Ross-On-Wye Town Council

ROSS-ON-WYE TOWN COUNCIL

INVITATION TO BID

Information andSpecification Document

for Christmas Lights in Ross-on-Wye Town Centre

2018 - 2020

Contents:

Part 1Introduction and general information

Part 2Contractor’s obligations

Part 3Specification

Part 4Instructions

Part 5Invitation to submit a quotation

Part 6Business Qualification Questionnaire

January 2018

PART 1 INTRODUCTION AND INFORMATION

1INTRODUCTION

1.1The Town Council is committed to delivering high quality services which balance the performance, quality and value to the client with the cost of the provision.

1.2The Christmas lights and tree in the town centre are provided by the Town Council to decorate the town over the Christmas festive season with the aim of attracting residents and visitors to the town centre to support retail trade. The scheme has a high profile in the town and is well received by the public and businesses.

1.3The current contract has come to an end and Ross-on-Wye Town Council will be seeking an experienced and qualified contractorfor a three-year contract commencing from 2018.

1.3The contract will include the installation, removal, refurbishment (if necessary) of the Christmas lights and Christmas tree lights and the testing of eyebolts/catenary wires during this period. The contract will also include maintenance, testing, repair and storage of the lights as described in this document. In the first year of the contract it will also include the collection of the lights from the previous contractor in Ross-on-Wye.

1.4The Council in conjunction with other partners organises the Christmas Lights ‘switch on’ event which the contractor will be required to attend and facilitate.

1.5The contractor must ascertain the nature of the town centre and all local conditions and restrictions to affect the execution of the works before submitting a bid. The contractor will be deemed to have visited the town centre and acquainted itself fully with the site and requirements for the works and no claims by the contractor for additional payment will be allowed on the grounds of misunderstanding or lack of knowledge of the site or of these requirements.

1.6Christmas lights decorate the town centre for the Christmas period, extending from a ‘switch-on’ which normally takes places in November through to 6th January each year. The existing scheme comprises LED cross street iciclesattached to catenary wire installations and icicle lights around the market house. In addition, the decorating of a 30-foot christmas tree with strings of LED lights. Proposals for cross street decorations mustutilise the existing catenary wires.

1.7The Contractor must undertake the work in a manner that causes little disruption to traffic, both vehicular and pedestrian, as well as with consideration for the environment. Given the lay out of the scheme it is anticipated that the installation and removal of lights will be undertaken during the period from the late evening to early morning.

1.8 The lights must be set to their automatic timers which result in their coming on at 3.30pm and going off at midnight.

2DEFINITIONS

In these conditions, except where the context otherwise requires, the following expressions shall have the meanings hereby ascribed to them:

2.1“The authority” and “the Council” means Ross-on-Wye Town Council.

2.2“The contract” means this document and the written acceptance and any other explanatory documents in the form of appendices.

2.3“The contractor” means the individual or firm or company whose quotation is accepted.

2.4“The service” means the whole of the work to be executed and as described in this document, including any materials, articles and goods to be supplied and any modifications made.

2.5“The conditions” mean the conditions outlined in this document.

2.6“The specification” means the description of the service referred to in any specification within the contract and any variation thereof.

2.7“Commencement date” means the date by which the work is to be started.

2.8“End Date” is the latest date by which the work is to be completed.

2.9“Christmas lights” means the icicle lights currently owned by the Town Council

2.10“Arbitrator” is the person agreed by both parties to act as arbitrator or, if both parties fail to agree, the person independently appointed.

2.11“Authorised Officer” shall be the Town Clerk or such person appointed by the authority to act in the name of the authority for the purposes of the contract. From time to time the Authorised Officer may appoint another representative to act for the Authorised Officer.

3INFORMATION FOR CONTRACTORS

3.1Information supplied by the Council (whether in these documents or otherwise) is provided for general guidance in the preparation of the questionnaire and quotation. The applicant must satisfy itself as to the conditions affecting the supply and cost of labour, the availability and prices of materials and all other conditions of the locality in which the works the subject of the contract are to be carried out, insofar as the same might affect their quotation.

3.2Applicants must satisfy themselves by their own investigations with regard to the accuracy of any information provided by the Council, its officers or agents.

3.3Should any additions or alterations to any bid document, or the provision of further information, appear to the Council to be desirable to be provided prior to the date for submission of the questionnaire and quotation, such information will be issued to applicants in writing and any document thereby modified shall have affect as modified.

3.4In the event that any applicant wishes to raise any query or seek clarification prior to the submission of the business qualification questionnaire and quotation then such queries or requests should be made by email to .

3.5Applicants are to note that the Council will not accept queries or requests other than by email as stated in paragraph 3.4 above.

3.6All costs (direct or indirect), expenses and disbursements incurred by any applicant in the preparation and submission of the questionnaire and quotation and any discussions are to be borne in full by the contractor.

4PERIOD OF CONTRACT

4.1The contract shall commence on 1 May 2018 and shall continue for three years. The contract may be extended by a further two years on the same basis with the agreement of both parties.

