Football Hub Operator - King George V Playing Fields Redevelopment - Portsmouth

Description

Portsmouth City Council - 'the Council' - is inviting applications from suitably qualified and experienced operators for the operation of a football hub at King George V Playing Fields, Portsmouth. The Council is seeking to secure a strategic partner who will work with the Council to develop the game in the city and address a number of key local outcomes, including: • Increasing levels of physical activity, leading to reductions in obesity and costs of inactivity due to preventable illness • Increasing participation in football by under-represented groups or groups with barriers to access • Sustaining male youth and adult football • Increasing the women and girls' game in the city • Growing opportunities for pan-disability football The Council is in the process of bidding for grant funding from the Premier League, The FA and the Government's Football Foundation. Once secured this funding will be used to fund the redevelopment of the site which will encompass replacement of the existing pavilion building, updating the current landscaping & parking provisions and installation of two new Artificial Grass Pitches (AGP's). To achieve funding from the Football Foundation, the Council must have a deliverable scheme, with planning consent, ready for the April 2022 funding window. The site will also retain a number of grass pitches which operators may also include for within optional Lot 2 additional proposals. There may also be further opportunities over the term of the contract for the successful operator to expand delivery of operations to other existing or newly developed Council owned football facilities, without limitation in respect of relevant Council sites or potential revenue estimates. The initial term of the contract will be for approx. 10 years, dependent upon the final service commencement date. The contract may be extended at the option of the Council to a maximum total term of 15 years, in increments to be agreed. The Council is targeting operational commencement from September 2023, however the exact operational commencement date may be brought forwards or put back in relation to some or all of the services, dependent upon funding status, securing of approvals and completion of the required redevelopment works. The first year of operations under the contract will run for approx. 7 months to completion of the Council's financial year in April 2024. All subsequent years will be in line with the Council's financial year definition and will run from April to April. The Council's revenue turnover projection for the site, at maturity of the business model and with inclusion of grass pitches, is approx. £320K a year. This figure is a non-binding estimate which may be subject to significant above and below fluctuations dependent upon the commercial performance of the facility / operator and / or addition of any further facilities to the scope of the arrangements over the term of the contract. The Council is aiming to have secured the successful operator partner by March 2022 to allow for operator input into the funding application, redevelopment works specifications and overall project delivery strategy. It is the Council's view that the contractual arrangements which will be established via this procurement process are classified as a service concession contract under the Public Concessions Regulations (2016) and furthermore fall under the scope of the Light Touch Regime services listed under Schedule 3 of the regulations. In the interests of transparency, fairness, equality of opportunity, best value and future development flexibility, the Council has opted to undertake an FTS advertised procurement process in broad non-binding accordance with the Competitive Dialogue Procedure, as set out within the Public Contracts Regulations (2015). A summary of the procurement process and timescales is included within Section 'VI.3. Additional information' of this notice. Lot 1: Lot 1 - Operation of Facilities EXCLUDING incorporation of existing grass pitches A summary outline scope of the requirements which fall within Lot 1 are set out below, however applicants are referred to the procurement documents for full details. The Council is seeking a strategic partner to operate the site, and work with the Council to develop football activities in the city. SITE BACKGROUND INFORMATION & PARTNERIG APPROACH The site is part of the open space portfolio for the Council and acts as an important venue for events. There will be expectation that the Council will require use of the wider site for events at specific parts of the year (for example, annual fireworks display around the 5th November). The expectation is that the operator will not be expected to contribute to these events, but it is accepted that there may be an impact upon operations. The site is an important part of the local footballing offer, and pricing policy will need to reflect the local community needs, where it is known that the city has lower incomes than surrounding areas. The Council works closely with partners in the city to progress objectives relating to sport development, physical activity and healthy lifestyles - as part of the operating requirement, the Operator will be expected to play a full and active part in this partnership working, in some cases leading collaborative working in support of the shared objectives. LEGAL TERMS & CONDITIONS The successful Operator will be required to enter into co-terminus service concession contract and lease agreement terms. The Council has included a copy of the proposed service concession contractual terms within the procurement documentation. Lease Heads of Terms will be issued