Leeds Civic Hall to undergo £240,000 air conditioning upgrade for heating and ventilation

The council chamber and banqueting hall at Leeds Civic Hall will benefit from the improvement works over the next 6 months.

Airco Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Ltd will carry out the project, which will allow heating and ventilation to be controlled independently for each room.

A Leeds City Council report said the project was urgently needed and must be completed by late autumn.

Leeds Building Services (LBS) requested retrospective authority to procure the contract under local authority procedures.

The report said: “The procurement was carried out in an open and transparent manner in line with the council’s Contract Procedure Rules, ensuring competition was sought to identify best value.

“Due diligence checks of the preferred contractor have been done to ascertain their financial position prior to contract award.

“This ensures we will be contracting with a financially sound organisation, limiting the risk of work not being completed.”

The contract was due to start in April or May, the report said, running for six months with no option for it being extended.

It said neither LBS, the council’s in-house provider, or any existing contractors could carry out the scheme.

The contract awarded to Airco was worth £242,930.50.

Leeds City Council said there would be minimal disruption to public use of the building as the work would be carried out during a quieter period.