Scope
Description
Witham Town Council invited tenders for the supply, installation, removal, and storage of Christmas lights for a five-year period, with a total contract value not exceeding £65,000. The successful contractor was to provide a complete service to ensure the town's festive lighting was installed in time for the Christmas Market (second from last Saturday in November 2025), maintained during the season, removed in January, and stored securely for the following year.
2. CONTRACT OVERVIEW
• Contract Duration: 5 years (starting in November 2025)
• Total Budget: £65,000 (inclusive of all costs and expenses, excluding VAT)
• Client: Witham Town Council
• Locations: Various sites throughout Witham town centre (see Section 5)
• Key Dates:
o Installation to be completed by the second from last Saturday in November each year but not before Remembrance Sunday
o Removal and storage to take place in the first or second week of January
3. SPECIFICATION OF REQUIREMENTS
The successful contractor would be required to:
• Supply (lease), fit, install, remove, and securely store all festive lighting displays listed below for the contract period
• Provide two remote controls for operation of the lighting scheme
• Fit wi-fi receivers to all relevant items and supply a pre-programmed wi-fi transmitter
• Test and certify all electrical and mounting infrastructure, including catenary wire wall brackets
• Attend site for installation, removal, and any necessary maintenance or emergency call-outs
• Ensure all lighting is operational for the Christmas Market and throughout the festive period
• Remove and store all lighting in January each year
Lighting Requirements:
• At least 3 x 10-metre lines of twinkling lights (or similar) on the Town Hall building
• 1 x 14-metre cross-street light display across Newland Street (between buildings 55 and 64), including testing and certifying 4 wall brackets for the catenary wire
• 16 lamp column displays, each a minimum of 2 metres high
• Lighting incorporated into the live tree outside 70 Newland Street (Prezzo)
• At least 3,000 mini LED lights for the Christmas tree opposite the Town Hall
• Wi-fi receivers on all above items and a pre-programmed wi-fi transmitter
• Removal and storage of all lights during the contract period
Additional Information:
• The Christmas tree is typically 20-25 ft high and is installed opposite the Town Hall
• The live tree currently has 7 x 50cm spheres and 1,000 mini LEDs
• The contractor should at all times comply with the requirements of all relevant Health and Safety legislation and all associated Acts, Regulations and Approved Codes of Practice relating to provisions of Christmas lighting installation and display.
• Under this project, the contractor was expected to pay its workers at least the Living Wage rate.
• The lights must be maintained during the period they are on display. A scheduled inspection of the display was required to ensure that everything would be functioning correctly and to attend to any minor faults. In addition, a call out response of no more than 24 hours was required for major faults including, but not limited to, complete failure of light string, Christmas tree light failure, damage caused through vandalism, storms or road traffic accidents. All other faults require a 48 hour response time. If there was a charge for call outs, this must be stated in the quotation.
• The Contractor should also provide an out of hour's telephone number for contact during emergencies.
Contract 1
Supplier
Contract value
- £57,650 excluding VAT
- £69,180 including VAT
Below the relevant threshold
Award decision date
13 August 2025
Earliest date the contract will be signed
27 August 2025
Contract dates (estimated)
- 28 August 2025 to 31 January 2030
- 4 years, 5 months, 4 days
Main procurement category
Services
CPV classifications
- 31522000 - Christmas tree lights
- 50232110 - Commissioning of public lighting installations
Information about tenders
- 4 tenders received
- 4 tenders assessed in the final stage:
- 4 submitted by small and medium-sized enterprises (SME)
- 0 submitted by voluntary, community and social enterprises (VCSE)
- 1 supplier awarded contracts
- 3 suppliers unsuccessful (details included for contracts over £5 million)
Procedure
Procedure type
Below threshold - open competition
Special regime
Light touch
Supplier
Gala Lights Ltd
- Companies House: 6612708
- Public Procurement Organisation Number: PHRR-7852-XPMG
Unit 10, Britannia Business Park
Aylesford, KENT
ME20 7NT
United Kingdom
Email: hello@galalights.com
Website: http://www.galalights.com
Region: UKJ46 - West Kent
Small or medium-sized enterprise (SME): Yes
Voluntary, community or social enterprise (VCSE): No
Contract 1
Contracting authority
Witham Town Council
- Public Procurement Organisation Number: PRPX-7523-RHTX
Town Hall, 61 Newland Street
WITHAM
CM8 2FE
United Kingdom
Region: UKH34 - Essex Haven Gateway
Organisation type: Public authority - sub-central government