Official UK procurement notice
Camels Head Fire Station - New Build
Authority: Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Authority (Police & fire)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionThe Authority is intending to contract for a new build fire station on our existing Camels Head site at Ferndale Road, Plymouth, Devon. The new facility will provide an emergency response function (with 3 fire appliance bays). The new fire station will be built to building regulations whilst incorporating low carbon systems. The contract will include demolition of the existing premise (excluding the tower). The onsite operational presence will be fully decanted in advance of site works commencing.
The Authority has engaged a project team that will design the build to RIBA Stage 4a before tendering. The design team will be novated to the Contractor.
The construction form of contract will be JCT Design and Build (2024) and any requests to amend terms will be required to be submitted during the the tender clarification window prior to tender return submission deadline.
We plan to go to tender in February 2027 with a 10-week tendering period. The intention is for the tender pack to include, but is not limited to: Invitation to Tender, Prelims and Contract Particulars, Design packs, and Pre-Construction Information Pack. The tender stage will allow time for a site visit.
The intention is to assess bids under a 70% Price / 30% Quality & Social Value split. Quality and Social Value themes for assessment will be confirmed in the tender pack but are likely to focus on project delivery approach, risk management, programme/deliverability, environmental impact and improving local community. Price will be assessed via a fixed price, with a pricing schedule breakdown.
Contract Award is anticipated in Summer 2027 with works anticipated to start onsite Autumn 2027, and completion during Winter 2028.
Contract performance will be monitored using KPIs which will be defined in the tender pack.
Our estimated cost of the build is currently £4.875m ex VAT, which determines this as a ‘public contract’ in respect of the Procurement Act 2023.
CPV: Fire station construction work
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedPipeline intelligence · planning stage: how this market runs before the tender is published
How Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Authority buys Building construction work (CPV 4521), and who usually turns up
Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Authority’s own published record, next to the published market for the same work. Frameworks and DPS are kept out: they attract a different number of bids. Whole-market view: Building construction work (CPV 4521) →
How the contest usually goes
Winner shares use published awards; bid and price charts use contested lots.
i
How often small and medium firms win.
Share of awards where the winner’s size is known.
The counts under this question show how many awards have a known supplier size.
Small firms have won here. Neither number says whether you qualify; it describes who has been winning.
i
How often local firms win similar work.
Winners with a registered address in the delivery region, out of awards with a known address.
Here, local means registered in South West England.
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
Most of this buyer’s recorded winners are registered in South West England.
i
How long buyers here take to decide after bids close.
Middle value in days from the deadline to the first award notice, on competitions that published both dates.
Only decided tenders count, so slow ones still waiting are not in.
Half of these awards were announced within 32 days of the bid deadline.
i
How often work is awarded with no recorded rival.
Direct awards and tenders where every published lot count shows one bid.
Both shares are minimums: some awards have no bid count.
Thin markets produce this too; it is not proof of a tailored specification.
Missing bid counts may hide more single-bid awards. This share is a minimum.
How many bids did past lots attract?
i
How many bids past lots received.
Each colour is a bid-count range. Only competed lots with a published count are included.
Past bids do not predict this tender.
1 bid25%
2–328%
4–625%
7+22%
How did awards compare with estimates?
i
Where winning prices landed against estimates.
Each colour shows awards below, close to or above the published estimate, one lot at a time.
Past prices are a guide, not a bid price.
Below estimate37%
Within ±2%21%
Above estimate42%
Assess each lot i
What past awards tell you about each lot.
See the forecast, this buyer’s earlier suppliers and firms with relevant wins.
No supplier is confirmed as a bidder.
i
What past awards tell you about each lot.
See the forecast, this buyer’s earlier suppliers and firms with relevant wins.
No supplier is confirmed as a bidder.
Open a lot for its forecast, this buyer’s previous supplier and possible competitors, from published award history, not a bid list
Lot #1CPV 4521Published estimate£4.9m
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How many bids this lot may attract.
The forecast uses similar past competitions. The bar shows either that forecast or past bid counts; the line below says which.