to shortlisted applicants, however outline responsibilities are included below in summary and in detail within the procurement documentation. The Council is open to dialogue with applicants in respect of the legal terms but will have the sole option on whether to adopt alterations suggested by applicants. FINANCING MODEL It is not expected that the Operator will make any capital investment in the initial phase of site development (AGP, pavilion and associated infrastructure), beyond loose FF&E. It is expected that the operating partner will operate the site without revenue subsidy from the local authority. The Council will provide the initial installation of AGP as part of the offer, whilst the Operator will be expected to maintain the pitches over the course of their expected design life. The Operator will be required to ensure provision is made within their proposals for replacement of the AGP's at the end of their operational life and provide the Council with a maintenance fund to undertake the necessary capital replacement works at the pavilion, car park and associated structures. REDEVELOPMENT WORKS PROCUREMENT The Council intend to undertake separate procurement processes to let contracts for: 1) The new build Pavillion works and associated landscaping / parking works. 2) The AGP supply and installation works. Further information in respect of the envisaged procurement processes, sourcing routes and timescales for letting the above works packages is included within Section 'II.2.14. Additional information' below. RESPONSIBILITIES The Operator will be invited to input into the funding application, redevelopment works specifications and overall project delivery strategy, however responsibility for these activities will in general remain with the Council. The Council is proposing that a turnkey solution will be provided for the sites except for loose FF&E. Loose FF&E generally comprises of catering equipment, health and fitness equipment and loose furniture, which will be provided by the Operator. The Operator will be required to replace all equipment, fixtures and fittings when they come to the end of their economic life including the initial FF&E and initial loose FF&E in accordance with the lifecycle responsibility. At the expiry of the contract, all equipment provided by the Council (with the exception of operator Equipment) must be made available and be fully serviceable and then transferred to the Council at no additional cost. The Operator will be expected to remove all Operator equipment from the facilities, though the Council may negotiate with the operator regarding retention of certain equipment should this be of interest to both parties. The Council will undertake the following responsibilities: • Structure: build and development of the AGP and associated infrastructure (fences and floodlighting), build of pavilion and establishment of car parking, pathways and landscaping • Insurance: to organise and fund buildings insurance against insurable risks The headline responsibilities of the Operator will include: • Opening and closing the facility • Caretaking and security • Responsibility for all income generation and collection tasks including programming, pricing, marketing etc. (although will be subject to programming and pricing restrictions at certain times) • Repairs: all facilities management tasks including planned and reactive maintenance, lifecycle maintenance, refurbishment and replacement (excluding building structure, plant and some other defined council lifecycle responsibilities) and cleaning • AGPs: all management tasks including planned and reactive maintenance and lifecycle maintenance • Grounds: to maintain the grounds and communal areas (Lot 1), that may also include the grassed pitches and wider site (Lot 2) • Structure: to report to the Council in a timely way the impending requirement for capital investment in structural elements of the building • Outgoings: to organise the payment of all rates, taxes and utility costs and the like which are attributable to the property, to record and properly account for all payments made • Insurance: to organise as appropriate for communal areas and Service Provider fixtures and fittings (to include public liability insurance, employers liability and professional indemnity) • Access: to allow reasonable access to the Council in pursuance of legitimate duties (for example, any maintenance responsibilities) • Alterations: not to make significant structural alterations or additions to the property without prior mutual agreement with the Council • To provide data, information and evidence to allow the Council to complete on-going monitoring and evaluation returns to the capital funder/s The Council is open to dialogue discussions in respect of the above summary position, although it is unlikely that any fundamental changes to the outline responsibilities will be made. MONITORING & REPORTING REQUIREMENTS The Operator will be expected to self-monitor against the performance elements identified and make information available to the Council upon request. Performance will be assessed against the minimum levels included in the Council's specification, concession agreement, etc., and within the Operator's tendered proposal - • Delivery against funding outcomes • Delivery against the Councils requirements and outputs • Delivery of proposal including any significant variations as agreed by the Council • Engagement with identified stakeholder groups across the city and surrounding regions • Effectiveness of marketing and promotion • Provision of accurate business information to the Council following request • Health & safety and environmental health management • Customer satisfaction and complaints, and reporting