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Contract Notice

Invitation to bid for tender to design, supply and install a Bespoke ‘Swift Tower’

  • First published: 02 December 2024
  • Last modified: 02 December 2024

Contents

Summary

OCID:
ocds-kuma6s-146436
Published by:
Monmouthshire County Council
Authority ID:
AA0277
Publication date:
02 December 2024
Deadline date:
31 December 2024
Notice type:
Contract Notice
Has documents:
Yes
Has SPD:
No
Has Carbon Reduction Plan:
No

Abstract

Swifts are a bird which have recently been put on the Red List of Birds of Conservation, of highest conservation concern. Swifts nest almost exclusively in buildings, making use of holes to raise their young, and are loyal to the same nest site every year. However, with lots of old buildings being renovated to improve insulation, small holes filled in or simply demolished, our swifts are losing their nesting sites. To help these birds, nesting sites can be provided artificially in the form of swift boxes or in the form of a ‘Swift Tower’ to help address the long-term loss of traditional nest sites in buildings. A ‘Swift Tower’ is a collection of specially designed swift nest boxes (minimum 12) placed on a pole or structure at least 7m in height (which is the appropriate height for swifts to use), to house 12 pairs of swifts. It requires a stand-alone, solar powered inbuilt ‘swift call audio system’ with mounted speakers, which plays the call of the swift at key times, to attract the swifts to investigate the box. The call will be set on a timer to play calls at certain hours of the day (just after dawn and dusk). Once Swifts are observed nesting in the Swift Tower, the audio system needs to be able to be de-activated and removed. In Spring, once the Swifts have arrived the Swift Call system will need to be re-activated and then switched off in autumn again when they leave to return to Africa. In addition, it will require mounted solar panels and mounted IP65 weatherproof cabinets to house batteries. The battery needs to be designed so that it can be removed, charged and stored during the winter. However, if the calls stop working, the volume or on/off times need changing, the timer, battery, solar controller and MP3 player need to be accessible. The ’Swift tower’ needs to be designed so that it can be left to its own devices and can be exposed to the elements, with no maintenance or damage issues, for minimum 10-20 years (depending on weather conditions). The ‘Swift Tower’ needs to be made of materials suitable for the outdoors location, including cladding with a natural weathering material, a waterproof GPR (glass reinforced plastic) roof and IP65 weatherproof cabinet, and stainless steel exterior fixings. The ’Swift tower’ should also be designed to be maintenance free, apart from small repairs, such as the wooden boxes and the solar panel/ caller system. But if required the Birdbox itself needs to be able to be removed from the top of the column. The footprint of the tower will be very small (approx. 2m²). Drawings of the foundation need to be provided, but the foundations will be delivered by Monmouthshire County Council itself. This is very important, the typical size for a nest chamber is a 200mm wide x 400mm long floor area by 200mm high. Other shapes, e.g. a square floor, say 275mm x 275mm, would also work well. With a folded wing-length of 175mm, Swifts cannot turn around in anything less without damaging their feathers. The entrances to the nest places must be rectangular 30mm high x 65mm wide, in order to exclude larger birds like Starlings, Feral Pigeons and Jackdaws. The hole should be fitted either in the base of the box or in the front, no more than 25mm above floor level. (information taken from Swift Conservation website).

Full notice text

CONTRACT NOTICE – NATIONAL

SUPPLIES

1 Authority Details

1.1

Authority Name and Address


Monmouthshire County Council

County Hall, Rhadyr,

Usk

NP15 1GA

UK

Kate Stinchcombe

+44 1633644068

katestinchcombe@monmouthshire.gov.uk

http://www.monmouthshire.gov.uk
http://www.sell2wales.gov.wales

1.2

Address from which documentation may be obtained


Monmouthshire County Council

County Hall, Rhadyr,

Usk

NP15 1GA

UK

Kate Stinchcombe


katestinchcombe@monmouthshire.gov.uk

http://www.monmouthshire.gov.uk

1.3

Completed documents must be returned to:

As in 1.1

2 Contract Details

2.1

Title

Invitation to bid for tender to design, supply and install a Bespoke ‘Swift Tower’

2.2

Description of the goods or services required

Swifts are a bird which have recently been put on the Red List of Birds of Conservation, of highest conservation concern. Swifts nest almost exclusively in buildings, making use of holes to raise their young, and are loyal to the same nest site every year. However, with lots of old buildings being renovated to improve insulation, small holes filled in or simply demolished, our swifts are losing their nesting sites. To help these birds, nesting sites can be provided artificially in the form of swift boxes or in the form of a ‘Swift Tower’ to help address the long-term loss of traditional nest sites in buildings.

A ‘Swift Tower’ is a collection of specially designed swift nest boxes (minimum 12) placed on a pole or structure at least 7m in height (which is the appropriate height for swifts to use), to house 12 pairs of swifts.

It requires a stand-alone, solar powered inbuilt ‘swift call audio system’ with mounted speakers, which plays the call of the swift at key times, to attract the swifts to investigate the box. The call will be set on a timer to play calls at certain hours of the day (just after dawn and dusk). Once Swifts are observed nesting in the Swift Tower, the audio system needs to be able to be de-activated and removed. In Spring, once the Swifts have arrived the Swift Call system will need to be re-activated and then switched off in autumn again when they leave to return to Africa.

