(1) The Tremough Development Vehicle Limited ("TDV") is indirectly a 50:50 joint venture company of the University of Exeter ("UoE") and the University College Falmouth ("UCF"). The Tremough Campus in Penryn, near Falmouth, is shared by UoE and UCF and TDV is responsible for building developments on the Campus and managing all live construction projects.
(2) The development of the Tremough Campus since 2004 has involved the procurement and construction of a major 17 000 square metre (approximately) main campus academic building, a further academic building of approximately 6 500 square metres and residences to accommodate over 1 200 students on campus, as well as some refurbishments of existing buildings on the Tremough Campus.
(3) Further EU Convergence funded works was then planned, to create specialist research facilities together with expanded student learning resources. Overall, numbers of undergraduate and postgraduate students on campus are expected to grow to around 5 000 students for the combined total for UoE and UCF by 2016.
(4) Three major new projects were planned to be undertaken in order to cater for this expansion of student numbers (in addition to the construction of the Performance centre – see below). Contract notice 2010/S 151-232823 was to procure the contractor / contractors to build these 3 major new projects, as follows:
(a) The Academy of Innovation and Research ("AIR") was anticipated to operate both as a multi-disciplinary R&D lab and as a creative facilitation space. It was expected that at its centre would be a design innovation centre and a creative facilitation "Sandpit" plus a range of flexible spaces for multi-disciplinary, live project work. Further, AIR was anticipated to accomodate the core team, professorial heads of the research and innovation centres and their respective Commercial Managers. AIR was expected to be approximately 1 100 square metres. AIR was designed to comply with the UK version of BREEAM (BRE environmental assessment method) to the level of Excellent. The chosen contractor will be expected to aid this. The procured contractor may have been required to undertake the associated infrastructure works to support AIR. AIR was due to start construction in February 2011 and was planned for completion by March 2012. AIR is a UCF funded project. To fund the construction of AIR, UCF applied for funding from the South West Regional Development Agency ("SWRDA"), the Higher Education Funding Council for England ("HEFCE") and the EU Convergence Programme for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly ("ERDF"). The construction was dependent upon receiving this funding. All funding and planning permission issues were resolved subsequent to the publication of contract notice 2010/S 151-232823.
(b) The Environment and sustainability institute ("ESI") was hoped to be a world-class research centre, which would also commercialise the outputs of this centre of research excellence in the field of environment and sustainability. It was hoped that the ESI would be housed in "an instantly recognisable, striking, contemporary and innovative architecture that was an exemplar of both sustainable design and state of the art interactive academic research space." Further, it was planned that the ESI would be a high quality and specialist building, compliant with the UK version of BREEAM (BRE environmental assessment method) to the level of outstanding. The ESI was expected to include: laboratories and supporting rooms; further laboratories and engineering facilities; a common work area; further work areas / write-up spaces; a mixture of open and freely available closed spaces ("hot offices"); and shared spaces including provision for conferences, seminars, meeting rooms, reception and an interactive area. ESI was expected to be approximately 3 116 square metres. It was anticipated that on the Tremough Campus grounds, approximately 140 car parking spaces would be constructed by the contractor awarded the contract to design and construct the ESI. ESI was expected to start construction in February 2011and was planned for completion in August 2012. The procured contractor may have been required to undertake the associated infrastructure works to support ESI, and these were expected to be completed in March 2012. ESI is a UoE funded project. To fund the construction of ESI, UoE applied for funding from SWRDA, HEFCE and ERDF. Planning permission was granted and funding was approved for ESI prior to publication of contract notice 2010/S 151-232823.