against these • Delivery of social value • Local economy supplier inclusion • Local community inclusion & employment As part of the outline proposals the Operator will be expected to identify key performance measures in order to deliver the required outputs - e.g. facility use overall, facility use by targeted group, new customers, etc. As part of the partnership approach, the Operator can suggest additional/alternative measures to measure against their own business proposal, which will need to be agreed by the Council. However, the funding and Council outputs must be achieved as a minimum. The successful Operator will be required to work with the Council on a fully transparent open book partnership basis. This will include making available operational management and financial accounts and underlying financial transactions and summaries with sufficient explanatory narrative to enable the Council to monitor performance or benefits arising at the request of the Council. Management and performance information will be required in respect of all operations, including the performance of sub-tenants. Therefore, these open book requirements will extend to any and all sub-tenants. Sub-tenants might be required to make available to the successful Operator operational management and financial accounts with sufficient explanatory narrative to enable the successful Operator to monitor performance and to provide a complete performance to the Council when requested. Sub-tenants will also be required to provide this information to the Council and the Council's request. Upon request, though no less than every quarter, the Operator must provide financial reports. It will be a requirement that any annual surplus generated beyond the projections within the Operator's business plan will be shared with the Council. The Council will use the income it receives from the Operator towards investment in local football development. The Operator must provide ongoing data and evidence to enable Portsmouth City Council to make submissions on requests to the capital funder. Additional information: PROCUREMENT OF REDEVELOPMENT WORKS 1) New build Pavillion works and associated landscaping / parking works The Council will procure the pavilion and associated works via a further advertised procurement process in accordance with the Restricted Procedure as set out within the Public Contracts Regulations (2015). The envisaged procurement timetable is as follows: • FTS Notice and SSQ issued - early January 2022 • SSQ Return - early February 2022 • Tender issue - April 2022 • Tender Return - May / June 2022 • Award - July 2022 2) AGP supply and installation works The Council intends to utilise an existing framework agreement to secure a contractor for the supply and installation of the new AGP's and associated electrical and mechanical fit out. The envisaged procurement timetable is as follows: • Tender issued - January 2022 • Tender return - February / March 2022 • Award - March 2022 Lot 2: Lot 2 - Operation of Facilities INCLUDING incorporation of existing grass pitches As per Lot 1 except for the addition of the operation and associated maintenance of the existing grass pitches at the King George V Playing Fields site. Proposals submitted under Lot 2 are to include for the full management of the grass pitches, including provision of goals, nets, flags, any ancillaries and staffing required in attendance. Applicants should be aware that King George V playing field is a popular public open space used for informal recreation activities and that this usage is expected to be permitted at all times when organised sporting activities are not taking place. The site currently has provision of 7 adult pitches, 1 junior pitch and 1 mini pitch. These pitches form part of the council's citywide pitch provision and are booked for use by local league clubs. Revision of the site layout to accommodate the new pavilion and AGPs would result in this provision being reduced to 6 adult pitches and 1 junior (7v7) pitch (in format currently shown). Analysis of previous years usage data suggests that 6 adult grass pitches will accommodate 305 senior games and 60 junior games per season (365 games total) and the junior pitch will accommodate 50 games. Approximately 10% of these bookings may be lost to weather and the pitch being deemed unplayable. These figures have been estimated based on usage levels pre-2017 (after which a number of events have affected usage levels such as pavilion fire, limited changing accommodation, COVID regulations) and may be used as forming the basis for usage projections. The Council estimates that the turnover that could be generated for pitch bookings is approximately £18k - £20k per annum based upon current booking rates and an upper end but still realistic view of likely demand. Bookings are currently administered by BH Live as part of their function operating the Mountbatten Centre. The future booking responsibility is open to negotiation, whether the pitches are maintained by PCC or the operator, since their function requires scheduled use of the changing facilities. Currently, pitch booking may be made up to 10 days in advance, but no less than 48 hours before kick-off. Fixtures are accommodated on both Saturday and Sunday with kick off times of 10.00-10.30 and 14.00 for adult games and 10.00, 12.00 and 14.00 for junior (9v9) games. The current pitch hire charges reflect meeting local community need and are set at a much lower level than the surrounding area. The hire charges are included within the procurement documents. Additional information: Applicants may submit proposals for both lots, however Lot 2 submissions will only be permitted where they accompany a compliant Lot 1 submission.