Stoke on Trent City Council

Civic Offices, Glebe Street

Stoke-on-Trent

ST4 1HH

UK

Contact person: Jo Stanway

Telephone: +44 1782236420

E-mail: jo.stanway@stoke.gov.uk

NUTS: UKG23

Internet address(es)

Main address: https://www.stoke.gov.uk/site/

II.1.1) Title

II.1.2) Main CPV code

71300000

II.1.3) Type of contract

Services

II.1.4) Short description

Contract for the operation and maintenance of an Energy from Waste plant.

II.1.6) Information about lots

This contract is divided into lots: No

II.1.7) Total value of the procurement

Value excluding VAT: 75 000 000.00  GBP

IV.1.1) Type of procedure

Award of a contract without prior publication of a call for competition

Justification for selected award procedure:

The procurement falls outside the scope of application of the Directive

Explanation

SOTCC has extended its current contract ("Contract") with Hanford Waste Services Limited ("HWS") for the operation and maintenance (O&M) of the Energy from Waste plant at Hanford ("plant") for 5 years from its contracted expiry date of March 2020. The Contract with HWS to construct and operate the plant was originally entered into in 1995. HWS sub-contracts the O&M of the plant Facility to MES Environmental Limited ("MESE").The plant will reach the end of its economic life by 2028 and requires extensive remedial maintenance in anticipation of handback of the site to the Council in 2020. SOTCC believes that the first 2 years of the 5 year extension are necessary in order to carry out additional works and/or works made necessary by unforeseen circumstances to the plant within the meaning of Article 72(1)(b) and/or (c) of Directive 2014/24/EU ("Directive"). These works include:

— essential upgrading and maintenance, and

— upgrades to comply with new EU regulatory emissions standards for waste incineration, 20 years after the Contract was first awarded.

It is unlikely to be feasible commercially or technically for any contractor other than HWS to complete these works for a limited period beyond the original contractual termination date. Performance by another contractor would cause SOTCC significant inconvenience and duplication of costs. In both the above cases, the contract extension value does not exceed 50 % of the value of the Contract. SOTCC believes that the 2nd 3 year period for the extension is not a substantial modification to the Contract within the meaning of Article 72(4) of the Directive because:

— the extension will not render the Contract materially different in character,

— no realistic hypothetical bidder would be interested in the 3 year extension post 2022 in order to keep the plant operational until a new facility is operational,

— the Council intends to ensure that the extension will not lead to any shift in the economic balance in favour of HWS,

— a 3 year extension in the context of a 25-year contract is not a considerable extension of the scope of the Contract.

SOTCC believes that the extension is justified under Article 32(b)(ii) of the Directive on the basis that competition is absent for technical reasons. There are 2 plants in the UK that are similar; MESE have the O&M for both. There are unlikely to be other contractors presently in the UK with capabilities or access to the parts required and that competition would be limited or non-existent for technical reasons.

IV.1.8) Information about Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)

The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement: No

IV.2.1) Previous publication concerning this procedure

Notice number in the OJ S:

2018/S 003-003912

Hanford Waste Services

Crown Street

Wolverhampton

WV1 1QB

UK

Telephone: +44 1902352864

E-mail: adrian.meehan@wasteservicesgroup.com

Fax: +44 1902451069

NUTS: UKG23

The contractor is an SME: Yes

VI.4.1) Review body

VI.4.3) Review procedure

Precise information on deadline(s) for review procedures:

Part 3 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 ("PCR 2015") provides for aggrieved parties who have been harmed or are at risk of harm by a breach of the PCR 2015 to take action in the High Court (England, Wales and Northern Ireland). Any such action must be brought within the applicable limitation periods.