Environment and Climate Change

Town Hall, Upper Street, N1

Report of: Acting Corporate Director of Homes and Communities
Date: 15 September 2023
Ward(s): Highbury

Subject: Procurement Strategy for Highbury

Fields Café Building
1. Synopsis
1.1. This report outlines the procurement strategy for the appointment of a principal
contractor to deliver building improvements to the north-east corner of Highbury
Fields.

1.2. The procurement exercise will be undertaken by Community Wealth Building’s

Capital Delivery Team, who are managing the project on behalf of the client, the
Parks Department.

2. Recommendation
2.1. To approve the procurement strategy for the Highbury Fields Café Building as
outlined in this report.

3. Date the decision is to be taken

3.1. 27 September 2023

4. Background
4.1. Nature of the service
4.1.1. Highbury Fields is the borough’s largest greenspace, attracting an average of
2,000 visitors each day to the play area alone. It is also home to various sports
facilities including four netball courts and 11 tennis courts.

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4.1.2. This scheme seeks to improve the north-east corner of the Fields by demolishing
the existing café kiosk, bandstand building, derelict former park-keeper’s bungalow
and removing various ancillary buildings. The cumulative footprint will be used to
create a new high-quality building that provides a café, public toilets and park-
keeper facilities. The café will comprise indoor and outdoor seating with a kitchen
to accommodate both food preparation and cooking facilities, a servery, store and
catering office. Public toilet provision will include four universal public toilets, one
wheelchair-accessible and one Changing Place (CP) toilet. The site of the park-
keeper’s bungalow and former bandstand building will require basic re-
landscaping to return these areas to open space.

The running costs for the café will be the responsibility of the café operator as will
the café fit-out and any maintenance costs associated with the café operations.
The Parks Department will be responsible for maintaining the fabric of the building,
the park keeper’s demise and the public toilets and and running costs will covered
by existing budgets.

4.1.3. Planning permission was granted in July 2023. The design team has begun
working on the technical documentation required for RIBA Stage 4 which details
how to manufacture and construct the building. This stage is expected to take
approximately 16 weeks to complete, and a Full Plan application will be submitted
to Building Control towards the end of this period.

4.2. Estimated value

4.2.1. The project budget is comprised of both capital and S106 planning agreement
funds. A total of £1,398,000 is allocated, of which £237,000 has come from S106
funding and a total of £1,160,339 from capital funding.

4.2.2. A cost estimate for the contractor to undertake the demolition, construction and
limited landscaping works issued in July 2023 was £1,180,000. The remaining
project budget is assigned to cover design and project management fees, statutory
fees, surveys and contingencies.

4.2.3. The estimated construction period for the delivery of the contract is 32 weeks.

4.3. Timetable
4.3.1. The indicative key dates for the delivery of the project are:

July 2023 Planning determination

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 August 2023 Approval to procure granted

September 2023 Preparation of tender documentation

October 2023 Submission of Building Control application

Selection Questionnaire (SQ) issued

November 2023 SQ Evaluation

December 2023 Invitation to Tender (ITT) issued

February 2024 ITT evaluation

March 2024 Contract award

May – June 2024 Works commence on-site

December 2024 Works complete

4.3.2. Planning permission for this project was secured in July 2023. The council has
three years from this date to commence work.

4.3.3. The Parks Department have engaged extensively with the community and other
stakeholders in the course of preparing the proposals for the works to the park:
 A physical letter drop to 15,100 households with the Highbury ward
 A display of exhibition boards of the proposals at Islington’s Central Library
between 7 February 2022 and 11 March 2022
 Two online engagement events held on 28 February 2022 and Wednesday 2
March 2022
 A mailing list of 214 contacts, comprised of residents, park users and local
businesses
 Other stakeholders engaged on the proposals:
 Staff working in/near to Highbury Fields
 Local schools
 Sports groups, including local tennis groups
 Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) organisations

4.4. Options appraisal

4.4.1. The following procurement routes have been considered along with the the
relevant benefits and drawbacks:

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4.4.2. In-sourcing: The council does not have the relevant expertise, qualified staff or
equipment within the organisation to carry out the specialist construction work
needed to deliver this project.

