Little London PFI scheme out for tender, July 2007

On 24 July (2007), Leeds City Council finally advertised the tender for the Little London PFI housing regeneration scheme. This means that the public sector contract for the proposed regeneration scheme has now been advertised by the Council to the private sector across the European Union, and that Leeds City Council is now officially in the procurement phase of the PFI scheme.

Any company / consortium interested in bidding for the Little London scheme had to send in what is called a 'Pre-Qualification Questionnaire' (PQQ) by the 4 September 2007. A PQQ asks a potential bidder a number of questions about their economic and financial standing and their technical and professional ability in order to determine whether they can proceed to the next stage.

The full tender advertisement is below, or download it here. As you can see, it is a very technical document that only professionals will understand!!! However, it very clearly states that Leeds City Council is seeking to award a single contract for both the Little London PFI scheme, and the Beeston Hill and Holbeck PFI scheme, to a prospective PFI consortium. Click here to remind yourself how PFI works.

The tender advert also makes clear that tenants in Beeston Hill and Holbeck face a far worse situation than Little London tenants, because Leeds City Council is proposing to demolish around 600 homes and convert a further 120 homes into more suitable accommodation (which will mean more homes being lost). In their place, the Council is proposing to build approximately 200 new council homes, and a massive 500 new private homes. In other words, a net loss of council housing by at least 400 homes, and the direct replacement of public housing with private housing.

Little London PFI Scheme Tender Document (click to download PDF version)

Tender: Leeds: housing services
Articles / Tenders: Other Services Date: Jul 24, 2007 - 08:14 AM

The deadline for this government tender / public sector contract notice is 04/09/2007

UK-Leeds: housing services
2007/S 140-173257

CONTRACT NOTICE

Works

SECTION I: CONTRACTING AUTHORITY
I.1) NAME, ADDRESSES AND CONTACT POINT(S):
Leeds City Council, Procurement Unit, 4th Floor West, Civic Hall, Calverly Street, Contact: Greg O'Halloran, Attn: Greg O'Halloran, UK-Leeds LS1 1UR. Tel. 0113 3950707. E-mail: mailto:greg.o. Fax 0113 2478862.
Internet address(es):
General address of the contracting authority: http://www.leeds.gov.uk/.
Address of the buyer profile: http://scms.alito.co.uk/.
Further information can be obtained at: As in above-mentioned contact point(s). Specifications and additional documents (including documents for competitive dialogue and a dynamic purchasing system) can be obtained at: As in above-mentioned contact point(s).
Tenders or requests to participate must be sent to: As in above-mentioned contact point(s).

I.2) TYPE OF THE CONTRACTING AUTHORITY AND MAIN ACTIVITY OR ACTIVITIES:
Regional or local authority.
General public services.
Housing and community amenities.
The contracting authority is purchasing on behalf of other contracting authorities: no.

SECTION II: OBJECT OF THE CONTRACT
II.1) DESCRIPTION
II.1.1) Title attributed to the contract by the contracting authority:
Little London and Beeston Hill and Holbeck Housing Private Finance Initiative Regeneration Project.
II.1.2) Type of contract and location of works, place of delivery or of performance:
Works.
Main site or location of works: Leeds.
NUTS code: UKE42.
II.1.3) The notice involves:
A public contract.
II.1.4) Information on framework agreement:
II.1.5) Short description of the contract or purchase(s):
Leeds City Council is seeking to enter into a Housing Revenue Account Private Finance Initiative contract or contracts for the refurbishment, demolition and replacement and associated environmental improvements of homes in the Little London area of Leeds and (subject to government funding approval) in the Beeston Hill and Holbeck area of South Leeds. The project is anticipated to encompass both a Private Finance Initiative contract or contracts (as outlined above) and development agreement(s) for the redevelopment of certain sites in both Little London (which will include the redevelopment of the Little London neighbourhood centre) and the Beeston Hill and Holbeck areas. It is anticipated that the PFI contract(s) will be for a period of around 20 to 30 years (including the works period). The contractor will be responsible throughout the duration of the contract for the provision of repairs, maintenance, cleaning and caretaking services to both refurbished and new dwellings. Leeds City Council expects bidders to propose solutions to satisfy its output based specification. It should be noted that funding approval is still required in respect of the Beeston Hill and Holbeck aspect of the project. Further information is contained in the Memorandum of Information available from the address in I.1.
II.1.6) Common procurement vocabulary (CPV):
70333000, 70331000, 50700000, 45111000, 45211000, 45453100.
II.1.7) Contract covered by the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA):
Yes.
II.1.8) Division into lots:
Yes.
Tenders should be submitted for: all lots.
II.1.9) Variants will be accepted:
Yes.

