NE Consult were appointed by Lincolnshire County Council in March 2020 to advise on the procurement and contract strategy for the design and construction of a circa £2m temporary mortuary facility at the former RAF Woodhall Spa site.
The facility was designed to store up to 500 bodies of people who died from COVID-19 and had the flexibility to be expanded to store up to 1000 bodies in the event of a worst-case scenario.
The project demonstrated the best of the construction industry and the strength of the local supply chain in Lincolnshire. The project was led by the Council’s Corporate Property team and managed by Kier Business Services who are co-located with the Council at County Offices Lincoln. The main contractor was local firm Lindum who have a strong track record of delivering projects for the Council with mechanical and electrical equipment being installed by East Kirby Engineering Co. from Boston. The whole team pulled together to deliver this critical project within a very challenging time frame – 7 weeks. The project was delivered on time and to budget, and by the time it was completed mercifully it was already clear that it would not need to be used.
NE Consult’s role after developing the initial procurement and contract strategy was to lead on the drafting of the contract documents and commercial negotiations with the contractor. The Council were keen to follow the spirit of the Cabinet Office’s PPN01/20 – Supplier Relief and chose to place the lease amount of risk possible on the supply chain. The NEC4 Engineering and Construction Contract was selected along with main option E – cost reimbursable contract. Payment terms were reduced to 7 days and there was zero retention and zero delay damages.
