Appointment of a Contractor to complete phase 2 of the flood defence works at Pleasley Vale
Additional documents:
Decision:
RESOLVED that 1) in line with the previously agreed recommendations as set out in paragraph 1.2.(3) of the report, the works for the desilting of the culvert be approved,
2) direct award of the works contract to the company currently working on site at the value as set out in the report,which includes the provisional sum for removal of the silt offsite, be approved,
3) delegated authority is given to the Chief Executive and the Section 151 Officer to approve an additional sum of £180k if the silt is found to be contaminated,
4) delegated authority is given to the Section 151 Officer to authorise the necessary additional funding to undertake repairs to the culvert if identified as needing to be done urgently whilst the contractor is on site,
Minutes:
Executive considered a detailed report, introduced by Councillor Munro, Portfolio Holder for Growth.
The Business Growth Manager presented the report which provided an update to Members on the findings of the drainage team whilst completing maintenance to the critical drains at Pleasley Vale Business Park. The report sought Executive’s approval for the direct award of a contract to deliver a part of the Phase 2 flood defence works specifically focusing on desilting of the culverts, and to authorise the necessary additional funding to undertake repairs to the culvert if it were identified as urgent whilst the contractor was on site.
Following a report to Council in December 2024 where Members had approved
commencement of Phase 1 of the flood defence works at Pleasley Vale, work had commenced in April 2025. Survey and maintenance inspections of the drains had identified a risk of discharge to the river Meden from the foul drains and services for toilets presenting this type of risk were removed from usage.
Further surveys showed a damaged drain which ran via an overflow culvert under Mill 1, and also identified a significant accumulation of silt in the overflow, which was impeding water flow from Mill Pond 1 and drainage efficiency within the system.
Two possible solutions were identified and desilting the culverts was found to be the preferred solution. This was because installing a new drain would be highly intrusive leading to the rear of Mill 1 being inaccessible for a prolonged period, causing significant disruption and impact for tenants, and likely to be at a much higher cost for the works to complete the install. The culverts were currently around 25% blocked in some places and worse in others. Therefore, increasing capacity of water flow rate through the culverts would provide an immediate benefit for flood protection ensuring improved resilience against potential flooding plus reduce the risk to the insurance reserve if works were completed before the 2025-26 winter months.
Special suppliers P & D Environmental and IDS had both provided quotes for the work with IDS coming in lower. However, P & D Environmental were already mobilised onsite as principal contractor and under CDM regulations there could only be one principal contractor on site at any one time. This meant that P & D Environmental would charge a contract management fee to manage IDS increasing the overall cost of IDS’s proposal.
An Environment Agency (EA) permit was also required for any work on a water course, including maintenance to culverts, to ensure compliance with environmental regulations and protect water quality. A permit was already in place for Phase 1 of the flood defence works and culvert clearance could be undertaken as an EA maintenance exemption. The exemption had already been approved and was valid for a year from 15th June 2025. However, the work needed to be completed by the end of September 2025 due to raised water levels during the winter months as it became unsafe to complete work during this time.
The Business Growth Manager noted ... view the full minutes text for item 123