II.2) QUANTITY OR SCOPE OF THE CONTRACT
II.2.1) Total quantity or scope:
A design, build, finance and operate contract with an overall capital value of approximately 154 000 000 GBP (75 000 000 GBP in respect of Little London and 79 000 000 GBP in respect of Beeston Hill and Holbeck) is envisaged.
The procurement is to be divided into 3 'lots', the first in respect of Little London only (“Lot 1”), the second in respect of Beeston Hill & Holbeck only (“Lot 2”) and the third encompassing both Little London and Beeston Hill & Holbeck (“Lot 3”). Bidders are required to bid for each of the 3 lots (subject to the right of Leeds City Council to discontinue or postpone the procurement of any of the lots) though they should note that Leeds City Council's preferred option at this stage is to award a contract in respect of Lot 3 (subject to receiving government approval in respect of Beeston Hill and Holbeck).
Within the Little London area, the project is anticipated to consist of the refurbishment of around 922 Council homes (subject to technical due diligence), demolition of two blocks of flats (102 units) and around 40 maisonettes, construction of approximately 125 new homes for Leeds City Council and the undertaking of associated environmental improvements. It is also expected that the contractor will enter into a development agreement for the provision of approximately 90 new homes for private sale, a proportion of which will be affordable or low cost housing, and for the redevelopment of the current neighbourhood centre (including the provision of shops, community centre and housing office).
Within the Beeston Hill and Holbeck area it is anticipated that the project will consist of the refurbishment of approximately 450 Council homes (subject to technical due diligence), demolition of around 600 properties, conversion of around 120 homes into more suitable accommodation, construction of approximately 200 new homes for Leeds City Council and the undertaking of associated environmental improvements. It is also expected that the contractor will enter into a development agreement for the provision of approximately 500 new homes for private sale, a proportion of which will be affordable or low cost housing.
The number of properties to be refurbished, demolished, built and/or maintained and the scope of the services currently envisaged may change as the project progresses.
The Beeston Hill and Holbeck part of the project still requires government approval which will be sought during the initial stages of tendering. The City Council reserves the right (at any time) to discontinue or postpone the procurement of any of the lots, or to proceed with the project and to award a contract in respect of: Lot 1 only; Lot 2 only; both Lot 1 and Lot 2 (separately); or Lot 3.
Prior to entering into any development agreement, the successful bidder will need to demonstrate that its bid will provide best consideration in relation to any land to be disposed of by Leeds City Council.
Leeds City Council may include an option or variation mechanism to extend the initial contract term and/or to include additional works, services and/or supplies within the scope. Furthermore, a public works contract for new works which would be a repetition of the works provided (or to be provided) under any contract awarded pursuant to the procurement process commenced by the publication of this contract notice may be awarded by Leeds City Council without prior publication of a contract notice using the negotiated procedure in accordance with Regulation 14(1)(d)(ii) of the Public Contracts Regulations 2006.
Further details are contained in the Memorandum of Information which can be obtained from the address at I.1.
II.2.2) Options:

II.3) DURATION OF THE CONTRACT OR TIME-LIMIT FOR COMPLETION: Duration in months: 240 (from the award of the contract).

