Construction of New Council Offices and Civic Accommodation

Newark & Sherwood District Council is seeking to appoint a qualified & fully experienced contractor to undertake a JCT 2011 Design and Build contract (with amendments) for the construction of a new BREEAM excellent civic office building on a 1.3 hectare site adjacent to the existing Cattle Market on Great North Road, Newark-On-Trent, Nottinghamshire NG24 1BY, close to Newark Castle railway station. The contract is expected to commence in April 2016 with construction based on a 52-week programme. The Council expects to relocate to the new offices from its existing premises and be fully operational by autumn 2017. The new building will serve as a base for up to 300 staff and will include co-location of other public service personnel. The Council requires the building to be fully fitted out, ready for occupation, but plans to undertake separate procurements for furniture and other loose fittings and equipment. The full specification of requirements will be published within the tender documentation. Design concept work has been completed in devising the format of the proposed steel-framed building of approx. 3,700 m² GIFA on three floors. A ‘lean design’ with extremely light mechanical & electrical service installations is helping to achieve an extremely competitive cost/m² GIFA. It is known at this stage that the project poses some common technical challenges. These include working on land adjacent to a railway, carrying out piling works to increase ground bearing capacity and potentially providing highways works and bus stop upgrades under a S. 106 agreement. The interested parties will also be required to retain the Employer's design for exceptionally lightly engineered building services, which will provide them with exceptional value both in construction and operation. The design will be almost completed by the Council's appointed design team to RIBA stage E (Stage 4) prior to letting the contract. The Client's Architect, Structural/Civil Engineers and Service Engineers shall all be novated to the successful contractor. The estimated value of the contract is in the range of £5,000,000 to £6,000,000 (excl. VAT). The minimum annual turnover for potential Contractors wishing to tender for this project is £12m. Potential Contractors who have a lower turnover will not be successful at PQQ stage. A conditional performance bond amounting to 10 % of the construction contract value will be required. Parent company guarantees may also be required. Applicants must complete a Pre-Qualification Questionnaire (obtainable from Gleeds Cost Management Ltd by e-mailing nsdc.offices@gleeds.co.uk) which must be returned with the supporting documentation to the address stated in the questionnaire by noon on 13/11/2015. The Council sees this construction project as a means to stimulate the local economy, providing job opportunities directly and through the use of local suppliers and supply chains.