Communal Spaces Site Surveys

Midland Heart is committed to ensuring that its homes, estates, and communal environments are safe, attractive, sustainable, and well-maintained for the benefit of our tenants, colleagues, and wider communities. Well-managed external and internal communal areas contribute significantly to tenant satisfaction, neighbourhood pride, health and wellbeing, and the overall perception of our services.

To support the future procurement and delivery of grounds maintenance, communal cleaning, and associated estate services, Midland Heart is seeking to appoint a suitably qualified and experienced contractor to undertake comprehensive surveys across approximately 100 sites to begin with, within our portfolio. The purpose of this contract is to establish a complete, accurate, and consistent baseline of information that will inform future service specifications, asset schedules, maintenance frequencies, budgeting, procurement activities, and contract management arrangements.

The successful contractor will be required to survey all relevant external and internal communal areas at each site. The surveys shall include, but not be limited to: Grounds Maintenance: • Grassed areas and lawns; • Shrub beds and planted areas; • Bushes, hedges, and other soft landscaping features; • Hard landscaped and paved areas, including footpaths, access routes, parking areas, and other hard surfaces; • Minimal/ Biodiverse areas • Any additional grounds maintenance assets requiring routine maintenance; All surveyed assets shall be measured and recorded in square metres (m²) where applicable, with sufficient detail to support future service schedules and pricing exercises.

The contractor shall also identify and record any overgrowth, unmanaged vegetation, fly-tipping, redundant landscaping features, damaged assets, health and safety concerns, or items that may require removal, including trees and other vegetation. Communal Cleaning: • Internal communal spaces including corridors, stairwells, entrance halls, lobbies, kitchens, laundry areas, internal bin stores, lifts, landings, and other shared areas; • Location of sockets for connection to deliver Window Cleaning: • For individual property windows and communal windows, include: the number of window spaces, window type, accessibility arrangements, and any access requirements for future cleaning or maintenance • Separating the data for individual and communal windows For each building, confirm the number of floors (ground floor is floor 1).

We consider one window within the brick (counts as 1 window). Document for each site hard to reach windows (e.g. close road, restrictions to access), excessive glassed areas, conservatories, sky lights, wouldn't be accessible by a window cleaning pole and reach (e.g. flat roof in front of the window).

The survey outputs should provide Midland Heart with a comprehensive understanding of each site's maintenance requirements and any opportunities to improve efficiency, sustainability, service quality, or value for money. The information collected should be presented in a clear and structured format that can be readily used for future tendering and operational management purposes.

We are seeking a partner who will approach this project collaboratively and professionally, recognising the importance of accuracy, consistency, and attention to detail. The survey findings will form a critical component of future service procurements and must therefore be robust, reliable, and fully auditable.

We are looking for providers that can: • Deliver comprehensive and accurate surveys across a diverse property portfolio; • Apply a consistent surveying methodology across all locations; • Capture detailed measurements and asset information sufficient for future service specification and pricing; • Identify maintenance requirements, defects, overgrowth, and assets requiring removal or replacement; • Produce accurate site plans, schedules, photographs, and supporting documentation where required; • Maintain proactive and responsive communication throughout the contract; • Deliver high standards of quality assurance and data validation; • Work collaboratively with Midland Heart colleagues to resolve queries and validate survey findings. The contractor shall provide a detailed mobilisation plan and programme of works, clearly setting out how surveys will be delivered across the portfolio.

A realistic and achievable timetable shall be agreed with Midland Heart at contract commencement, with regular progress reporting throughout the survey programme to ensure delivery against agreed milestones and completion dates. We expect the successful contractor to deploy suitably qualified, competent, and experienced personnel to undertake the surveys.

Surveyors should possess relevant professional qualifications and/or demonstrable experience in grounds maintenance, arboriculture, landscaping, estate management, building surveying, or related disciplines appropriate to the survey requirements. The contractor shall be responsible for ensuring that all personnel are adequately trained, comply with health and safety legislation, and can undertake surveys safely, professionally, and consistently across all sites.

This contract will be underpinned by a collaborative "One Team" approach, with close working relationships between Midland Heart and the appointed contractor. We anticipate regular communication at both operational and strategic levels to ensure survey quality, timely issue resolution, and successful delivery of the programme. The overall objective is to provide Midland Heart with a complete, accurate, and auditable record of all relevant external and internal communal assets and maintenance requirements across the portfolio, enabling the organisation to procure future contracts with confidence and continue delivering safe, attractive, and well-maintained environments for tenants and communities.