INFORMATION ABOUT LOTS
LOT NO 1
TITLE: Little London only

1) SHORT DESCRIPTION: Housing services.
2) COMMON PROCUREMENT VOCABULARY (CPV): 70333000.
3) QUANTITY OR SCOPE:
4) INDICATION ABOUT DIFFERENT DATE FOR DURATION OF CONTRACT OR STARTING/COMPLETION:
5) ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT LOTS:

LOT NO 2
TITLE: Beeston Hill and Holbeck only
1) SHORT DESCRIPTION: Housing services.
2) COMMON PROCUREMENT VOCABULARY (CPV): 70333000.
3) QUANTITY OR SCOPE:
4) INDICATION ABOUT DIFFERENT DATE FOR DURATION OF CONTRACT OR STARTING/COMPLETION:
5) ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT LOTS:

LOT NO 3
TITLE: Both Little London and Beeston Hill and Holbeck
1) SHORT DESCRIPTION: Housing services.
2) COMMON PROCUREMENT VOCABULARY (CPV): 70333000.
3) QUANTITY OR SCOPE:
4) INDICATION ABOUT DIFFERENT DATE FOR DURATION OF CONTRACT OR STARTING/COMPLETION:
5) ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT LOTS:

SECTION III: LEGAL, ECONOMIC, FINANCIAL AND TECHNICAL INFORMATION

III.1) CONDITIONS RELATING TO THE CONTRACT
III.1.1) Deposits and guarantees required:
Leeds City Council reserves the right to require deposits, bonds, or other forms of appropriate security.
III.1.2) Main financing conditions and payment arrangements and/or reference to the relevant provisions regulating them:
The terms concerning financing and payment will be set out in the contract documents. The project is being procured under the UK government Private Finance Initiative.
III.1.3) Legal form to be taken by the group of economic operators to whom the contract is to be awarded:
Contract(s) may be awarded to one or more applicants, consortia or individual members of consortia in respect of any one or more of the lots, but in the case of a consortium or individual members of a consortium liability to Leeds City Council will be joint and several.
III.1.4) Other particular conditions to which the performance of the contract is subject:
Yes.
See the pre-qualification documents which are available from the address in section I.1.

III.2) CONDITIONS FOR PARTICIPATION
III.2.1) Personal situation of economic operators, including requirements relating to enrolment on professional or trade registers:
Information and formalities necessary for evaluating if requirements are met: Suppliers may be treated as ineligible under the terms of Regulation 23 (Criteria for rejection of economic operator’s services) of the Public Contracts Regulations 2006, as detailed in the pre-qualification documents.
Further details and copies of the Pre Qualification Questionnaire can be obtained from the Supplier Contract Management System web site at http://scms.alito.co.uk. If you have any queries you can contact Greg O'Halloran, Project Procurement Officer, Corporate Procurement Unit, Legal and Democratic Services, Leeds City Council, Leeds LS1 1UR, tel. 0113 395 0707, fax 0113 2478862, email mailto:greg.o. The deadline for receipt of Pre Qualification Questionnaires is noon 4.9.2007. The selected list of tenderers will be compiled from the evaluation of the questionnaires (as set out in Articles 29- 35 of Directive 92/50/EC).
III.2.2) Economic and financial capacity:
Information and formalities necessary for evaluating if requirements are met: Please refer to Pre Qualification Questionnaire and Tender Documents.
III.2.3) Technical capacity:
Information and formalities necessary for evaluating if requirements are met: See III.2.1 above and refer to Pre Qualification Questionnaire.
III.2.4) Reserved contracts:
No.

III.3) CONDITIONS SPECIFIC TO SERVICES CONTRACTS
III.3.1) Execution of the service is reserved to a particular profession:
III.3.2) Legal entities should indicate the names and professional qualifications of the staff responsible for the execution of the service:

SECTION IV: PROCEDURE

IV.1) TYPE OF PROCEDURE
IV.1.1) Type of procedure:
Competitive dialogue.
IV.1.2) Limitations on the number of operators who will be invited to tender or to participate: Objective criteria for choosing the limited number of candidates: As stated in the pre-qualification documents available from the address in section I.1.
IV.1.3) Reduction of the number of operators during the negotiation or dialogue:
Recourse to staged procedure to gradually reduce the number of solutions to be discussed or tenders to be negotiated yes.

