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complete
Official procurement procedure
Operation & Maintenance of the Gull Wing
Bridge operating services
For mechanical installations
Highway maintenance work
+5 more
Published value
Not published
Submission deadline Not published
Lots published1
Procurement Executive Summary
AI & Search Synopsis
Generated from official OCDS record
Tenderline Synopsis: Suffolk County Council: "Operation & Maintenance of the Gull Wing". Published status: complete. Published value: Value not published. 1 published lot. Submission deadline not published. See the official notice for participation instructions.
| Contracting Authority | Suffolk County Council | Scope & Categories | Not published | Submission Window | complete No deadline published |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Submission Gateway | Direct notice route | Legal Basis & Regime | Standard procurement | Estimated Value (exc. VAT) | Not published |
Bidder Intelligence · Authority Profile: Suffolk County Council
Market Analytics
Derived from OCDS awards & bid statistics
Published history for Suffolk County Council. These figures describe retained records, not a forecast of bids or a measure of buyer bias.
Published-to-award variance
Not availableInsufficient comparable data
Competition Density
3.3Bids / Report
Supplier ConcentrationNo estimate
Insufficient attributable awardsNo concentration estimate availablePayment Terms
Check noticePublished terms
Coverage: 69 active published awards; 39 bid reports (which may be per lot). Supplier values exclude multi-supplier awards, frameworks and DPS, and use GBP only. They are published award values, not payments. Published-to-award variance compares single-lot, single-award, single-supplier GBP procedures with explicitly non-framework/non-DPS status; increases remain in the average. Unpublished data stays unknown. Awarded suppliers are winners, not all bidders.
Procedure terms
Contracting AuthoritySuffolk County Council | Procedure methodNot published | Procurement categoryNot published |
Statuscomplete | Framework / DPSNot published | CompetitionNot published |
Above thresholdNot published | Legal basisNot published | Tender period startsNot published |
Clarification deadlineNot published | Electronic submissionNot published | Submission languagesNot published |
Published24 Mar 2023, 14:30 GMT | Last source update24 Mar 2023, 14:30 GMT | Recurring procurementNot published |
ClassificationBridge operating services, For mechanical installations, Highway maintenance work, Repair and maintenance of plant, Repair and maintenance services of machinery, Repair and maintenance services of mechanical building installations, Repair, maintenance and associated services related to roads and other equipment | ||
Delivery area | ||
OCIDocds-h6vhtk-03b5e6 | ||
What is being bought
The Council appointed Farrans to construct the Gull Wing across Lake Lothing in Lowestoft.
Prior to the completion of the construction Suffolk County Council (SCC) intends to appoint Associated British Ports (ABP) to undertake the operation and management and operation of the maintenance of the Gull Wing. ABP shall be given this responsibility for a period of 5 years, with the option to extend for up to a further 5 years. The awarding of the contract shall provide adequate lead in time prior to the bridge becoming operational in order to undertake training and implement a supply chain to undertake maintenance elements of the contract.
What changed
From the official release history
- Status changed to complete
24 Mar 2023, 14:30 GMT - Official notice release published
24 Mar 2023, 14:30 GMT - Buyer information updated
24 Mar 2023, 14:30 GMT
Lots and requirements (1)
Published by the contracting authority
- Lot 1 · #1Individual lot title not publishedStatus not publishedPublished valueNot publishedThe operation of and management and operation of the maintenance of the Gull Wing bridge in Lowestoft, Suffolk including but not limited to mechanical and electrical plant, the bridge structure and highway and associated maintenance.Contract periodNot publishedEligibilityNot publishedOptions / renewalNot published
Timeline
- Procedure published
24 Mar 2023, 14:30 GMT - Award active
Not published · Not published - Contract active
Signed 1 Mar 2023, 00:00 GMT · Not published
Commercial outcome and competition
Awards Associated British Ports Not published · Not published · active |
Contracts Operation and Maintenance of the Gull Wing Not published · signed 1 Mar 2023, 00:00 GMT · active |
Bid statistics highestValidBidValue: 18000000 (lot 1) lowestValidBidValue: 6000000 (lot 1) |
Buyer and organisations in this procedure
Suffolk County Council
Contracting authority GB-FTS-3676Documents (0)
Official links; attachments are not copied
No linked documents are published
Related procedures (0)
No related procedures published
Planning and rationale
Planning budgetNot published |
No-engagement rationaleNot published |
Procedure rationaleSuffolk County Council has determined that ABP are the only organisation that can successfully operate and manage the maintenance of the Gull Wing. This is due to ABP's unique position as the statutory harbour authority, the operator and first line maintainer of the A47 bascule bridge on behalf of National Highways and the operator of the Lowestoft port.
Lowestoft port is a key economic hub within Lowestoft and Suffolk and the synergies that can be achieved from ABP operating both the existing bascule bridge and the Gull Wing will enable the port to remain efficient and grow the economy of Lowestoft and further afield.
These efficiencies would be impacted by having a separate maintenance contractor(s) to the operator, as they would have conflicting pressures.
1. Separate operator and maintainer of the Gull Wing: There are potentially conflicting commercial pressures from having a separate operator and maintainer which could result in co-ordination difficulties and response times to issues adversely affecting road and marine traffic, and compromising the 120 year design life of the bridge.
2. Separate bridge operators for Gull Wing and existing Bascule Bridge: There are also potential navigational safety risks in having two separate bridge operators within the working port of Lowestoft, in particular the potential for the safety of vessels traversing both bridges being compromised by either coordination failures or a technical failure with equipment on one or other bridge, that is not known or understood by the other operator, this potential is increased due to the proximity of the 2 bridges and that they are both within the port of Lowestoft.
Because of these conflicting pressures Suffolk County Council has concluded that to minimise the disruption upon Lowestoft and the port, ABP are the only organisation able to manage the maintenance of the Gull Wing in a manner that does not negatively impact on the economy of Lowestoft.
ABP would contract with appropriately qualified third parties to undertake the maintenance of the mechanical, structure and highway elements of the Gull Wing and would be responsible for the timing of these activities to ensure the least disruption.
Because of the above there is no competitive market. As such, Suffolk has decided to commence a negotiation directly with ABP to enter into a new agreement.
Whilst Suffolk CC is confident that its analysis of these circumstances is correct, it remains committed to meeting its public procurement obligations and, in particular, its commitments to transparency and equal treatment. It is therefore filing this notice to ensure that no other service provider believes it could in fact meet the requirements as described above. If you do believe you can, then please contact us via martin.jennings@suffolk.gov.uk for a more detailed discussion. |