CONTRACT NOTICE – NATIONAL

1 Authority Details

1.1

Authority Name and Address

1.2

Address from which documentation may be obtained

1.3

Completed documents must be returned to:

2 Contract Details

2.1

Title

Partnership Bid to Investigate the Feasibility of Delivering Modular/Off-Site Manufactured Housing t

2.2

Description of the goods or services required

This innovative and collaborative partnership brings together Coastal Housing Group, Hafod, Family Housing Association, Linc Cymru, Pobl Group, United Welsh and Valleys to Coast. Together, these Associations provide 45,000 homes in South Wales and have an annual development programme of more than 1,200 new homes. Along with the named RSLs, the Wales Cooperative Centre are supporting the project.

The partnership, formed in April 2017, was brought together with a collective aim of combining the development strength of the organisations to establish the most appropriate modular / off site manufactured solution(s) to support the overall development programme. In working collaboratively to support the individual business plans it was also anticipated that the outcomes would support the Welsh Governments (WG) aspirations for the provision of more affordable homes in Wales. The proposal seeks to support the Wales wide agenda for the identification of appropriate and successful innovative forms of construction referred to in the recent “More/Better” report and picked up under several themes within The Wellbeing of Future Generations Act (Wales) 2015.

There is a recognition amongst the partnership, that whilst off-site manufactured (OSM) homes are being encouraged by Government, there are various barriers to delivery that need to be overcome. The current OSM options are generally located outside of Wales and this runs counter to the central ethos of RSLs in Wales as well as the Welsh Government, to source locally. Furthermore, the few small scale OSM projects that have been built to date tend to be at significantly higher cost than traditional methods and are thus unviable. To address these barriers (and others) this partnership wants to investigate the potential of an OSM facility in South Wales alongside other options to achieve our aim of providing affordable homes built to a high quality, off-site.

To this end, the Partnership has been successful in obtaining funding from the WG to appoint a specialist to advise and explore the question of what is the optimum OSM solution to provide 250+ new homes per annum for our programmes in South Wales? This piece of work will result in a comprehensive report exploring of all the issues that apply, alongside a full options appraisal and recommendations of how best to proceed.

The Brief

To achieve its stated vision and aims, the Partnership is seeking to appoint a suitably qualified specialist advisor. This can be a sole practitioner, an established multi-disciplinary consultancy, or a joint venture between consultants. The appointed candidate(s) will investigate the market for off-site housing, provide technical advice and prepare a report of options and recommendations – including details of cost, delivery’ legal and technical implications. Ultimately, to advise the Partnership on the optimum solution for the delivery of 250+ homes manufactured off-site to feed our development programmes in South Wales.

We anticipate that the report on options and recommendations will be ready within 6 months of the date of appointment. The process itself will involve meeting and liaising regularly with members of the Partnership, initially to formulate a more detailed brief, and subsequently to report on progress and test ideas.

Candidates wishing to apply for this appointment should be able to demonstrate knowledge and/or experience of the following: -

Submission Requirements

This opportunity is being advertised on Sell2Wales platform, and Expressions of Interest (EOI) should contain the following elements

• Company details: Personnel, skills, qualifications etc. This could be CVs and a company brochure

Evidence of Knowledge and Experience of the following

• ‘Off-site’ manufacturing of houses

• Technical aspects of the Housebuilding Sector in general

• Business and economic considerations of housebuilding

• Working with the Affordable Housing Sector (esp. in Wales)

• ‘Innovative technologies’ applicable to housing – e.g. domestic renewables, battery technology

• Evidence of Relevant projects

Budget

This procurement process will seek to establish value for money, through the quality of the findings and recommendations from the successful consultancy together with the actual costs to be incurred. Shortlisted candidates will be required to provide a costed submission. To provide a framework for submissions, the budget for this commission is £100,000. However, we are open to discussion on this figure at interview if candidates believe that the commission requires more resourcing to do justice to the opportunity.

Timescales for Submission

Expressions of Interest (EOI) should be submitted via the Sell2Wales portal by 5pm Monday 18th June 2018, with detailed submissions demonstrating compliance with the criteria above submitted to Gareth Davies no later than 5pm on the 18th June. Shortlisted candidates will be informed of the next stages and further requirements

Assessment Criteria

Candidates will be scored/assessed against the Submission Requirements as listed above

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=82231.

2.3

Notice Coding and Classification

2.4

Total quantity or scope of tender

This is a single consultancy contract with a set budget of £100,000.

3 Conditions for Participation

3.1

Minimum standards and qualification required

Candidates must submit evidence in the form of a single document demonstrating how they meet the requirements of the brief. To reiterate;

Submission Requirements

This opportunity is being advertised on Sell2Wales platform, and Expressions of Interest (EOI) should contain the following elements;

• Company details: Personnel, skills, qualifications etc. This could be CVs and a company brochure

Evidence of Knowledge and Experience of the following

• ‘Off-site’ manufacturing of houses

• Technical aspects of the Housebuilding Sector in general

• Business and economic considerations of housebuilding

• Working with the Affordable Housing Sector (esp. in Wales)

• ‘Innovative technologies’ applicable to housing – e.g. domestic renewables, battery technology

• Evidence of Relevant projects

4 Administrative Information

4.1

Type of Procedure

Dual stage

4.2

Reference number attributed to the notice by the contracting authority

N/a

4.3

Time Limits

4.5

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

4.6

Tender Submission Postbox

5 Other Information

5.1

Additional Information

Any clarification required should be sent to Gareth Davies using the details provided.

Submissions may be made electronically by e-mail to Gareth Davies or may be submitted as hard copies via mail. The deadline is the same for both methods.

The Buyer is acting on behalf of the following organisations:

Hafod Housing, Linc Cymru, Pobl Group, United Welsh Housing Association, Valleys to Coast Housing Association

(WA Ref:82231)

The buyer considers that this contract is suitable for consortia bidding.

5.2

Additional Documentation

5.3

Publication date of this notice