SC230254 - Public Rights of Way (PRoW) Vegetation Clearance - Market Engagement

Tender description

Kent County Council (KCC) require a contract for a number of providers to undertake routine vegetation clearance on identified Public Rights of Way (PRoW); a statutory requirement. The contract will be split into 10 lots, combining an element of programmed work together with ad-hoc requirements including off road cycle paths. Public Rights of Way consist of four different levels of access: • Public Footpath (FP) for pedestrian use; • Public Bridleway (BR) for equestrian, pedestrian and pedal cyclists use; • Restricted Byway (RB) a carriageway for use by non-motorised vehicles, equestrians and pedestrians; and • Byways Open to All Traffic (BW) a carriageway for use by all forms of traffic. Please see Section II.2.4 for a further description of the works and contract details. Lot 10: A total of 10 lots Kent County Council (on behalf of the Public Rights of Way and Access Service (PRoW)) is planning a procurement process to put in place new Contracts to fulfill the statutory requirements of the PRoW team for the provision of vegetation clearance services on the Kent Public Rights of Way Network. The previous contract commenced in April 2018 for an initial period of 5-years with two optional 12-months extensions. Both extensions have been taken with the current extension due to expire in April 2025. It is anticipated that the planned Contract will begin in April 2025. The existing multiple contracts were procured to undertake routine vegetation clearance on identified Public Rights of Way; with the contract being split into 10 lots, combining an element of programmed work together with ad-hoc requirements including off road cycle paths, with a 30-day turnaround time. The indicative meterage for one cut per each lot is as follows: Lot 1 - Ashford (64.2km) and Folkestone & Hythe (48.51km) – 112.71km Lot 2 - Canterbury (97.04km) and Thanet (29.21km) - 126.25km Lot 3 – Dover – 114.29km Lot 4 – Swale – 89.32km Lot 5 - Dartford & Gravesham – 42.69km Lot 6 - Maidstone – 34.69km Lot 7 – Sevenoaks – 73.88km Lot 8 – Tonbridge & Malling – 111.2km Lot 9 – Tunbridge Wells – 17.23km Lot 10 – North Downs Way (West Kent – 26.5km, East Kent 29.8km) – 56.43km As part of Market Engagement activity, interested organisations are invited to complete a Market Engagement questionnaire. This will be used to gather information, and build on our existing market intelligence to shape our procurement strategy. All responses to this questionnaire should be submitted via the Kent Business Portal, no later than 12pm on Friday 21 June 2023. All questionnaire responses will be treated as ‘commercial in confidence’.