Chamber House Solar Farm - Owners Engineer Services (Modification 2: MR-8772-M2)

Description

A modification request was submitted to increase the frequency of project meetings and site visits compared to what was initially agreed.

The complexity of the project and tight deadline required more frequent meetings in order to progress within the defined timescales. The programme itself had been extended due to multiple issues arising across several partners relating to contractual agreement, procurement, European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) compliance and volatile economic circumstances.

CPR 9.3.1(b) permits the council to modify contracts where additional services are required and where a change of contractor cannot be made for economical or technical reasons, or where a change of contractor would cause duplication of costs or an inconvenience for the Council, provided the value of the modification is less than 50% of the original contract value.

The value of the contract exceeds the original budget estimated value by £1,861.68 (1.8%).  Due to the complexity of the project an extension of time for circa 4 months is required together with a need for additional meetings at a cost of less 50% of the original contract value.  It would be impractical and result in an unnecessary duplication of costs to change supplier at this juncture in the project.  Reliance on CPR 9.3.1(b) is reasonable in the circumstances.