In addition, it will require mounted solar panels and mounted IP65 weatherproof cabinets to house batteries. The battery needs to be designed so that it can be removed, charged and stored during the winter. However, if the calls stop working, the volume or on/off times need changing, the timer, battery, solar controller and MP3 player need to be accessible.

The ’Swift tower’ needs to be designed so that it can be left to its own devices and can be exposed to the elements, with no maintenance or damage issues, for minimum 10-20 years (depending on weather conditions). The ‘Swift Tower’ needs to be made of materials suitable for the outdoors location, including cladding with a natural weathering material, a waterproof GPR (glass reinforced plastic) roof and IP65 weatherproof cabinet, and stainless steel exterior fixings.

The ’Swift tower’ should also be designed to be maintenance free, apart from small repairs, such as the wooden boxes and the solar panel/ caller system. But if required the Birdbox itself needs to be able to be removed from the top of the column.

The footprint of the tower will be very small (approx. 2m²). Drawings of the foundation need to be provided, but the foundations will be delivered by Monmouthshire County Council itself.

This is very important, the typical size for a nest chamber is a 200mm wide x 400mm long floor area by 200mm high. Other shapes, e.g. a square floor, say 275mm x 275mm, would also work well. With a folded wing-length of 175mm, Swifts cannot turn around in anything less without damaging their feathers. The entrances to the nest places must be rectangular 30mm high x 65mm wide, in order to exclude larger birds like Starlings, Feral Pigeons and Jackdaws. The hole should be fitted either in the base of the box or in the front, no more than 25mm above floor level. (information taken from Swift Conservation website).

NOTE: To register your interest in this notice and obtain any additional information please visit the Sell2Wales Web Site at https://www.sell2wales.gov.wales/Search/Search_Switch.aspx?ID=146436.

The buyer has indicated that it will accept electronic responses to this notice via the Postbox facility. A user guide is available at https://www.sell2wales.gov.wales/sitehelp/help_guides.aspx.

Suppliers are advised to allow adequate time for uploading documents and to dispatch the electronic response well in advance of the closing time to avoid any last minute problems.

2.3

Notice Coding and Classification

92533000 Nature reserve services
1021 Monmouthshire and Newport

2.4

Total quantity or scope of tender

3 Conditions for Participation

3.1

Minimum standards and qualification required

It is a condition of the contract that if successful you must have insurance at the following levels:-

Employers Liability - £10,000,000 (it is a legal requirement for business to have a minimum £5,000,000 level of cover, however Sole Traders are exempt)

Public Liability - £5,000,000

Product Liability - £5,000,000

Failure to evidence that these insurances are in place at the point of award will result in the immediate termination of the contract / framework. Failure to maintain the required insurance through the life of the framework / contract will also result in immediate termination of the contract / framework.

Please upload copies of the insurance certificates into the attachment area.

4 Administrative Information

4.1

Type of Procedure

Single stage

4.2

Reference number attributed to the notice by the contracting authority

N/a

4.3

Time Limits

Time-limit for receipt of completed tenders
    31-12-2024  Time  12:00

Estimated award date
 07-01-2025

4.5

Language or languages in which tenders or requests to participate can be drawn up

EN  CY 

4.6

Tender Submission Postbox

The buyer has indicated that it will accept electronic responses to this notice via the Postbox facility. A user guide is available at https://www.sell2wales.gov.wales/sitehelp/help_guides.aspx

5 Other Information

5.1

Additional Information

Swifts are a bird which have recently been put on the Red List of Birds of Conservation Concern in recognition of the fact that populations across the UK have declined by 58% since 1995, 75% in Wales. Swifts visit the U.K. between the end of April and mid-September, and we still have small colonies.

The town of Usk (Brynbuga), Monmouthshire is one of the remaining hot spots for breeding pairs of Swifts in Monmouthshire. Swifts regularly feed on the river Usk which flows through the town. Providing additional nest sites in Usk could provide a vital opportunity to boost the population, and support community engagement on the decline of this iconic species.

The current proposed location is at Grid Reference SO 36872 01892

(WA Ref:146436)

5.2

Additional Documentation

Request for Quotation for Swift Tower 24 11 29
Terms and Conditions for the Supply of Goods and Services under £25,000

5.3

Publication date of this notice

 02-12-2024

Coding

Commodity categories

ID Title Parent category
92533000 Nature reserve services Botanical and zoological garden services and nature reserve services

Delivery locations

ID Description
1021 Monmouthshire and Newport

Alert region restrictions

The buyer has restricted the alert for this notice to suppliers based in the following regions.

ID Description
There are no alert restrictions for this notice.

About the buyer

Main contact:
katestinchcombe@monmouthshire.gov.uk
Admin contact:
katestinchcombe@monmouthshire.gov.uk
Technical contact:
N/a
Other contact:
N/a

Further information

Date Details
No further information has been uploaded.

Postbox

The awarding buyer has indicated that it will accept electronic responses to this notice via the Tender Submission Postbox facility.

Submit your tender response electronically in a secure environment.

To create an electronic response please click the "Add to my interest list" button at the top of the page.

For more information on the Postbox Facility please refer to the user guide:

Q&A

Ask the buyer any questions you may have relating to this notice. To ask the buyer a question or questions please click the "View Questions and Answers" button.

Additional Documents

The following additional documents have been attached to this notice. To obtain these documents please select the individual file names below.

Current documents

pdf
docx
docx160.03 KB
This file may not be accessible.

Replaced documents

There are no previous versions of these documents.


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