Forestry Commission: Helicopter Services for Aerial Surveillance in Support of Plant Health Operations

UK-Bristol: Hire of helicopters with crew.

Section I: Contracting Authority

   I.1) Name, Addresses and Contact Point(s):
       Forestry England
       620 Coldharbour Lane, Winterbourne, Bristol, BS16 1EJ, United Kingdom
       Tel. +44 0300067400, Email: arran.price@forestryengland.uk
       Main Address: https://www.forestryengland.uk/
       NUTS Code: UKK

   I.2) Joint procurement:
      The contract involves joint procurement: No          
      In the case of joint procurement involving different countries, state applicable national procurement law: Not Provided
      The contract is awarded by a central purchasing body: No

   I.4)Type of the contracting authority:
      National or federal agency/office

   I.5) Main activity:
      Environment

Section II: Object Of The Contract

   II.1) Scope of the procurement

      II.1.1) Title: Helicopter Services for Aerial Surveillance in Support of Plant Health Operations            
      Reference number: FEE/0794

      II.1.2) Main CPV code:
         60424120 - Hire of helicopters with crew.


      II.1.3) Type of contract: SERVICES

      II.1.4) Short description: Provision of helicopter services for aerial surveillance and photography for plant health purposes in England, Wales and Northern Ireland

      II.1.6) Information about lots
         This contract is divided into lots: No
                  
      II.1.7) Total value of the procurement (excluding VAT)
          Value: 1,500,000
                  
         Currency:GBP            

   II.2) Description

      II.2.2) Additional CPV code(s):
            34711000 - Helicopters and aeroplanes.
            34711500 - Helicopters.
            35612300 - Support helicopters.
            35612500 - Search and rescue helicopters.
            60424120 - Hire of helicopters with crew.


      II.2.3) Place of performance
      Nuts code:
      UKK - SOUTH WEST (ENGLAND)
   
      Main site or place of performance:
      SOUTH WEST (ENGLAND)
             

      II.2.4) Description of the procurement: We will be awarding a framework agreement for the supply of helicopter services for aerial surveillance and photography for plant health purposes in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. This framework agreement requires provision of helicopter services for aerial surveillance and is therefore not suitable for suppliers of UAV (drone) services.

Due to the legal nature of the requirement for this tender we cannot provide precise financial estimates. We cannot forward forecast the occurrence of disease, any impacts or the budget we can make available. The value of this framework agreement could therefore change subject to these parameters.

Our objective for this framework agreement is to work in close association with the successful bidder to provide expert helicopter services for aerial surveillance and photography for plant health purposes. This will enable us to generate results that are of benefit to the whole forest estate in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. This surveillance work is seen as key to improving the Forestry Commission’s knowledge of tree pest and disease progression and evaluating results of controls already implemented.

As the customer on this framework contract the Forestry Commission will aim to provide operational information to the Contractor as soon as it available to help with the successful completion of the contract. There is an expectation of rapid response from the successful bidder, upon our request, to provide piloted aircraft for the work detailed in the framework contract. Due to the nature of the work required and the time frame involved, a high degree of flexibility is required once a call-off contract has been issued.

Operational flexibility is required due to the variable timing of the spring leaf flush, weather conditions, disease progression, photographic conditions, and for contingency planning. A provisional plan will be drawn up between Forestry Commission’s Plant Health Forestry (Tree Health) contacts and the Contractor to cover the peak period of April to October but a high degree of flexibility will be required when consolidating the plan and providing rapid response to flight plan requests.

