To award contracts for stage 3 lots 3c, 3d, 3e and 4 deployment of superfast broadband in Herefordshire (and Gloucestershire) and to delegate authority to the director for economy, communities and corporate to award contracts for Lots 3a and 3b following the conclusion of BDUKs assurance.

THAT:

a)         subject to the approval of Gloucestershire County Council, a contract is awarded to Gigaclear to provide gap funding to deliver fibre broadband infrastructure within areas 3c (South Herefordshire & West Gloucestershire), 3d (North Gloucestershire), 3e (South Gloucestershire) and 4 (North Herefordshire);

that the maximum value of said contract should be £12.8m with an option to increase the Lot 3c subsidy contribution by up to a further £1.4m to the original published subsidy limit subject to a delivery plan to be agreed by the assistant director communities; and the contract should conclude seven years after the final infrastructure payment which is anticipated in December 2019;

b)         following the conclusion of BDUKs assurance and subject to the approval of Gloucestershire County Council, the director for  economy, communities and corporate is authorised to award contracts for Lots 3a (Cheltenham and Gloucester) and 3b (Hereford) to the preferred supplier/s within the parameters below: that the maximum value of said contract/s should be £910k; and the contract should conclude seven years after the final infrastructure payment which is anticipated in March 2019;

c)         the assistant director communities be given delegated authority to, following consultation with the cabinet member economy and corporate services to take all operational decisions within the approved budget to implement stage 4 of the Fastershire broadband strategy.

On 3 December 2015 cabinet adopted the revised Fastershire Broadband Strategy 2015-18 which outlined the rationale and process for subsidising additional broadband delivery across Herefordshire and Gloucestershire.  The recommendations are based on the outcome of a robust procurement process with bids selected on the basis of best value for money measured by cost verses coverage.  The winning bids are compliant with the ITT and awardable within the provisions of the 2016 National Broadband Scheme (NBS) in relation to state aid.

Not to award contract and to cease investment in broadband.  This option is not recommended as broadband remains a key priority for the council and underpins many of the council’s wider aspirations for the development of the Herefordshire economy and access to services.

To revisit the contractual terms and re-run the procurement to create better terms for providers.  This is not recommended as it would be unlikely to lead to significantly different outcome.  It would incur significant time delay to jeopardise the successful implementation of Fastershire’s mission to reach as many premises as possible by the end of 2018.  Furthermore, the delay itself could risk the existing offer as a revised invitation to tender (ITT) would appear in the market alongside opportunities from other potentially more commercially attractive areas and there remain limitations on the capacity of the supplier side of the market to satisfy the level of demand across the UK.