Mid Suffolk District Council 2006

The Brief

Mid Suffolk District Council commissioned Strategic Leisure to assist them in the market testing of their leisure facilities Mid Suffolk Leisure Centre and Stradbrook Swimming Pool.

The Council required the consultant to:

• To establish a short list of potential partners

• Organise a bidding/tender process

• To advise on the shortlist of potential partners and partnership organisations

• To prepare the partnership strategy

• To write the specification/partnering document

• To organise a bidding/tendering process (in accordance with the Council’s tendering procedures

• To prepare a robust evaluation procedure

Our Approach

The procurement process was managed entirely by Strategic Leisure. In keeping with the principles of Best Value, Strategic Leisure’s advice was for the Council to adopt a modern partnership approach based upon shared vision and objectives. The Council embraced this strategy and modern partnership principles were used to develop the partnership documentation.

The evaluation process was based on specific weightings linked to the Council’s objectives. This approach measured the tenderers approach in terms of the economic, effectiveness and efficiency of the organisation and their proposals for Mid Suffolk.

Project Outcomes

The procurement process and subsequent evaluation identified a preferred partner SLM Ltd to manage the leisure facilities for up to ten years.

The result has realised significant benefits for the Council, in summary these are;

• A long-term sustainable solution for the leisure centre service for up to 10 years

• An affordable revenue solution within the Councils allocated budget

• A partner that shares the Council’s vision and Partnership commitment

• Investment of up to £825k, funded through prudential borrowing

• A performance management framework based upon a balanced scorecard for the future measurement of the performance of the service