Preliminary Market Engagement for the Appointment of a Multi-Disciplinary Consultancy Team for Cemetery Provision Project

Tender description

***This is not a tender exercise*** Ards and North Down Borough Council is preparing to undertake a transparent and informed preliminary market engagement exercise to support the development of Council’s Cemetery Provision project. Ards and North Down Borough Council has a statutory responsibility to provide sufficient burial provision to meet the present and future needs of the Borough. The Council is progressing a Cemetery Provision project to secure long-term burial capacity through the extension of an existing provision, and the development of a new cemetery site capable of serving the Borough’s needs for the next 30+ years. Council is progressing the acquisition of a new cemetery site of approximately 24 acres. This site will need to be developed from RIBA Stage 0. The Cemetery Provision project also includes an extension to an existing Council cemetery of 0.95 hectares, for which planning approval is currently being sought. The ICT may be required to provide detailed design input for this site and support the development of any future extension proposals arising during the appointment. The scope of the ICT is not finalised at this stage and is subject to change at the Council’s discretion. Anticipated Project Deliverables For the new site; • RIBA Stages 0-7 including; • Planning approval and statutory consents for the proposed new cemetery development. • Design and development of a new cemetery facility to meet the Borough's future burial needs for the next 30+ years. • Construction and commissioning of a fully operational cemetery, including associated infrastructure and facilities. • Operational handover of the completed facility to the Council. For the existing site; • Detailed design input into extension of an existing cemetery site. • Potential design and development of future extension of an existing cemetery site. The purpose of this preliminary market engagement is to seek feedback and insights from experienced suppliers to help shape the scope for the appointment of a multi-disciplinary Consultancy Team. This engagement exercise acknowledges that the consultancy market, user demand and client requirements continuously evolve and that there is a need to fully understand the current market offering. This engagement exercise will consist of a supplier questionnaire. Responses will help the Council gain a clearer understanding of the delivery models available in the marketplace to inform the structure and focus of our procurement documents and internal planning. Where it is deemed necessary, Council officers may request a follow-up MS Teams call with respondents for any clarifications. Please note that participation (or non-participation) in this market engagement will neither advantage nor disadvantage any supplier in any subsequent procurement. All responses will be treated in confidence and used solely to assist in the preparation of the tender documentation. At this stage, concise and relevant responses are welcomed. There is no need to submit detailed proposals or marketing materials. Please note, this pre-market engagement exercise is not part of a formal tender process, and no submissions will be appraised or evaluated as part of any future competition. Suppliers who wish to participate in the market engagement exercise should complete the supplier questionnaire (Appendix A) which can be downloaded from the CfT documents area. The questionnaire must be completed and returned via this CfT's Messaging area on eTendersNI in accordance with the instructions detailed in the PME Questionnaire document. There are no formal tender documents to be completed other than the questionnaire.