Agenda item

Mr P Osborne - Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport presented the item. Robin Hadley-Soft Landscape Asset Manager- was in attendance

1. KCC had a statutory duty to maintain roads and pavements by clearing vegetation and felled trees. Current contracts would be ending, so approval would be sought for a new emergency tree works contract lasting up to five years, with a possible three?year extension. Procurement was underway, with tender deadline on 17 November 2025.evaluation would commence in December, and the contract would commence 1 April 2026.

a) The proposed contract would ensure a 24/7 emergency response for clearing fallen trees and vegetation that obstructed highways. A two?hour response time would be targeted. Used mainly during adverse weather the contract would support both in?hours and out?of?hours operations.

a)  Demand would be driven by weather events with no fixed schedule present. The service suited small and medium suppliers that could offer a flexible, rapid response. Combining it with larger programmed works had reduced agility and impacted the two?hour emergency target. Usage had risen over the past three years due to more frequent storm events..

b)  The new contract would emphasise data collection on tree failures and capture how and where they occur. This would enable proactive engagement with landowners about their duty of care. It would further aid in identifying high?risk locations that were subject to repeat failures and target landowners more effectively. This would provide a mechanism to recharge costs where trees fall from private properties.

c)  The current contract would end on the 31 March 2026. Tender documents were published and due back later in the month (November). Evaluations and negotiations would be scheduled for December to early January. The existing contract had two providers in place but there had been a need to expand into a more flexible county wide model of multiple providers.

2.Members raised a number of questions:

a)    Queried on the existing KPI performance of the current contract. Officers discussed that the priority would maintain the two-hour emergency call out window and that a level of stewardess would be applied to the contract to allow greater data collation and clarity in KPI’s.

b)    Members raised concerns on the two-tier lot model and asked for clarification. In response it was indicated that a three-tier model has been in place in the past, but a notable provider had gone into liquidation and impacted on delivery.

c)    The lack of a third-tier model was discussed, and it was suggested that a third tier would enable smaller providers to complete works at a District level. Members speculated that the two-tier model could also limit tenders.

d)    Officers acknowledged the feedback of a three-tier model, its impact to smaller provers and the potential impacts to tenders and suggested some temperance to manage both ways across tiers be explored.

RESOLVED to endorse the proposed decision, namely:

That the Cabinet Member for (the Kent) Environment agree to:

1.    APPROVAL to procure and award a new Emergency Tree Works contract for up to five years with an opportunity to extend this for up to three further years,

2.    DELEGATE authority to the Director of Highways and Transport to take relevant actions to facilitate the required procurement activity,

3.    DELEGATEauthority to the Corporate Director of Growth, Economy and Transport, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport to take relevant actions including but not limited to awarding, finalising the terms of and entering into the relevant contracts or other legal agreements, as necessary, to implement the decision and

4.    DELEGATEauthority to the Corporate Director of Growth, Economy and Transport, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport, to award extensions of the contract in accordance with the relevant clauses within the contract.