Voluntary ex ante transparency notice
Directive 2014/24/EU
Section I: Contracting
entity
I.1) Name and addresses
Pembrokeshire County Council
County Hall, Haverfordwest
Pembrokeshire
SA61 1TP
UK
Contact person: Diane Hughes
Telephone: +44 1437775640
E-mail: diane.hughes@pembrokeshire.gov.uk
NUTS: UKL14
Internet address(es)
Main address: https://www.pembrokeshire.gov.uk
Address of the buyer profile: https://www.sell2wales.gov.wales/search/Search_AuthProfile.aspx?ID=AA0255
I.4) Type of the contracting authority
Regional or local authority
I.5) Main activity
General public services
Section II: Object
II.1) Scope of the procurement
II.1.1) Title
Development of a Package Deal for the provision of affordable housing in Pembroke Dock
Reference number: PROC/2425/047
II.1.2) Main CPV code
45211100
II.1.3) Type of contract
Works
II.1.4) Short description
Pembrokeshire County Council (the Council) has identified a development opportunity at the former Cleddau Bridge Hotel site at Pembroke Dock (the Site) which it considers suitable to deliver housing on.
The Site was up for sale for some time but has been purchased from a third party by Port Talbot Developments SPV1 Ltd (PTDSPV), a company which is 100% owned by Castell Group Limited (CGL) and which has recently obtained planning permission for the site. CGL is 80% owned by Property Brothers Limited and 20% owned by Clive Hill Ltd. Property Brothers Ltd is 100% owned by Dorian Payne. CGL has approached the Council with a proposal for bringing about development of the Site as described in this notice.
CGL’s proposal is that, CGL’s delivery arm, Castell Construction Ltd (CCL) which is 80% owned by Dorian Payne and 20% by Clive Hill Ltd will develop the Site for affordable and social housing (circa 35 units) to Welsh Design Quality Requirements (WDQR) standard.
Continued in II.2.4
II.1.6) Information about lots
This contract is divided into lots:
No
II.1.7) Total value of the procurement
Value excluding VAT:
10 053 740.00
GBP
II.2) Description
II.2.2) Additional CPV code(s)
45100000
45112700
45210000
45211000
45211300
45211341
45213316
45233100
45233161
71000000
71220000
71240000
71251000
71400000
71500000
71540000
71530000
71247000
II.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS code:
UKL14
II.2.4) Description of the procurement
CGL requires the Council to (i) agree and complete a contract for the purchase of the Site from PTDSPV; and (ii) immediately following its acquisition of the Site, enter into a JCT Design and Build contract (the ‘Contract’) with CCL for the delivery of housing on the Site subject to compliance with planning permission dated 13th December 2024, ref 24/0724/PA.
The arrangement will result in the Council placing a legally enforceable obligation on CCL to commence and deliver housing on the Site in accordance with agreed specification requirements as set out in the Contract, which the Council will pay CCL for. The Council will take ownership of the completed housing outputs to be delivered on the Site
II.2.11) Information about options
Options:
No
II.2.13) Information about European Union funds
The procurement is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds:
No
II.2.14) Additional information
The Council, relying on Regulation 32(2)(b)(iii) of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (PCR) intends to award a contract to CCL for the delivery of housing on the Site (as described in this notice). Further information on this is set out in Annex D1.
Section IV: Procedure
IV.1) Description
IV.1.1) Type of procedure
Negotiated procedure without prior publication
Justification for selected award procedure:
The works, supplies or services can be provided only by a particular economic operator for the following reason: protection of exclusive rights, including intellectual property rights
Explanation:
The Council has a corporate priority that aims to increase the supply of affordable housing and social homes and is seeking to expand its housing stock to satisfy local housing need. The Council considers the need for social and affordable housing in the development area to be significant and that the proposed transactions with PTDSPV and CCL will help the Council to meet housing demand. Furthermore, delivering the housing on the Site as described in this notice will assist the Council to meet its own homes targets as well as the targets set by Welsh Government.