4.4.3. Existing council or external framework agreements: A number of external

frameworks and also an existing council framework were considered as part of this
options appraisal. Use of an existing framework agreement would help expedite
the procurement process by providing access to a number of approved
contractors. However, there is no guarantee that contractors on the framework
agreement will be interested in tendering for a scheme of this nature. The main
disadvantages of using a framework agreement is that only the suppliers on the
framework agreement will be able to tender for the scheme. Contractors not
already on the framework agreement would be excluded from tendering for this
opportunity. This is likely to include local suppliers capable and interested in
tendering for the project. There are also likely to be fees charged for using an
external framework agreement that would increase the cost of the project which
have not been budgeted for.

4.4.4. Competitive tender using the restricted procedure: Procuring this contract using a
two-stage restricted procedure with a selection questionnaire will allow access to
more contractors to submit a tender for this opportunity than a framework
agreement. There is known interest from the market in this forthcoming
opportunity, including amongst local contractors and market research carried out
to date suggests that there is likely to be competition among suppliers.

This option also enables the council to have more control over the suitability
criteria used to assess contractors for this project through the use of the selection
questionnaire. The main disadvantage of this option is that it will require more time
to complete but this has been accounted for in the project timetable. This is the
preferred option given the above reasons.

4.4.5. Collaboration with other boroughs is not deemed appropriate for this scheme given
that the project is site-specific. For this reason there are no benefits to exploring
collaboration with other authorities and organisations.

4.4.6. Following appraisal of the above options the preferred and recommended
procurement route for this contract is a tender process using the two-stage
restricted procedure.

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4.5. Key Considerations
4.5.1. Social Value: tenderers’ approach to Social Value will be assessed as part of the
contract via a specific Social Value question within the method statement
questions, weighted at 20%. In order to meet the minimum quality requirements,
the contractor’s proposed approach to Social Value will need to include:

4.5.2. Economic considerations: such as how they will contribute to developing skills and
tackling unemployment amongst people including excluded communities and
working with local and sub-regional supply chain/consultants.

Given the proximity of the site to a number of local schools, it is proposed that a
bespoke educational shadowing opportunity will be created for local pupils who
have an interest in the built environment as a potential career choice. The council
will work in partnership with the appointed contractor to co-design the learning
experience. Taking the contractor’s staff resources into account we anticipate that
this would require a maximum time commitment of between 12 and 14 hours in
total. A project proposal for this element is appended to the report.

4.5.3. Social considerations: such as supporting the local community to make more use
of the park and additional open space being created by the project, for example
resourcing and organising a community planting day around the park area. The
commissioning of the contract to operate the cafe will provide additional future
opportunities. These will be outlined in the future procurement exercise on the use
of the cafe.

4.5.4. Environmental considerations: such as, supporting local activities that seek to
reduce the council’s and the community's negative environmental impact.

As set out in more detail in the environmental implications below the project will
have a number of environmental benefits including new energy efficient and
sustainable buildings, increase in the open space within the park and opportunities
to increase biodiversity on the site as part of the project and after its delivery.

A minimum of 10% of the total value of materials used in the construction will be
derived from recycled and re-used content in the products and materials selected.
Potential contractors will be encouraged to reuse and recycle as much of the
waste material from the existing buildings as possible. The building itself has been
designed to last as long as possible, to be flexible and versatile so its use can
change easily over time and it will also be straightforward to deconstruct at the end
of its life.

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4.5.5. London Living Wage will apply and will be a condition of the contract.

4.5.6. In order to ensure best value, work with local supply chains will be monitored and
evaluated. Findings on best practice will be applied to future projects.

4.5.7. Similarly, processes and procedures relating to waste and recycling will be
monitored throughout the duration of the contract and any useful learning shared
with other project teams going forward.