(c) The Exchange Project ("Exchange") was to support the increased academic learning facilities and resources required to cater for the undergraduate and postgraduate student growth planned by both UoE and UCF at the Tremough Campus under the three major projects taking place there: ESI; AIR; and the Performance centre (see below). The Exchange was anticipated to comprise the construction of a complex extension to the existing learning resources centre building ("LRC") to provide additional learning and resource facilities through integrated expansion of the existing LRC. It was hoped that this extension would house additional library and information service facilities, teaching and learning spaces (including a further seminar room funded under ESI) and associated facilities including a range of study environments to support learning such as space for private study and collaborative work in groups and social learning spaces. The exchange was also intended to provide space as shell and core for subsequent fit-out by others, to provide a retail outlet and reprographics centre. The extension was expected to be approximately 2 500 square metres. Further, limited restructuring of facilities in the LRC were expected to be required to ensure the most efficient, coherent and integrated overall design. It was planned that exchange would be compliant with the UK version of BREEAM (BRE environmental assessment method) to the level of excellent. The procured contractor may have been required to undertake the associated infrastructure works to support exchange. Exchange was expected to start construction in February 2011 and was planned for completion in July 2012. Exchange is a project funded by both UoE and UCF. To fund its construction, UoE and UCF applied for funding from SWRDA, HEFCE and ERDF. The construction was dependent upon receiving this funding. All funding and planning permission issues were resolved subsequent to the publication of contract notice 2010/S 151-232823.
(5) Please note that in respect of each of AIR, ESI and Exchange, the tender documents set out the following options on which tenderers were expected to bid as part of their tender:
(a) A number of "wish list" specifications that TDV wished to include in the relevant building, and potential associated infrastructure, should the successful tenderer's bid for the basic building, and potential associated infrastructure, come in under TDV's budget; and
(b) A number of "value engineering" options that TDV wished to exclude from the relevant building, and potential associated infrastructure, should the successful tenderer's bid for the basic building, and potential associated infrastructure, be over TDV's budget.
(6) TDV divided the procurement of this "Convergence funded works to provide new buildings for the Academy of innovation and research, the environment and sustainability institute and the exchange project" into 5 Lots (as detailed more fully in Annex B of contract notice 2010/S 151-232823), namely:
(a) Lot 1 - AIR;
(b) Lot 2 - Exchange;
(c) Lot 3 - ESI;
(d) Lot 4 - AIR and Exchange; and
(e) Lot 5 - AIR, Exchange and ESI.
Candidates were able to express an interest in any or all Lots. On the assumption that all grant funding applications were approved and that there was enough funding to permit construction of AIR, ESI and Exchange, the 3 possible contract award combinations resultant from this procurement foreseen at the launch of the procurement process by TDV were:
(i) award of three separate contracts under Lot 1, Lot 2 and Lot 3;
(ii) award of a contract under Lot 3 and award of a contract under Lot 4; or
(iii) award of a contract under Lot 5.
However, other contract award combinations would also have been possible as a result of this procurement if the construction of any of AIR, Exchange or ESI were not to have gone ahead.
(7) Please note that TDV reserved the right to cancel the selection and evaluation process at any stage for all, one or some of the Lots for any reason, including, but not limited to: the fact that the grant funding application(s) relevant to a particular Lot was / were rejected, or was / were approved but with insufficient funding to allow completion of that Lot; or the fact that the planning approval application(s) was / were rejected, or was / were approved but with limitations or conditions that in TDV's ultimate discretion would have rendered the proposed works / development unviable.
(8) Please note that at the time of the publication of contract notice 2010/S 151-232823, the Performance centre was already under construction on the Tremough Campus. This is a UCF funded project and UCF had secured funding from SWRDA, HEFCE and ERDF. The Performance centre was scheduled to be completed by October 2010. Procurement of a contractor for the construction of this Performance centre building was not the subject of contract notice 2010/S 151-232823.
(9) Similarly, TDV was planning new infrastructure works on the Tremough Campus to enable the construction of AIR, ESI and Exchange ("Convergence funded enabling and other works"). This may have resulted in upgrade to services, new signage and enhanced landscape and the diversion of present infrastructure around the proposed sites for AIR, ESI and exchange. Procurement of a contractor / contractors to carry out this convergence funded enabling and other works was not the subject of contract notice 2010/S 151-232823 and was separately procured in compliance with the EU and UK procurement rules.
(10) To the extent necessary for Tenderers to complete their tenders, further information on the Performance centre construction and the Convergence funded enabling and other works was provided in the "tender documents" (ie the information memorandum, the pre-qualification questionnaire, the invitation to tender, TDV amendments to the pre-qualification questionnaire and invitation to tender and Candidate and Tenderer queries and requests for clarification regarding these documents and TDV's responses to these queries and requests).
