car marque is sourced and the vehicle meets service requirements.

Alternative options considered and rejected:

1. To replace the current car with a similar new petrol model, but this would not meet the environmental aspirations and commitment by the Council.

2. Delaying the contracting for a new mayoral car until such time as the supply/ demand issues for microchips is resolved and costs decrease, was considered. However, this was discounted as the period of delay would be uncertain and could be significant. It is felt that the environmental damage caused by the delay and the councils failure to act as a community leader outweighs the additional cost involved.

3. Sourcing and alternative electric vehicle could have realised annual savings on the lease fee, but alternative electric vehicles whilst meeting the environmental agenda criteria would fail to meet the priorities to support British business nor have the practical use benefits provided by the recommended vehicle.

1. The Council has statutory obligations to provide quarterly, bi-annual and annual service and testing requirements to comply with health and safety and statutory requirements.

2. The Council has a contractual obligation with its tenants to provide reactive and planned maintenance in a timely manner, providing emergency repairs as necessary.

3. This proposed appointment of new contractors ensures that these services will enable the Council to fulfil its obligations.

4. The Councils Contract Procurement Rules stipulate that Executive Cabinet approval followed by a delegated member decision is required for all contracts over £100,000.

5. The procurement process has identified local and regional contractors who can provide acceptable levels of service for the Council and its Clients which will add value to the Councils Service provision and improve professional delivery of maintenance repairs.   

1. The option of seeking a waiver to extend the existing delivery arrangements for the Reactive and Planned Maintenance services was explored but rejected on the basis that there was no reasonable justification for doing this.

2. The option of bringing the services in-house was considered but ruled out due to lack of capacity within the present staffing structure to deliver the service. In addition, there are concerns that insufficient skilled trade’s persons could be recruited to provide adequate 24-hour cover.  Also, it was deemed that overhead cost would significantly inflate the delivery cost.

3.   The option of tendering the services in a combined tender with general building maintenance was also considered but rejected. The Council’s research and past experience in tendering repairs and maintenance services has shown that a limited number of contractors would express an interest.  Usually larger contractors are attracted which have the diverse skill base to cover all work categories.  This would therefore, likely to deter local companies from expressing an interest in these tender opportunities.