T21/22-019 Planting, Installation, Removal and Irrigation of Hanging Baskets

CPV: Horticultural services

Procedure method

Award procedure without prior publication of a call for competition

Legal basis

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

Procurement category

Services

Notice status

Awarded without competition

Procurement threshold

Unspecified in notice

Regulatory regime

Standard

Commercial structure

Stand-alone contract (no framework)

Competition type

Direct award (no call for competition)

GPA / WTO covered

Unspecified in notice

Recurring procurement

Unspecified in notice

First published

29 Feb 2024, 08:41 GMT

Last source update

29 Feb 2024, 08:41 GMT

FTS notice number

2024/S 000-006457

Classification (CPV)

Horticultural services

Delivery area

Northern Ireland (UKN0E)

Official registry OCID

ocds-h6vhtk-044424 Find a Tender

Why no open competition

The procurement falls outside the scope of application of the directive

Published justification

The publishing of this VEAT relates to a variation to an existing contract (T21/22-019-Planting, Installation, Removal and Irrigation of Hanging Baskets). The contract variation will result in an increase of 50% of the contract value. The council is content that this variation is permitted under Regulation 72(1)(c) of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (c) where all of the following conditions are fulfilled:—

(i) the need for modification has been brought about by circumstances which a diligent contracting authority could not have foreseen;

(ii) the modification does not alter the overall nature of the contract;

(iii) (iii) any increase in price does not exceed 50% of the value of the original contract or framework agreement

The Council could not have foreseen the below events which have attributed to the need for a contract variation;

• During the term of the contract energy costs have risen by approx. 218%.
• Fertiliser cost has risen by approx. 47%.
• Labour costs by 24.3%.
• Substrate costs, due to the governmental drive to ban peat, have risen by approx.33%.
• The cost of fuel is up 32% from 2021 (These figures and the above figures used are based on a report published by and reported by the National Farmers Union - Jan 2024. These figures are not being taken as fact but instead being used to give an indication of the current state of the industry).
• There are other costs not mentioned, such as chemicals and standard material, which have increased and put more pressure on prices, especially those that have not risen from 2021.
• The Royal appointment of Hillsborough as the first Royal town on the island of Ireland was welcomed by LCCC and extra resource was designated to the village to accommodate any improvements required however the King’s Coronation brought more unaccounted for pressures to improve the horticultural standards within the village which included the hanging baskets. Due to the Kings visit there was a requirement for the contract to be delivered to the highest standard as emphasis on horticultural standards was highlighted.
• One unforeseen side effect from this was the pressure from throughout the Council area for these horticultural standards to be replicated throughout the Council area in line with Royal Hillsborough’s standards.
• A consecutive year of unusually warm and dry weather which required additional waterings which further increased the spend.

• Whiteisland NurseryAwarded supplier Dungannon, Northern IrelandContact emailShow contact details

No document links were published on the notice.