Storage of the lights may be beyond this date and a monthly rate should be included to enable the Council to budget for additional storage if necessary.

5VARIATIONS

5.1The authority may give notice in the form of a written variation order to the contractor requiring the contractor to:

(i)delete from the contract the name or particulars of any premises;

(ii)add to or reduce the area and or work to be carried out;

(iii)to vary the service or the method of supplying the service provided or to be provided at any premises as determined by the Authorised Officer.

6CONFIDENTIALITY

6.1The Contractor shall not, without the prior written consent of the Authority during the period of the Contract or at any time thereafter make use for its own purposes, or disclose to any person (except as may be required by law), the Contract Documents or any information contained therein or in any material provided to it by the Authority pursuant to the Contract or prepared by the Contractor pursuant to the Contract, all of which information shall be deemed to be confidential.

6.2The Contractor shall not and shall ensure that its employees do not divulge to any third party any information, which comes into its or their possession in the course of providing the Service.

6.3The Contractor shall indemnify and keep indemnified the Authority against all actions, claims, demands, proceedings, damages, costs, charges and expenses whatsoever in respect of any breach by the Contractor of this condition.

7DEFAULT OF CONTRACT

7.1If the Contractor fails to provide the service or any part thereof with due diligence or in a proper, skilful and workmanlike manner, or in accordance with the Conditions and the Specification and to the entire satisfaction of the Authorised Officer, the Authority may, without prejudice to any other remedy available to the Authority:

(i)require such work to be re-executed at no cost to the Authority;

(ii)provide or employ and pay other persons to provide the Service or any part thereof and in the meantime debar the Contractor, its employees and agents from the Premises or part thereof, and all costs incurred thereby may be deducted from any sums due or to become due to the Contractor under the Contract or shall be recoverable from the Contractor by the Authority as a debt

(iii)deduct from any account rendered by the contractor such sum as the authority considers appropriate in respect of such non-performance.

(iv)determine the Contract by giving to the Contractor no less than four weeks’ notice in writing either wholly or in respect of the Premises or the part of the Premises in relation to which the default has occurred.

8RECOVERY OF SUMS DUE

8.1Whenever under the Contract any sum of money shall be recoverable from or payable by the Contractor to the Authority, such sums may be deducted from any sums or sums then due or which at any time thereafter may become due to the Contractor under this Contract or any other Contract with the Authority.

9PAYMENT

9.1Payments shall be made in two tranchesin each year of the contract. The first shall be for two-thirds of the full amount payable after installation and the second shall be submitted at the completion of the works and confirmation that the lights are stored in a manner agreed by the Authorised Officer.

9.2Prior to any payment being made, invoices submitted will be verified against the work undertaken.

9.3The Contractor shall issue separate invoices for any additional works undertaken and include a breakdown of all charges.

10REJECTION OF QUOTATIONS

10.1The Council shall reject a quotation, without prejudice to any other civil remedies available to the Council or any criminal liability the applicant may attract, if the applicant fixes or adjusts the price shown in its quotation by or in accordance with any agreement or arrangement with any other person or by reference to any other quotation; or

(I)Communicates to any person other than the Council the amount or appropriate amount of the prices shown in its quotation, except where such communication is made in confidence in order to obtain quotations necessary for Insurance;

(ii)Offers or agrees to pay or give any sum of money, inducement or valuable consideration directly or indirectly to any person for doing or having done, or for causing or having caused to be done any act of omission in relation to any other person’squotation.

PART 2 CONTRACTOR’S OBLIGATIONS

11OBLIGATIONS

11.1The Contractor shall provide the Service or any variations thereof in a proper, skilful and workmanlike manner and to the entire satisfaction of the Authorised Officer, or appointed representative.

11.2The Contractor shall ensure that neither the Contractor nor its employees or agents shall do any act or thing at any premises other than the proper performance of the service.

11.3The Contractor shall be expected to provide a communication system enabling the Contractor to receive and respond to instructions from the Authorised Officer at all times during the provision of the Service. The Contractor will also provide an out of hours telephone number for contact during emergencies.

12INDEMNITY

12.1This condition applies to any personal injury or loss of property which arises out of or in any way in connection with the execution or purported execution of the Contract.

12.2The Contractor shall indemnify the authority in the sum of £5million in respect of any one claim and shall:

(i)be responsible for and reinstate and make good to the satisfaction of the Authority or make compensation for any loss of property;

(ii)indemnify the Authority against any payment by the Authority against any claims, proceedings, costs or expenses associated with the execution of the Contract.

12.3If the Contractor shows that any personal injury or loss of property to which this Condition applies was not caused, nor contributed to, by his neglect or default or by that of his servants, agents or sub-contractor, or by any circumstances within his or their control he shall be under no liability under this Condition and if he shows that the neglect or default of any other person (not being his servant, agent or sub-contractor) was in part responsible for any personal injury or loss of property to which this Condition applies, the Contractor’s liability under this Condition shall not extend to share in responsibility attributable to the neglect or default of that person.