Each lot shows its own forecast based on its own category; forecasts for different lots of the same notice are not comparative. The bar shows 32 past lots.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid25%
2–328%
4–625%
7+22%
i
Where the award price may land.
The forecast uses similar awards and the buyer’s estimate. The band covers the middle half of likely prices.
No comparable awards for this lot yet.
A statistical guide from past awards, not a price to bid.
Who has supplied this buyer on similar work? i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
A past supplier may not bid again.
i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
A past supplier may not bid again.
| Supplier | This buyer’s earlier contract | Lot | Award value | Why listed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CLC Contractors LtdEarlier contract | Camels Head Fire Station - Dignity at Work Schemeended Aug 2025 | — | £56k | Matched as the earlier contract |
Who could compete for this lot? i
Who could compete for this lot?
Firms with relevant past wins. On a framework, we show firms on that agreement.
None is confirmed as a bidder.
i
Who could compete for this lot?
Firms with relevant past wins. On a framework, we show firms on that agreement.
None is confirmed as a bidder.
Candidate suppliers for this notice have not been worked out yet, so this is not a verdict that nobody fits.
About this data
- Source. Official UK public procurement notices (Find a Tender), reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. New notices arrive through the day; the figures are rebuilt nightly.
- Two views, kept apart. The authority’s own track record and the wider market for the same kind of work sit side by side and are never mixed. Where the local picture is too thin, a figure widens to a broader market and says which one it used.
- Forecasts are labelled. The price forecast and its range, possible competitors and the earlier-work matches are our estimates from past awards: not published facts, not win chances and not price advice. Official notices do not say who is bidding.
- Every figure shows what it rests on. Not every notice publishes a bid count, a value or a delivery region, so each figure carries the number of records behind it, and one built on few records is marked as such. The on a figure explains it; the counting rules are in the methodology. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.
What this replaces i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
44% title match.
A past supplier may not bid again.
i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
44% title match.
A past supplier may not bid again.
The prior contract this notice most likely re-tenders · matched by title and category (44% title match), the holder is not guaranteed to re-bid
Camels Head Fire Station - Dignity at Work Scheme — held by Axis CLC Solutions Limited; the published contract ends 22 Aug 2025.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Works
- Notice status
- Planned procurement
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 1 May 2026, 13:40 BST
- Last source update
- 15 Oct 2026, 14:14 BST
- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-097514- Latest notice
- Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06904eFind a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- —
Timeline
1 May 2026 → 1 Jun 2027 · 5 dates- Planning notice published173 days ago1 May 2026, 13:40 BST
- Latest notice published6 days ago15 Oct 2026, 14:14 BST
- Today21 Oct 2026
- Market engagementin 27 days16 Nov 2026, 23:59 GMT
The Authority is developing its procurement strategy and considering its route to market for its contract to build a new fire station at Camels Head, Ferndale Road, Plymouth, Devon.
The procurement strategy and route to market is under review, however we are considering both open tender and further competition through a construction framework.
To assist in the route to market decision, the Authority would like to understand the level of interest in the project, by inviting expressions of interest from contractors for participating in an Open tender process.
Please kindly express interest via [email protected] using the subject line ‘FAO Aimee Lee – Camels Head Fire Station’.
Please include in your email details of your organisation and any of the following that might impact on your interest in the project:
- Observations on the proposed design stage for tender and design team novation
- Observations on the proposed timescales for tendering and construction
- Observations on the proposed tender award criteria weightings and the form of contract
- Tender notice expectedin 118 days15 Feb 2027, 23:59 GMT
- Contract startsin 223 days1 Jun 2027
Notice history
2 events · 2 releases on Find a Tender · since 1 May 2026- Pipeline notice published1 May 2026, 13:40 BSTUK1
- Preliminary market engagement notice published15 Oct 2026, 14:14 BSTUK2
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Pipeline notice- Awards (0)
- No award published
- Contracts (0)
- No contract published
- Bid statistics
- No aggregate bid statistics published
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Official documents & specifications (2)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
- Pipeline notice Pipeline notice on Find a Tender