Neighbourhood Planning Support Services - Contract Modification

This notice is in relation to modification of an existing Contract, pursuant to regulation 72(1)(b) of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, and is published for transparency purposes. Neighbourhood planning gives communities direct power to develop a shared vision for their neighbourhood and shape the development and growth of their local area. They are able to choose where they want new homes, shops and offices to be built, have their say on what those new buildings should look like and what infrastructure should be provided, and grant planning permission for the new buildings they want to see go ahead. The original Contract made available a basic level of support for every existing and prospective neighbourhood planning group in England, and provided further support in the form of grants and\or Technical Support to eligible Customers to help them get neighbourhood plans or neighbourhood development orders (NDOs) in place for their area Following a decision to close the Neighbourhood Planning Support Programme, this modification varies the contract in order to continue revised provision of the support services during the final 13 months of the contract, and to facilitate effective completion / close down of all services, including outstanding legacy support packages previously awarded to customers. This modification increases the total value of the contract by £317,764 (inc. VAT), from £54,626,488 (inc. VAT) to £54,944,252 (inc. VAT) Note that subject to the final financial reconciliations of support delivered to customers, and due to the service mix involving different VAT treatments for different elements, the actual / final ex VAT value of the modification may ultimately vary from that stated within this notice.