The Authority will have appointed the Contractor following the evaluation of detailed proposals including a plan of the facility itself. It is therefore appropriate and important that the Authority monitors the development of the design in accordance with the Contract. This may require the use of specialist technical advisers.
The WIDP Contract (Clause 15) takes the approach that the Contractor's Design Proposals which have been worked up in the procurement period are incorporated into the Contract itself as a schedule (Schedule 29). These should be sufficiently advanced proposals to allow a planning application shortly after financial close. The Contractor is not allowed to change the Design Proposals other than through a Contractor Change.
The WIDP Contract (Schedule 9) recognises that some detailed development of the Design Proposals will be necessary and sets out a process under which the Contractor is obliged to submit the details of this work to the Authority for its review.
The WIDP Contract has several provisions setting out the Contractor's liability in relation to design, including a warranty from the Contractor at Clause 15.1 that it has used a reasonable level of skill and care in the design process for the Works. Breach of such a warranty would entitle the Authority to claim damages. (See Section 6.3.4 for an explanation of warranties in general.
The Contract Manager should ensure (s)he is familiar with these provisions and seek advice from the Authority's Legal Department if (s)he has any doubts. If the Contractor suggests that the Unitary Charge needs to be increased or the nature of the services amended due to issues relating to the Design of the facility the Contract Manager should certainly seek expert legal input and escalate the issue to the Contract Management Board immediately.