Deed of Variation of John O'Conner Grounds Maintenance Contract

CPV: Grounds maintenance services

Procedure method

Negotiated without publication of a contract notice

Legal basis

CELEX · 32014L0024 Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (Directive 2014/24/EU)

Procurement category

Services

Notice status

Awarded

Procurement threshold

Unspecified in notice

Regulatory regime

Standard

Commercial structure

Stand-alone contract (no framework)

Competition type

Competitive procedure

GPA / WTO covered

Unspecified in notice

Recurring procurement

Unspecified in notice

First published

15 Jul 2026, 14:41 BST

Last source update

15 Jul 2026, 14:41 BST

FTS notice number

2026/S 000-066822

Classification (CPV)

Grounds maintenance services

Delivery area

East of England (UKH23)

Official registry OCID

ocds-h6vhtk-06cc0b Find a Tender

Why no open competition

Extreme urgency brought about by events unforeseeable for the contracting authority/entity and in accordance with the strict conditions stated in the directive

Published justification

If we began a procurement exercise in summer 2026, the procurement would be caught up in the transition work required by LGR and the government statutory changes order, making this impractical with the risk that the contract expired just prior to the new unitary being established.

Agreeing to extend the contract now ensures that the St Albans Officer resource who understand the current contract and the geography of the place are able to complete the work to extend the contract.

Having a shorter extension period, could result in a tendering process being required whilst the new council is being created and/or is evaluating its options for service delivery. Shorter extension may not achieve the economy of scale and potential savings for the Council.

The Procurement would cost a considerable amount of money and take a significant amount of officer time, with a difficult risk profile for both the client and contractor at this time. This is not a good time to procure given the uncertainty of LGR.

It is important to enable service continuity, flexibility and alignment of contracts across the County.

It is the best use of time and resource to undertake any tendering process once St Albans District Council is part of the new larger unitary council, rather than in the run up to Local Government Reorganisation (LGR), or when the new council is in its infancy. Extending to 2031 beyond the current maximum extension of 2029, ensures a consistent service whilst allowing the new council to look at all the Public Realm services across the new geographical area, to achieve efficiencies and get best value for money by aligning these services at that time.

• John O'Conner (Grounds Maintenance) LtdAwarded supplierGB-COH: 02617638 Welwyn, East of England

No document links were published on the notice.