4.5.8. There are no TUPE implications linked to this procurement.

4.6. Evaluation

This tender will be conducted in two stages, known as the Restricted Procedure as the
tender is ‘restricted’ to a limited number of organisations. The first stage assesses
Selection Criteria through a Selection Questionnaire (SQ) which establishes whether an
organisation meets the financial requirements, is competent and capable and has the
necessary resources to carry out the contract. The SQ is backwards looking and
explores how the organisation has performed to date, its financial standing, information
about their history and experience.

A limited or ‘restricted’ number of these organisations meeting the SQ requirements as

specified in the advertisement are then invited to tender (ITT). The second stage is the
ITT which is forwards-looking using Award Criteria. Tenders are evaluated on the basis
of the tenderers’ price and ability to deliver the contract works or services as set out in
the award criteria in order to determine the most economically advantageous offer.
The SQ will assess the suitability of prospective tenderers during the first stage and will
shortlist the top six scoring organisations who meet the SQ requirements who will then
be invited to submit a tender during the second stage.

4.6.1. The award criteria will be weighted 40% cost and 60% quality (of which 20% will
be allocated to social value). The quality criteria will cover the following areas:

Award Criteria Weighting

Cost 40%
Quality - Made up of 60%
Proposed approach to social value 20%
Proposed measures and procedures/processes to ensure the contract is
20%
delivered within budget and on time
Proposed methodology for implementing quality management procedures 10%
Proposed approach to health and safety 10%

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 Total
4.7. Business risks
4.7.1. The main risks associated with this procurement are as follows:
Risk
Planning permission is
denied or delayed
A contractor is not
appointed and the works
are not carried out.
Works could be delayed
due to ecological
limitations including
roosting bats or nesting
birds.
100%
Impact Mitigation
The financial implications The scheme has been
of a re-design are likely extensively consulted on
to make the project with planning, including
unviable. If a decision is formal pre-application
delayed, this could lead advice which should
to increased project reduce the risk of this
costs as a result of an happening.
extended programme.
As well as posing a
significant reputational
risk to the council, park The proposed
users and residents procurement route will
would be severely allow for more flexibility
impacted if these works and control for the council
do not go ahead as the to set selection and
current buildings are no quality criteria.
longer fit for purpose.
The proposed split
between cost and quality
will ensure value for
money is delivered a high
quality product is
delivered.
This could lead to Work will take place
increased project costs between mid-March –
due to programme April or September – late
delays. October, outside of
roosting season. Any tree
works will avoid the bird
nesting season between
September and February
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 An ecologist has been
appointed and will carry
out an updated site
walkover this summer to
ensure that the works
programme can go ahead
next year.

The procurement exercise This would require the A number of contractors

may fail. No contractors scheme to be re- have already expressed
may submit tenders or tendered and would likely an interest in tendering
contractors that do may lead to increase costs for this scheme.
not meet the quality or and a delayed
cost requirements. programme. A soft market exercise is
currently underway to
ensure prospective
tenderers are aware of
the opportunity.

Construction is likely to Dissatisfaction amongst Timely communications

cause disruption and park users. Reputational around the delivery of this
impact on park users and risk to the council. scheme will give advance
residents. notice of the works and
park users will be aware
of how the works are
likely to affect them.

The contractor will be

required to provide a
detailed Construction
Management Plan (CMP)
explaining how they
intend to keep disruption
to a minimum.

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4.7.2. The business opportunities associated with this procurement are that it aims to
appoint a contractor that can deliver the works and ensure value for money as well
as Social Value for the council; local residents and local businesses. This
procurement provides a good opportunity for local contractors to submit tenders to
deliver this project. Social Value targets and aspirations will be requested as part
of the tender return submissions.

