Seeking approval of the procurement strategy and authority to procure and award a contract, to a contractor through a two-stage procurement process.  The report also seeks to inform members of the land acquisition strategy for the land required to construct Hereford Western Bypass Phase 1.

ChildrenCHTHE MEMBER the The member for transport and infrastructure introduced the report.  It was highlighted that the decision was regarding approval of the procurement strategy and to inform members of the land acquisition strategy. 

It was confirmed that a design review had been completed for Phase 1 of the bypass which revealed that the original design of the Southern Link Road was still good for the most part.  Therefore, it was now the right time to bring on a construction partner to help finalise the designs and to assist with working with National Highways and Network Rail in completing the approvals for the design.  It was confirmed that early contractor engagement would assist in finalising the construction cost estimates. 

It was confirmed that current financing will use the £10.3m agreed by cabinet and council.  The report in March 2024 authorised the spending of £10.3m and the report was comprehensive, open, transparent and clearly set out the rationale for the decision to progress to the development of Phase 1.

It was highlighted that a full business case will be considered by cabinet before the funding for the construction of Phase 1 was drawn down and there was no requirement for a further business case regarding this current decision to procure a contractor.

It was noted a useful PGC was also held on 7 July.

It was raised that the appendices to the report were exempt and if discussion by cabinet members or group leaders referred to them, the meeting would need to move into closed session.

Comments from cabinet members.  There was support for the project moving forward. 

Group leaders gave the views of their groups. No concerns regarding the approach to procurement were raised. There was support from some group leaders for the bypass proceeding.  Concerns were raised as well regarding whether the scheme would deliver an improvement to traffic and would represent value for money. It was raised that evidence to justify the decision and spend had not been delivered.  It was queried whether the money could be phased so the procurement approach was brought forward alongside a business case with the funding being released when the business case and value for money analysis evidence supported it. 

It was queried if all decisions taken by the Economy and Environment Director would be taken in full consultation with the cabinet and the section 151 officer, would be fully documented and accessible to members.

It was queried would the procurement and construction consider the council’s commitment to net zero, would there be active travel infrastructure and consideration made for children and young people.

It was raised if lessons learnt from previous projects were being applied to Phase 1.  Whether there was confidence in the pricing to provide a reliable indicative pricing for Phase 2 and what the margin of error was.

It was queried what the likelihood of central government funding would be required to deliver the full Western Bypass and what safeguards were in place to avoid further cost burdens being passed onto council taxpayers. 

It was raised what were the causes for delay with Network Rail and National Highways and what escalation mechanisms would be in place to resolve inter-agency issues. 

Lastly, it was queried  if there was a robust set of KPI’s for the procurement strategy and Phase 1 of the bypass and could these be shared with members.  Or could KPI’s be developed with members. 

In response to queries it was noted that the council had LEP funds of more than £25m odd to pay for this project, planning permission was granted and there was an issue with appointing a contractor but the council was online to deliver the bypass with government money.  In terms of justification for the bypass, it was noted that the last administration paid around £450k for a report reviewing the bypass project which concluded that a transport package with the Western bypass included provided the greatest transport resilience for Herefordshire.   Furthermore, the justification for the first phase of the Western bypass was established with the application for the LEP grant

It was emphasised that the project has had to start again.  It was noted that the active travel measures for Phase 2 were in conjunction with building that road as well.  In Phase 1 the active travel measures would be delivered adjacent to South Herefordshire, the Holme Lacy Road scheme, cycle and travel way.  It was noted that Phase 1 would use Holme Lacy Road as active travel measures and reduce car usage on it.

It was confirmed that the intention of procuring a contractor that would work with the council would be to discover ahead of construction the buildability of the scheme and the environmental impacts it would have.  This would ensure the council has best practice for a major infrastructure scheme that mitigates all the issues that are encompassed.

Regarding National Highways and Network Rail, it was confirmed that the council has quarterly meetings with them, it was progressing well and approvals in principle had been reached. 

It was confirmed that when the major decision for the money is concerned, all the reports and reasons why it will be going ahead will be available. 

Councillor Price proposed the recommendations, and it was unanimously resolved that: 

That:

a)    Cabinet agrees the procurement strategy as detailed in Appendix 1

b)    Cabinet agrees the proposed strategy for the acquisition of land associated with the proposal as detailed in Appendix 2

c)    Cabinet delegates authority to the Corporate Director Economy and Environment to undertake a two-stage procurement process and award of a Pre-Construction Services Agreement to a contractor through a compliant framework for the design and early contractor involvement on the project within the current approved budget.

d)    Cabinet delegates authority to Commercial and Investment Manager Property Services to agree the Heads of Terms and subsequent acquisition of land, within the approved budget.

e)    Cabinet delegates authority to the Corporate Director Economy and Environment to procure and enter into contracts with any additional specialist external consultants and advisors required to support the project with the approved budget.