Street Lighting Repairs, Maintenance & Replacement Works Contract 2014-2027 + 2 Year Extension to 20...

The District Council/Overseeing Organisation manages and maintains approximately 1671 streetlight assets. The majority of the lighting stock is owned by the District Council, but 640 streetlights are managed by the Council on behalf of seven Parish Council’s, and Clarion Housing Association for which services are recharged.

The District Council/Overseeing Organisation seeks to appoint a streetlight services contractor who shall be responsible for providing the inspection, maintenance, repair, modification, replacement, and upgrade of streetlight assets managed by the Council within the Fenland District in Cambridgeshire.

Fenland is a rural District Council located in North Cambridgeshire, east of Peterborough and north of Cambridge covering approximately 211 square miles. Home to the four historic market towns of Chatteris, Whittlesey, March and Wisbech, including 29 villages; Fenland has an approximate population of 102,500.

The District borders with the neighbouring Local Authorities of South Holland District Council, Kings Lynn and West Norfolk Borough Council, East Cambridgeshire District Council, South Cambridgeshire District Council, Huntingdon District Council, Peterborough City Council.

The contract shall include for the rectification of faults, lamp, lantern, and luminaire replacement (where applicable), lantern/luminaire bowl/lens cleaning, and streetlight replacement and/or upgrade works resulting from ad-hoc knock downs and structural or component failure and capital programmed projects.

The contractor will be required to liaise with the local energy provider and relevant land/property owners on behalf of the Overseeing Organisation to co-ordinate disconnections, service transfers and new connectivity works for the modification, replacement, or installation of new lighting apparatus.

Programmed or reactive maintenance works shall be reported through to the contractor who shall attend faults either on a priority or time related basis. Wherever possible the contractor should look to batch works together by area to increase efficiency and reduce the carbon footprint. Additional visits may sometimes be required to fit site specific ordered luminaires, or undertake works such as painting or tree trimming etc.

It is anticipated that the contract will commence on or around 01st September 2024 and will end on 31st August 2027. The duration of the contract shall be for three years with an optional two one-year extensions to 2029 subject to agreement by both parties and contractor performance over the first three years.

The contract is based on undertaking routine and reactive maintenance using a schedule of rates (Priced Schedule), whereby the Overseeing Organisation pays only for the work that is undertaken by the contractor during programmed maintenance visits, or reactive attendance.

The contractor shall attend reactive streetlight fault reports within predefined response times outlined in section 12. Response time requirements shall be based on the nature and severity of the fault report which will be received by the Overseeing Organisation and forwarded to the contractor who shall collate, and co-ordinate site visits and rectification works.

This does shift an element of risk associated with streetlight failure away from the contractor and back to Council over that of a fixed price per asset approach. However, the reducing trend in faults over the last 5 year period and that predicted in the coming years due to Capital investment in replacement and upgrade programmes and the close monitoring of asset condition and integrity surveys suggests the Council will benefit from this continued approach.

A further reduction in streetlight faults is predicted as the Council moves forward with a phased asset replacement and upgrade programme utilising low energy LED Luminaires and long life PECU’s.

Routine or reactive maintenance operations that require high level asset intervention shall also incorporate routine lantern/luminaire bowl/lens cleaning whilst the contractor is in attendance.

Bulk electrical and structural asset testing and condition survey works have been removed from the repairs and maintenance contract. These works shall be procured at predetermined intervals as the asset inventory dictates enabling the works to be undertaken in fewer visits. However, the contractor shall be required to undertake ad-hoc electrical and/or structural testing and asset data collection and condition surveys when needed, i.e when new assets are added to the maintenance contract or adopted by the Overseeing Organisation.

The contractor shall be responsible for maintaining an up-to-date streetlight asset inventory with entries made routinely following any site attendance, routine maintenance or replacement works. The Council (Overseeing Organisation) shall be provided regular inventory updates every 3 months which will be needed to inform energy usage and recharges.

Currently no night scouts are undertaken, and asset faults are reported through to the Council either by local residents, Parish Councils, or housing association tenants. Faults are reported either via the Councils dedicated online streetlight fault report system, by telephone or by scanning the QR code on the streetlight ID Enplate. It may however be considered necessary throughout the contract period for the contractor to undertake a periodic inspection of the assets in accordance with the rates in the Schedule of Prices.

An option to extend the streetlight repairs and maintenance works contract to other District Councils within Cambridgeshire may wish to be explored during the contract period, having a shared service provider. However, this option does not currently form part of the tender document and would only be considered should this approach be deemed acceptable and financially beneficial to all parties. In such an eventuality it is likely that access to the contract would be via a separate agreement between the appointed contractor and the relevant District Council. Fenland District Council would not look to administer works for third parties outside of the Fenland boundary.

Tender Return Deadline Monday 15th July 2pm