Heritage Collections Decontamination Services

Concepts

• historical sites and buildings
• museum services and preservation
• heritage collections decontamination services
• these working collections
• decontamination
• heritage
• collections
• historic furniture items
• insect activity
• houses

Location

LONDON

Description

The Heritage Collections in the Palace of Westminster are comprised of a significant number of historic furniture items which are historically, culturally, and intrinsically valuable as public assets under the custodianship of both Houses. As part of the management and care of these working collections, and to mitigate risk of damage, it is necessary to heat-treat these upholstered furniture items before placing in storage to ensure the cessation and eradication of insect activity, whilst maintaining the safe preservation and care of the object itself.

Award Detail

CPV Codes

• 92520000 - Museum services and preservation services of historical sites and buildings

Indicators

Legal Justification

The Heritage Collections in the Palace of Westminster are comprised of a significant number of historic furniture items which are historically, culturally, and intrinsically valuable as public assets under the custodianship of both Houses. As part of the management and care of these working collections, and to mitigate risk of damage, it is necessary to heat-treat these upholstered furniture items before placing in storage to ensure the cessation and eradication of insect activity, whilst maintaining the safe preservation and care of the object itself. There is no alternative treatment suitable for these heritage items. Integrated Contamination Management (ICM), previously known as Thermolignum, are an experienced, respected company, who undertake humidity regulated warm air treatment of historic and culturally important objects. Their specialist facility in West London has the capacity to process a minimum of 1,300 objects of varying sizes and complexity in a specialist facility in West London, via a rolling programme of 86 days. ICM are the only economic operator who can provide the necessary heat-treatment required by the Authority to protect these heritage items. This contract is therefore being awarded via the negotiated procedure without prior publication because, for technical reasons (as set out above), the services can only be supplied by ICM (Reg 32(2)(b)(ii)).