4.8. The Employment Relations Act 1999 (Blacklist) Regulations 2010 explicitly prohibit
the compilation, use, sale or supply of blacklists containing details of trade union
members and their activities. Following a motion to full Council on 26 March 2013,
all tenderers will be required to complete an anti-blacklisting declaration. Where
an organisation is unable to declare that they have never blacklisted, they will be
required to evidence that they have 'self-cleansed'. The Council will not award a
contract to organisations found guilty of blacklisting unless they have
demonstrated 'self-cleansing' and taken adequate measures to remedy past
actions and prevent re-occurrences.

4.9. The following relevant information is required to be specifically approved in

accordance with rule 2.8 of the Procurement Rules:

Relevant information Information/section in report

1. Nature of the service Islington Council seeks to appoint a contractor to build

improvements at Highbury Fields.

See paragraph 4.1

2. Estimated value The estimated total value is £1,180,000.

The agreement is proposed to run for a period of 32

weeks with a 1-year defects and liability period.

See paragraph 4.2.

3. Timetable Please see section 4.3 for an indicative timetable.

See paragraph 4.3

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 4. Options appraisal for tender A two-stage restricted procedure is the preferred
procedure including consideration of option for this procurement. Collaboration
collaboration opportunities opportunities are not considered viable due to the
nature of the project.

See paragraph 4.4.1

5. Consideration of:
 Social benefit clauses;
 London Living Wage;
 Best value;
 TUPE, pensions and other
staffing implications
London Living Wage will apply for this project and will
be a condition to the contract.
All tenderers will be required to set out their
aspirations regarding social value and how they
intend to measure it as part of their submissions.
See paragraph 4.5

6. Award criteria The contract award will be based on 40% cost and
60% quality.

See paragraph 4.6.1

7. Any business risks associated Risks associated with failure of the procurement and
with entering the contract the disruption works are likely to cause exist but
mitigation is in place to reduce these risks.

See paragraph 4.7

8. Any other relevant financial, legal See paragraph 5

or other considerations.

5. Implications
5.1. Financial Implications
5.1.1. The three-year budget for Highbury Fields Café as of 22/23 was £1.518m. In
22/23, expenditure of £0.120m was incurred, which was funded via S106. The
remaining budget from 23/24 to 24/25 is £1.398m.

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 o The approved budget for 23/24 is £0.847m, funded by £0.237m S106 and
£0.610m borrowing.
o The approved budget for 24/25 is £0.551m, funded by borrowing.

5.1.2. The cost estimate for the contractor to undertake the demolition, construction and
limited landscaping works issued in July 2023 is £1,180,000. The remaining
project budget is assigned to cover design and project management fees, statutory
fees, surveys and contingencies.

5.1.3. The estimated construction period for the delivery of the contract is 32 weeks.

5.1.4. This is assuming all expenditure relates to capital works. There is no revenue
budget allocated to this project.

5.2. Legal Implications

5.2.1. This report seeks pre-tender approval for the procurement strategy to procure a principal
contractor to deliver building improvements to the north-east corner of Highbury Fields.

5.2.2. The council has power to enter into the proposed contract under section 1 of the
Local Government (Contracts) Act 1997

5.2.3. The Local Government Act 1999, requires the council to make arrangements to
achieve Best Value in the exercise of its functions when considering a service
provision, which includes services detailed in the body of the report.

5.2.4. The estimated total value of the thirty-two (32) week contract is £1,180,000. Under
the Public Contract Regulations 2015 (PCR), relevant contracts over the relevant
threshold must comply with the regulations. This contract is under the PCR
threshold for works (£5,336,937). Whilst the contract is sub-threshold and is not
caught by the procurement regime of the PCR, the retained EU law principles of
equality of treatment, proportionality, non-discrimination and transparency must be
followed.

5.2.5. The procurement must comply with the council’s Procurement Rules. Procurement
Rule, 1.7A.2 band (iv) requires a formal tender process with a minimum of five (5)
written competitive tenders. It is stated in the body of the report that the restricted
procedure will be used.

