Hammersmith & Fulham Borough Council abandons fire safety construction contract

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Hammersmith and Fulham Borough Council has reportedly ‘abandoned’ a £75m fire safety construction contract after ‘mistakes’ in its tender documents meant it ‘would not have been able to fairly evaluate bids’.

The in depth nature of the contract would have seen a winning contractor carry out a ‘wide range of general ad-hoc construction work including some complex high-value voids’ over five years, with the possibility of extending this for another two.

The specific fire safety remediation work meanwhile would have included fitting fire doors, sprinklers, and fire alarm and detection systems, alongside ‘general repair and maintenance’, and the original contract stated it would begin at the start of August. However, the council revealed last week that it had ‘abandoned the process’, after it became ‘apparent that the pricing tables included for the tender stage were not sufficiently clear or structured’.

According to the council, this meant that bidders for the work ‘could not understand how to price their submissions’, and that they had ‘different interpretations of the methodology involved’, meaning that ‘proposals submitted could not fairly be evaluated’. In turn, the council ‘could not assess’ if tenders had met its ‘high quality standards’.

Its notice added in turn that ‘as a result […] and in accordance with the tender documents as issued, the council has made a decision to exercise their discretion to not award the contract and to abandon the tender process’. The news outlet noted that the council’s website has a fire safety page on which leader Stephen Cowan refers to the Grenfell Tower fire, and says that his council’s programme – H&F Fire Safety Plus – would go ‘above and beyond what is required’ by regulations.

This would include a ‘massive programme of works’ to replace fire doors and appliances, as well as ‘address other residents’ fire safety concerns’. When asked how the error was made, how much it cost and what the effect would be – as well as whether a new procurement process would begin – a spokesperson said that the tender would be reissued ‘very shortly’.

He added: ‘We are committed to ensuring we offer the best services for residents. Some errors were identified in the initial procurement process. This will have no impact on our Fire Safety Plus programme, nor any detriment to our residents’ safety, which is always our number one priority.’

www.lbhf.gov.uk/

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