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.
