Nottingham City Council has approved an interim £500,000 contract to ensure urgent fire-safety work continues across its housing stock after problems with a tender process left the authority without a supplier.
The decision allows the council to directly award a six-month contract to Impact Facilities Management Ltd for the supply, installation, repair and replacement of certified timber fire-rated doors in council-managed residential properties across the city.
The arrangement will run for up to six months from approval while the council redesigns and reissues a full competitive tender for the work.
Council officers said the decision was required to maintain compliance with fire-safety legislation following the withdrawal of an internal procurement process earlier this year. On 23 January 2026 the original tender for fire door installation and repair services was withdrawn after concerns were raised about the comparability of bids submitted by contractors.
With previous contractual arrangements already expired, the council said this created an immediate gap in provision at a time when fire-rated doors are a legal requirement under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and Building Regulations Approved Document B. These doors are designed to slow the spread of fire and smoke within buildings, helping protect residents by maintaining compartmentation between flats, corridors and communal areas.
Council officers warned that delaying essential replacements and repairs while a new tender process was completed could increase life-safety risks for residents and leave the authority exposed to regulatory challenge.
Because of the urgency, the council sought and received an exemption from its normal contract procedure rules from the Section 151 officer on 30 January 2026, allowing a direct award to be made while a new procurement exercise is prepared.
Impact Facilities Management Ltd has previously delivered fire-door installation programmes for Nottingham City Homes and Nottingham City Council and holds third-party accreditations including BM TRADA and FIRAS certification, which verify fire-door installation and maintenance standards. Officers said appointing the company on an interim basis would allow the work programme to continue without disruption while longer-term arrangements are put in place.
The interim contract is valued at up to £500,000 and will cover the expected volume of fire-door replacements and repairs across the council’s housing stock during the six-month period. Nottingham City Council manages around 25,000 residential properties, and inspections and fire risk assessments regularly identify doors requiring repair, certification checks or full replacement.
Works expected under the contract include urgent replacements where fire-door certification has failed, repairs identified through fire risk assessments, upgrades in vacant properties and replacement of damaged or fire-affected doors. Higher-rated doors such as FD30 and FD60 models may also be installed where required by building safety standards.
The expenditure will be treated as capital investment because the works form part of maintaining and upgrading the council’s housing assets.
The contract will be managed through the authority’s contract management framework, with regular performance monitoring, cost checks and financial oversight to ensure spending remains within the £500,000 cap and that the council only pays for verified work carried out.
Other options considered included restarting the tender process immediately, using national procurement frameworks, extending previous arrangements or reallocating work to other housing contractors. Officers concluded these options would either take too long to mobilise or could not meet the urgent statutory requirement to maintain fire-safety compliance in occupied homes.
The decision affects council housing across all wards in Nottingham and has been taken under executive member powers by Councillor Jay Hayes, the council’s executive member for housing and planning.
A redesigned procurement process for the longer-term fire-door programme is now expected to be issued while the interim contract is in place.
The decision is subject to call-in by councillors until 11 March 2026.