IV.2) AWARD CRITERIA
IV.2.1) Award criteria:
The most economically advantageous tender in terms of the criteria stated in the specifications, in the invitation to tender or to negotiate or in the descriptive document.
IV.2.2) An electronic auction will be used:
No.

IV.3) ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION
IV.3.1) File reference number attributed by the contracting authority:
LCC4057.
IV.3.2) Previous publication(s) concerning the same contract: No.
IV.3.3) Conditions for obtaining specifications and additional documents or descriptive document Payable documents: no.
IV.3.4) Time-limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate: 4.9.2007.
IV.3.5) Date of dispatch of invitations to tender or to participate to selected candidates:
IV.3.6) Language(s) in which tenders or requests to participate may be drawn up: English.
IV.3.7) Minimum time frame during which the tenderer must maintain the tender:
IV.3.8) Conditions for opening tenders:

SECTION VI: COMPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

VI.1) THIS IS A RECURRENT PROCUREMENT: No.
VI.2) CONTRACT RELATED TO A PROJECT AND/OR PROGRAMME FINANCED BY EU FUNDS:
No
VI.3) ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Candidates should note that Leeds City Council intends to hold a bidders information day on 16.8.2007. Applicants wishing to attend should pre-register with Dayle Lynch via e-mail at dayle.lynch@leeds.gov.uk (0113 395 2835) by 13.8.2007.
Leeds City Council expressly reserves the right:
(a) not to award any contract as a result of the procurement process commenced by the publication of this notice;
(b) to make whatever changes it may see fit to the content, process, timing and structure of the tendering competition;
(c) not to evaluate any PQQ responses received after the relevant deadline;
(d) to award one or more contracts in respect of part only of the requirements covered by this contract notice;
(e) to procure the whole or any part of any lot or any combination of any lots by any other means (including by way of a new procurement process);
and
(f) to make any change to the procurement programme or any other date currently envisaged.
In no circumstance will Leeds City Council be liable for any costs incurred by any candidate participating in the procurement process.
Parties which alter their composition after submitting a response to the PQQ may be the subject of re-evaluation.
Variant bids may be permissible within the parameters to be determined in the tender documentation.
Variants will be accepted in addition to the compliant bids (as set out in the tender documentation) providing that Leeds City Council's core requirements are met and provided that they are in accordance with the contract documentation. Applicants should note that it is intended that rent collection, allocations and lettings and other tenancy management services will not form part of the project, and will be retained by the local ALMOs.

VI.4) PROCEDURES FOR APPEAL
VI.4.1) Body responsible for appeal procedures:
Official name: See section VI.4.2.
VI.4.2) Lodging of appeals:
Precise information on deadline(s) for lodging appeals: Precise information on deadline(s) for lodging appeals: Leeds City Council will incorporate a minimum 10 calendar day standstill period at the point information on the award of the contract is communicated to candidates. This period allows unsuccessful candidates to seek further debriefing from Leeds City Council before the contract is entered into. Applicants have two working days from the notification of the award decision to request additional debriefing and that information has to be provided a minimum of three working days before the expiry of the standstill period. Such additional information should be requested from the addressee in section I.1. If an appeal regarding the award of the contract has not been successfully resolved, The Public Contracts Regulations 2006 (SI 2006 No. 5) provide for aggrieved parties who have been harmed or are at risk of harm by a breach of the rules to take action in the High Court (England, Wales and Northern Ireland). Any such action must be brought promptly (generally within three months). Where a contract has not been entered into, the Court may order the setting aside of the award decision or order Leeds City Council to amend any document and may award damages. The purpose of the standstill period referred to above is to allow parties to apply to the Courts to set aside the award decision before the contract is entered into.
VI.4.3) Service from which information about the lodging of appeals may be obtained:
Leeds City Council, Procurement Unit, 4th Floor West, Civic Hall, Calverly Street,
UK-Leeds LS1 1UR. E-mail: mailto:greg.o
Tel. 0113 3950707 . URL: http://www.leeds.gov.uk/
VI.5) DATE OF DISPATCH OF THIS NOTICE:
20.7.2007.