5.2.6. Procurement Rule 24.2 states that all contracts over £24,999 will need formal
conditions prepared or agreed by the Legal Services Team. All contracts with a

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 value above £500,000 will need to be sealed by Legal Services.

5.2.7. Under Procurement Rule 18.1.1 Corporate Directors have the power to procure and
award the contracts using capital spend of up to £5,000,000.

5.2.8. The decision maker can approve the recommendations provided they are satisfied
with the contents of the report and the recommendations represents best value for
the council.

5.3. Environmental Implications and contribution to achieving a net zero carbon

Islington by 2030
5.3.1. An Environmental Impact Assessment has been carried out.

5.3.2. Existing buildings will be demolished and replaced with a thermally and energy
efficient café building. The demolition of the bungalow will also result in previously
unusable green space being returned to public use.

5.3.3. The café building will be single-storey, low impact and lightweight and will be built
on steel screw pile foundations and a timber superstructure using UK grown
Brimstone Ash. Steel will only be used for connection brackets and fixings. The
building is intended to be carbon responsible and has excluded concrete and
gypsum based products where possible so that it will be able to be fully recycled at
the end of building life.

5.3.4. There will be no gas supplies serving the building. A low temperature hot water
(LTHW) system will heat the building via an air source heat pump (ASHP) and it
will be ventilated via Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery (MVHR). The
café, office, kitchen and bathroom will be heated via an underfloor heating system
and the external accessible toilet/baby change room and wildlife shelter toilet will
be provided with a ceiling mounted fan-assisted heater controlled via PIR system.

5.3.5. The teaching shelter will have a green roof.

5.3.6. The proposal will deliver significant ecological enhancements as there will be a
Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) increase of 45.76% in habitat units, such as
grassland and woodland and 100% increase in linear units, such as hedgerows
and the creation of a pond.

5.4. Equalities Impact Assessment

5.4.1. The council must, in the exercise of its functions, have due regard to the need to
eliminate discrimination, harassment and victimisation, and to advance equality of

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 opportunity, and foster good relations, between those who share a relevant
protected characteristic and those who do not share it (section 149 Equality Act
2010). The council has a duty to have due regard to the need to remove or
minimise disadvantages, take steps to meet needs, in particular steps to take
account of disabled persons' disabilities, and encourage people to participate in
public life. The council must have due regard to the need to tackle prejudice and
promote understanding.

5.4.2. An Equalities Impact Assessment was completed on 9 June 2023. The main
findings are that there are no foreseeable negative impacts on users of the park as
a result of the scheme. Short-term negative impacts, such as disruption to
residents and park users, will be mitigated against with a Construction
Management Plan and Construction Logistics Plan signed off prior to work starting
on site. Local residents will be advised of the project programme in advance by
email, letter, signage in the park and via the council’s website and will be
encouraged to contact the Parks department should any issue arise. Ultimately,
the project is set to have a positive impact on park users and a positive impact on
those with protected characterists and people from disadvantaged groups. The full
Equalities Impact Assessment is appended.

6. Conclusion and reasons for the decision

6.1. The procurement process outlined in this report will ensure that a principal
contractor with the relevant skills, expertise and experience is appointed for thi s
scheme. This will help achieve good value for money and ensure the delivery of a
high-quality building.

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7. Record of the decision
7.1. I have today decided to take the decision set out in section 2 of this report for the
reasons set out above.

Approved by:

Acting Corporate Director of Homes and Communities

Date: 2 October 2023

Appendices:

 Equalities Impact Assessment

Report Author: Lara Ellington-Brown, Project Manager, Community Wealth Building

Tel:02075276223
Email: Lara.Ellington-Brown@islington.gov.uk

Financial Implications Author: Luke Trefonis, Finance Manager

Email: Luke.Trefonis@islington.gov.uk

Legal Implications Author: Mark Ferguson, Senior Commercial and Procurement Lawyer
Tel: 0207 527 3099
Email: Mark.Ferguson@islington.gov.uk

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