      II.2.5) Award criteria:
      Quality criterion - Name: Service Delivery / Weighting: 25
      Quality criterion - Name: Methodology / Weighting: 15
      Quality criterion - Name: Resources / Weighting: 20
                  
      Cost criterion - Name: Price per hour / Weighting: 40
            

      II.2.11) Information about options
         Options: No
         

      II.2.13) Information about European Union funds
         The procurement is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds: No
         

      II.2.14) Additional information: Not Provided


Section IV: Procedure

IV.1) Description

   IV.1.1)Type of procedure: Open


   IV.1.3) Information about a framework agreement or a dynamic purchasing system
      The procurement involves the establishment of a framework agreement: No       
      

   IV.1.6) Information about electronic auction
      An electronic auction has been used: No

   IV.1.8) Information about the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
      The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement: Yes

IV.2) Administrative information

   IV.2.1) Previous publication concerning this procedure
       Notice number in the OJEU: 2020/S 228-563043
      
   

   IV.2.9) Information about termination of call for competition in the form of a prior information notice
      The contracting authority will not award any further contracts based on the above prior information notice: No

Section V: Award of contract

Award Of Contract (No.1)

   Contract No: FEE/0794 (1st supplier)    
   Lot Number: Not Provided    
   Title: Not Provided

   A contract/lot is awarded: Yes


   V.2) Award of contract

      V.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract: 16/02/2021

      V.2.2) Information about tenders
         Number of tenders received: 3
         Number of tenders received from SMEs: 3 (SME - as defined in Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC)          
         Number of tenders received from tenderers from other EU Member States: 0          
         Number of tenders received from tenderers from non-EU Member States: 0          
         Number of tenders received by electronic means: 3

      V.2.3) Name and address of the contractor

      The contract has been awarded to a group of economic operators: No
         
         Contractor (No.1)
             Castle Air Limited, 03188994
             Trebrown, Liskeard, PL14 3PX, United Kingdom
             NUTS Code: UKK
            The contractor is an SME: Yes

      V.2.4) Information on value of the contract/lot (excluding VAT)
         Initial estimated total value of the contract/lot: 1,500,000          
         Total value of the contract/lot: 1,500,000
         Currency: GBP

      V.2.5) Information about subcontracting
         The contract is likely to be subcontracted: No
         

Award Of Contract (No.2)

   Contract No: FEE/0794 (2nd supplier)    
   Lot Number: Not Provided    
   Title: Not Provided

   A contract/lot is awarded: Yes


   V.2) Award of contract

      V.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract: 16/02/2021

      V.2.2) Information about tenders
         Number of tenders received: 3
         Number of tenders received from SMEs: 3 (SME - as defined in Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC)          
         Number of tenders received from tenderers from other EU Member States: 0          
         Number of tenders received from tenderers from non-EU Member States: 0          
         Number of tenders received by electronic means: 3

      V.2.3) Name and address of the contractor

      The contract has been awarded to a group of economic operators: No
         
         Contractor (No.1)
             GB Helicopters, 09305615
             Pickmere Lane, Knutsford, WA16 0JJ, United Kingdom
             NUTS Code: UKD6
            The contractor is an SME: Yes

      V.2.4) Information on value of the contract/lot (excluding VAT)
         Initial estimated total value of the contract/lot: 1,500,000          
         Total value of the contract/lot: 1,500,000
         Currency: GBP

      V.2.5) Information about subcontracting
         The contract is likely to be subcontracted: No
         
Section VI: Complementary information

   VI.3) Additional information: The contracting authority considers that this contract may be suitable for economic operators that are small or medium enterprises (SMEs). However, any selection of tenderers will be based solely on the criteria set out for the procurement.
To view this notice, please click here:
https://www.delta-esourcing.com/delta/viewNotice.html?noticeId=570685912

   VI.4) Procedures for review

      VI.4.1) Review body
          Forestry England
          620 Coldharbour Lane, Winterbourne, Bristol, BS16 1EJ, United Kingdom
          Tel. +44 03000676400

      VI.4.3) Review procedure
         Precise information on deadline(s) for review procedures: Not Provided

      VI.4.4) Service from which information about the review procedure may be obtained
         Not Provided

   VI.5) Date of dispatch of this notice: 03/03/2021