13HEALTH AND SAFETY

13.1The Contractor shall at all times comply with all statutory and other provisions to be observed in connection with the Service and in particular the requirements of Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, and any other Acts, Regulations, Orders or rules of law pertaining to health and safety.

13.2The Contractor shall at all times co-operate with the Authority's appointed officer who shall have the right to inspect and report upon the Contractor's compliance with the statutory requirements and the Codes of Practice currently in force.

13.3The Contractor shall provide the Service safely and in a manner that is not likely to be injurious to health or detrimental to the environment or the fabric of any site.

13.4The Contractor shall keep all plant, machinery and equipment used for the performance of the Service in a safe condition at all times.

13.5The Contractor shall supply a copy of his Health and Safety Policy, his Safety Practices of Work and Risk Assessments relating to all of the Work to be carried out under this Contract.

13.6When quoting for the Contract, the Contractor shall sign and return the Authority’s forms.

13.7The Contractor shall review and update his Policy in the light of changing legislation and/or changes in the Authority's policies.

13.8All additional costs, fees and expenses occasioned by non-compliance shall be borne by the Contractor, including those costs incurred to return the programme of works back to schedule.

14CONTRACTOR’S EMPLOYEES

14.1The Contractor shall ensure that all persons employed to carry out the provisions of the Contract are at all times properly and sufficiently qualified, competent, careful, skilled, honest, experienced, instructed and supervised with regard to the Service.

14.2The Contractor shall ensure that all persons employed to carry out the provisions of the contract are aware of all relevant rules, procedures and statutory requirements concerning health and safety at work, including:

(i)fire risks and fire precautions;

(ii)the need to maintain the highest standards of hygiene, courtesy and consideration;

(iii)the need to recognise situations which may involve any actual or potential danger or personal injury to any person at the Premises, where possible, without personal risk, to make safe such situations, and forthwith to report such situations to the Authorised Officer.

14.3The Contractor shall, to the satisfaction of the Authorised Officer, implement a scheme of ensuring that his staffmaintains the appropriate skills and knowledge so as to ensure continuous and efficient provision of the Service.

14.4The Authorised Officer shall be entitled, but not unreasonably or vexatiously to require the Contractor, by notice in writing, to remove from the provision of the Service any employee of the Contractor specified in such notice including the Contract Manager. The Contractor shall forthwith remove such employee from the provision of the Service and shall immediately provide a replacement if necessary. The Authority shall in no circumstances be liable either to the Contractor or to the employee in respect of any liability, loss or damage occasioned by such removal and the Contractor shall fully indemnify the Authority against any claim made by such employee against it together with all costs and expenses incurred by the Authority in dealing with such claim.

14.5The Contractor shall comply with any law that prohibits discrimination in relation to employment.

14.6The Contractor shall ensure that all employees working on the contract will have the appropriate training in working in the vicinity of DNO/IDNO equipment (including G39/1 as agreed by industry as meeting the requirements of National Highway Sector Scheme 8: the Highway Electrical Registration Scheme; the knowledge of requirements of the relevant units of National Occupational Standards Levels 2 and 3 for the Highway Electrical Sector).

14.7Copies of the certificates of training must be made available for all employees working on the Contract if required.

15EMERGENCIES

15.1The Contractor shall provide such assets, facilities or services additional to the Service at any time and at any place and in such a manner required by the Authorised Officer to carry out any of its functions in a situation which, in the opinion of the Authority, amounts to possible, potential or actual emergency.

16VALUE ADDED TAX

16.1The rates disclosed in the quotation are to be exclusive of Value Added Tax. When submitting invoices to the authority for payment, VAT shall be included at the properly chargeable rate by HMRC.

17EQUIPMENT AND MATERIALS

17.1Except as otherwise specified in the Contract, the Contractor shall provide all materials and equipment necessary for the provision of the service.

17.2The Contractor shall maintain in a safe, serviceable and clean condition all equipment used by the Contractor or its employees in the execution of the Service.

17.3The Contractor shall be responsible for the security of all materials and equipment used in connection with the provision of the Service.

PART 3SPECIFICATION

18THE SCHEME IN BRIEF

18.1Christmas lights decorate the town centre for the Christmas period extending from the switch on event to 6thJanuary each year. The existing scheme comprises LED icicle cross street lights attached to catenary wire installations.

18.2The erection and decoration of the lights on the town Christmas Tree in the Market Square and their removal on 6th January.

18.3The Market House also is decorated with icicle LED lights and these will form part of the scheme.

19COLLECTION

19.1The lights are currently stored in Ross-on-Wye and the Contractor shall make contact with the previous contractor to collect the lights.

20MAINTENANCE

20.1Prior to installation, all eye bolts supporting catenary wires and catenary wires shall be inspected and this is to be carried out by a qualified contractor to test the condition of the support brackets and eyebolts to confirm that up to a maximum weight of 6kN can be supported on the wires. The Council must receive a copy of the eyebolt test certificate and will be responsible for payment for the replacement or repair of any eyebolts or catenary wires. Any work, (which must be first authorised in writing by the Council), shall be carried out by a qualified contractor.