External Wall System (EWS) Remediation Works - Sutton's Wharf

A Contract Award Notice
by THE GUINNESS PARTNERSHIP LTD

Source: Find a Tender
Type: Contract (Works)
Duration: not specified
Value: £1M-£30M

Sector: CONSTRUCTION
Published: 25 Apr 2023
Delivery: not specified
Deadline: n/a

Concepts

Location

Graphite Point, 36 Palmers Road, London, E2 0FS Titanium Point, 24 Palmers Road, London, E2 0FA Regalia Point, 30 Palmers Road, London, E2 0FQ Grand Regent Tower, 2 Cadmium Square, London, E2 0FG

Geochart for 1 buyers and 2 suppliers

1 buyer

Guinness Partnership London

2 suppliers

Stanmore Contractors Erith
PRP Architecture Surrey

Description

The Guinness Partnership has awarded contracts to Stanmore Contractors Ltd. and PRP Architects LLP to design and undertake urgent external wall system and balcony remediation works. The works being carried out are to remove and replace the existing non-compliant external wall system, balconies and associated elements at four buildings in the Tower Hamlets Borough of East London. To address the urgent requirements and ensure building safety of high rise buildings, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) is providing funding for this project via its Building Safety Fund (BSF). It was a requirement of the grant funding award that bidders identify contractors as part of their funding submissions. Deadlines for submissions did not enable a full tender process to be conducted.

Lot Division

External Wall System (EWS) Remediation Works

The Guinness Partnership had an urgent requirement to enter into contracts to deliver a government-funded external wall system remediation project on one of our housing estates. The Sutton's Wharf scheme in London is comprised of four buildings - Grand Regent Tower, Graphite Point, Titanium Point and Regalia Point; the original external wall system installed on the scheme has been identified as no longer being compliant with Building Regulations (unsafe non-ACM external wall systems) and as such presents an ongoing safety risk to the residents of our buildings. Guinness has been granted c.£26m of funding from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities (DLUHC)'s Building Safety Fund (BSF) (non-ACM buildings) to carry out emergency works to remove the existing external wall system and retrofit a compliant solution, to ensure the safety of the tenants and leaseholders living in these buildings. The BSF bid required that specific contractors and consultants were named as part of the application for grant funding. Due to submission deadlines, it was not possible to identify contractors and consultants via the standard procurement routes laid out in the Public Contract Regulations. Guinness has awarded Lot 1 of this project to Stanmore Contractors Ltd., a contractor already working at a neighbouring site, therefore providing assurance of understanding the buildings on the scheme as well as efficiency in delivery. Due to the urgency to address building safety issues, Guinness has awarded this contract without further competition.

Architectural Design of EWS Remediation Project

The Guinness Partnership had an urgent requirement to enter into contracts to deliver a government-funded external wall system remediation project on one of our housing estates. The Sutton's Wharf scheme in London is comprised of four buildings - Grand Regent Tower, Graphite Point, Titanium Point and Regalia Point; the original external wall system installed on the scheme has been identified as no longer being compliant with Building Regulations (unsafe non-ACM external wall systems) and as such presents an ongoing safety risk to the residents of our buildings. Guinness has been granted c.£26m of funding from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities (DLUHC)'s Building Safety Fund (BSF) (non-ACM buildings) to carry out emergency works to remove the existing external wall system and retrofit a compliant solution, to ensure the safety of the tenants and leaseholders living in these buildings. The BSF bid required that specific contractors and consultants were named as part of the application for grant funding. Due to submission deadlines, it was not possible to identify contractors and consultants via the standard procurement routes laid out in the Public Contract Regulations. Guinness has awarded Lot 2 of this project to PRP Architects, a consultant already working on a neighbouring site, to carry out the architectural design work on this site, therefore providing assurance of the understanding the buildings on the scheme as well as efficiency in delivery. Due to the urgency to address building safety issues, Guinness has awarded this contract without further competition.

Award Detail

1	Stanmore Contractors (Erith) External Wall System (EWS) Remediation Works - Sutton's Wharf Reference: 011770-2023-1 Value: £30,464,467
2	PRP Architecture (Surrey) Architectural Design of EWS Remediation Project Reference: 011770-2023-2 Value: £1,002,825

Award Criteria

N/A - Negotiated

100

CPV Codes

45262000 - Special trade construction works other than roof works
44000000 - Construction structures and materials; auxiliary products to construction (except electric apparatus)
71200000 - Architectural and related services

Legal Justification

There are reasonable grounds to proceed with a negotiated award without competition on the basis of urgency. There is a pressing and immediate requirement to remediate unsafe wall systems to ensure the safety of the buildings and the customers living in them. There are legal requirements for landlords to both ensure the safety of their tenants and to ensure that their buildings are safe and comply with building regulations. Given that the external wall systems of these buildings are recognised as requiring urgent remediation, work needs to be completed as quickly as possible to rectify this, thus presenting sufficient grounds for urgency. Furthermore, the grant funding was made available from the BSF by the DLUHC as part of an emergency funding bid. The bid did not allow sufficient time to carry out a fully compliant tender process under the PCRs, and the award of this funding is contingent on Guinness appointing these contractors. We are required to have contractors on site as soon as possible to ensure that we remain able to access the funding, and as such need to award contracts at the earliest possible opportunity; again providing a rationale for urgency. Finally the proposal to utilise Stanmore and PRP was based on their working on another scheme in the immediate vicinity of Suttons Wharf. Their familiarity with the location and existing site-set up in the area will facilitate efficiencies which will not only ensure that best value is achieved, but more importantly will expedite the carrying out of these vital works. Guinness has therefore concluded that, given the circumstances set out in this notice, that there are sufficient grounds to directly award the required contracts without undertaking any further competition, and that the award of contracts to the selected suppliers is reasonable taking into account the factors set out in this notice.