Suffolk council strips contractor of preferred bidder status
Suffolk Council has reopened competition for a 拢500m highways job just over a month after announcing contractor Balfour Beatty as the preferred bidder.
The council said that after 鈥渆xtensive and constructive discussion鈥� with the firm鈥檚 Living Places arm it had 鈥渘ot been able to confirm and clarify commitments made to the point where it can provisionally award the contract鈥�.
The job will see the winning bidder be responsible for the design and implementation of highway maintenance in the county for the next ten years - though the council will review the contract in five years time.
Suffolk Council will now liaise with all firms which submitted final bids in an attempt to find a preferred bidder 鈥� it said this would include ongoing discussions with Balfour Beatty.
Lucy Robinson, Suffolk Council鈥檚 director of economy, skills and environment, said she was 鈥渄isappointed鈥� but added that the decision to reopen the tender process 鈥渄oes not affect our overall ambition for highways maintenance鈥�.
She said: 鈥淭his does mean a delay to the start of the new contract as we want to ensure that the matter is handled properly, that staff are kept informed and that a smooth transition is made. We will therefore be working on interim arrangements to ensure that service delivery is uninterrupted.鈥�
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