Operation and Maintenance of a Proposed Regional Wood Reprocessing Facility at Silent Valley, Blaenau Gwent.

1. The purpose of this Prior Information Notice (PIN) is to alert potential suppliers to an opportunity in relation to the Local Authorities’ requirements for the Operation and Maintenance (O&M) of a proposed regional wood reprocessing facility at the Silent Valley waste management site near Ebbw Vale in Blaenau Gwent. 2. The wider site is currently used for waste treatment and recycling activities, and has a weighbridge, excellent transport and drainage infrastructure and is already in possession of various waste management consents, which will assist the development and delivery of the planned c.30,000 tpa wood reprocessing facility. 3. A partnership has been proposed that will comprise a group of local authorities in Wales who will provide waste wood “feedstock” to the facility from their respective civic amenity sites. The host Authority Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council have developed the concept design for the facility and will now procure and obtain the necessary planning and environmental permits. 4. The partnership is keen to explore the commercial viability of outsourcing the O&M of the facility over a term of up to 10 years, as opposed to the option of delivering the operations “in-house” as a public sector partnership. 5. The partnership will deliver a facility that will incorporate an [80m x 20m] steel framed processing hall, compliant with all fire and operating permit regulations for waste wood reprocessing plants. The facility will also include, inter-alia, several (external) storage bays, a new 1.5MW power supply and a sustainable drainage solution. 6. The outsourced O&M scope may indicatively consist of the following services: - Day-to-day processing of the waste wood feedstock into a specification wood chip suitable for panel board. - Operation of a process-line configuration of plant and machinery; - Manning the picking station (to extract contaminants from the feedstock). - Responsibility for meeting required Performance Outputs. - Responsibility for meeting prescribed Quality thresholds. - Responsibility for the management of all Health and Safety aspects. - Management of Site personnel. - Traffic Management and vehicle loading/unloading operations. - Procurement of Fuel and other consumables to operate the plant and equipment. - Responsibility for managing the Environmental Permit and Fire Prevention Plan Permits; - Interface management with adjacent permit holder(s) on the site at Silent Valley. - Responsible for maintaining a high quality recycling performance; 7. The overall objective is to create a modern and environmentally sustainable wood reprocessing facility that will contribute towards the net zero carbon agenda. 8. The Partnership supports early engagement of the supply chain and to consult with the market prior to commencement of the procurement.