In recent years the Council, when conducting procurement exercises to appoint contractors to deliver residential developments on Council-owned land, has experienced a lack of interest from the market, with there being no bids received or any bids not being viable. Attracting a new contractor, such as CGL/CCL, to Pembrokeshire, which specialises in social housing builds with a proven track record of delivering such homes across Wales to WDQR standards is highly desirable, given that the Council has struggled to attract housing contractors to the local market previously.
The Council considers that there is limited availability of land/suitable sites in the Local Development Plan within Pembroke / Pembroke Dock which are designated to allow for residential development of this scale and without significant site challenges that impact development viability. For this reason, the proposed development is only capable of being delivered on the Site.
The proposal by CCL is for a development programme of 18 months]). CCL estimates commencing the development in April 2025, which would mean completion in early 2027. The speed of delivery is particularly attractive to the Council because of the extreme housing need currently being experienced across the county. The Council currently has a significant spend on long term bed and breakfast accommodation approx. 3mGBP p.a. to house homeless residents. This level of spend is unsustainable and therefore there is a pressing need to accelerate the delivery of affordable homes.
Continued in VI.4.3)
IV.1.8) Information about Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement:
Yes
Section V: Award of contract/concession
Contract No: PROC/2425/047
V.2 Award of contract/concession
V.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract/concession
21/02/2025
V.2.2) Information about tenders
The contract has been awarded to a group of economic operators:
No
V.2.3) Name and address of the contractor
Castell Construction Ltd
Unit 5, Dyffryn Court
Swansea
SA70AP
UK
Telephone: +44 7591568387
NUTS: UK
The contractor is an SME:
Yes
V.2.4) Information on value of the concession and main financing terms (excluding VAT)
Total value of the concession/lot:
10 053 740.00
GBP
V.2.5) Information about subcontracting
Section VI: Complementary information
VI.3) Additional information
The estimated value in II.2.7 and V.2.4 represents the estimated value of the works which will be the subject of the JCT Design and Build contract with CCL.
The date in V.2.1) refers to the date on which the decision to enter into the build contract was made by the Director of Social Services and Housing following delegation by Cabinet on the 4th April 2024. A decision on whether or not to purchase the Site was delegated to the Assistant Chief Exec but is subject to a valuation exercise which is not likely to be completed until around 6 March 2025. As such, the final decision to proceed with the arrangements (as described in this notice) is not expected to be made until on/after 6 March 2025.
(WA Ref:148311)
VI.4) Procedures for review
VI.4.1) Review body
High Court
Royal Courts of Justice, The Strand
London
WC2A 2LL
UK
Telephone: +44 2079477501
VI.4.3) Review procedure
Precise information on deadline(s) for review procedures:
In accordance with Regulation 88 - 104 (Enforcement of duties through the Court) of the PCR.
Continued from Annex D1.
The Council does not consider that a reasonable alternative to CGL’s proposal exists which would result in the Council securing the development of a moderately sized (for Pembrokeshire) affordable housing development at pace. Furthermore, the lack of available (and suitable) land within the locality to deliver the proposed housing by an alternative contractor presents a real obstacle. As such, the Council does not consider that it is possible for the development to be delivered by anyone other than CGL/CCL.
As set out in this notice, the Council intends to purchase the Site from PTDSPV and immediately afterwards enter into a construction works contract with CCL for the delivery of housing on the Site. The opportunity offered to the Council by the Castell group comprises the following two linked transactions: (i) the purchase of the Site by the Council from PTDSPV; and (ii) the award of a works contract by the Council to CLL, these being inseparable components of the transaction, representing a “package deal” contract which can only be delivered by CCL.
For the reasons set out in this notice the Council considers that only CGL/CCL would be able to deliver the works because of the need to protect exclusive rights (given PTDSPV’s ownership of the Site and CGL’s controlling interest in PTDSPV) and that no reasonable alternative or substitute exists.
VI.5) Date of dispatch of this notice
21/02/2025