Grounds Maintenance 2023-24

Description

Hughenden Parish Council is seeking to award a one-year contract is to deliver a high-quality grounds maintenance service for the council's public open spaces - including amenity, recreational and urban verges and roadside signage. The Parish Council puts great value in the day-to-day management of these open spaces as a resource that all residents can enjoy. Green Spaces are a vital part of the community infrastructure; contributing in a variety of ways to the health and well-being of all that use them or enjoy their visual amenity. The contract includes grass cutting and horticultural maintenance of key Parish Council-owned open-spaces across Hughenden parish; such as play areas, allotments, amenity grasslands, a Garden of Rest and miscellaneous sites. Works also include the Devolved Services of Buckinghamshire Councils (such as maintenance of roadside verges) and general maintenance of Parish Council infra-structure. The applicant is strongly advised to make necessary site-visits prior to completing an offer to ensure knowledge of the locations involved. This includes assessing relevant conditions or features and gaining familiarity with access arrangements and detailed measurements. Such due diligence is reasonably expected in submitting a tender of this scale. Lot 1: This is varied Grounds Maintenance contract; requiring high-quality maintenance of public access amenity sites, parks and roadside verges and infrastructure. Tenders will be assessed on the basis of their value for money and quality. Value for money is based on the costs itemised in tendered bids. The quality is more complex and includes Social Value factors such as experience, quality of service/product, locality and environmental policies. Recent relevant experience will be viewed favourably, particularly in applicable technical areas associated with the variety and scale of this programme of work. This might include grounds maintenance or horticultural expertise. The applicant is required to demonstrate excellent levels of care, flexibility and responsiveness. This quality also needs to be reflected in dealings or communication with the Parish Council and public. A demonstration of the proposed methodology and approach to the work will be advantageous. The Parish Council will also favour an applicant that can adopt innovative solutions and emerging technologies in their work, while being able to display a positive response to any potential problems. The Parish Council is committed to setting strong environmental standards and supporting social values. Consequently, the tender offer should outline the applicant's own ethical and environmental policies or ethos to help support this. This will include the applicant's commitment or efforts to adapt to climate change and achieve carbon reduction. Suggestions for reducing the carbon footprint of the ITT grounds maintenance operations will be equally advantageous including, for instance, the potential to reduce energy, fuel and pesticide use in the provision of the contract, what measures could be taken to reduce, reuse and recycle waste, and the sourcing of ethically-responsible materials. Additional information: The following Invitation to Tender pdf documents are available from the Parish Council;- The Invitation to Tender Brief. Appendices;- Section A; Specification Section B; Terms and Conditions Section C; Site Maps (to be uploaded) Section D: Cost Submission Form Section E: Pre-Qualification Questionnaire Section F: Form of Tender Section G: Checklist of Documents