Oakham Town Council seeking tenders for floral displays

Since Greetham Garden Centre Closed Down, Oakham Town Council wants to stick with spending money on hanging baskets which are put up, under developed  and taken down and 

binned when they are in full bloom.

Oakham Town Council is seeking tenders from interested parties for the supply and / or the watering of Oakham's Summer floral displays for the three year period 2013 - 2015.
Watering takes place from mid June to mid-September.

both these contracts are very lucrative but if you are going to tender the last contract was 

awarded and there was at least a 50% reduction in costs and other tenders were also good.

Hopefully the days are gone when a previous contractor, like so many others over the years saw the council as a cash machine.  

For a copy of the tender documents and specifications please contact:

Richard White
Clerk to Oakham Town Council
Victoria Hall
Oakham
Rutland
LE15 6AH

01572 723627 or

e-mail rwhite@oakhamtowncouncil.gov.uk

The closing date for tenders to be received is noon on Friday 2nd November 2012

OAKHAM TOWN COUNCIL FLORAL DISPLAYS AND WATERING CONTRACT

OAKHAM TOWN COUNCIL FLORAL DISPLAYS AND WATERING CONTRACT Tenders required

The Town Council is inviting interested parties to tender for the contract for the Towns Floral Displays and watering for the Summer of 2011.
For a copy of the tender documents please contact the Clerk to the Council. 

This is the first time the council has put this contract out to tender., for many years.

When I was a Town Councillor, I mentioned to the Town Clerk, I felt the Council was not getting value for money. £12,000 seemed a bit high for the few baskets and pots around the town.


His reply was "we don't tender because no one was interested when we did it before."


I later found out the real reason behind this. The owner f the garden centre was previously the town clerk.

No Councillors declared an interest when this contract was renewed. Although most did declare when the garden centre submitted a planning application this year.


The Town Council is now being forced to tender, not due to any legal obligation, but because the garden centre owner is retiring and selling up.


If we go back to the bandstand local builders did not tender because they saw no money to be made, then they saw the final bill £30,000! and told me it was a rip off and if only they knew how much they could ask for. So if you are thinking of tendering,  the floral contract is very lucrative to any garden centre or flower shop in the Rutland or Leicestershire area. Last year the bill for plants was £16,000. my previous knowledge of retail would tell me that is a very healthy mark up.


On top of that is the watering contract that run into thousands.

This contract is clear proof of how corrupt Oakham Town Council is.


.Maybe the Town Council friend Dave Burton could start growing a few begonias and pansies on his allotment and rush his bid in and he and his good family could afford to rebook their holiday somewhere a little further than Egypt.