Official UK procurement notice
Extra Care Housing/ Adult Social Care
Authority: Blackburn With Darwen Borough Council (Local council)
Sectors: Health & Social Care (85) Delivery: North West (UKD41)
Published estimate£17,300,000total for 2 lots · £20,760,000 inc. VAT
Submissions closed 10 Dec 2025awarded 6 Mar 2026
Award (standstill) to Housing 21, Guardian homecare UK Ltd2 awards
Contract term 3 yrsends 31 May 2029 · up to 31 May 2031 with extensions · starts 1 Jun 2026
What is being bought2 lots · detail below
Published requirement descriptionThis project focuses on the development and commissioning of a high-quality Extra Care Housing service within Blackburn with Darwen, designed to support adults with varying levels of need to live independently within their own homes. The specification outlines the delivery of 24/7 on-site care and support across five schemes, with an emphasis on prevention, wellbeing, and community integration.
Lot 1 covers two Extra Care Housing schemes based in Blackburn: Kingsway and Springbank Court. Both cater primarily to residents aged 55 and over, offering 24-hour on-site care and support.
Lot 2 includes three schemes: Albion Mill (Ewood), Riverside Heights, and Pembroke Court (Darwen). These schemes support a wider age range, from 18 years and over, providing 24-hour or daytime on-site care depending on the location. They offer tailored support for residents with diverse needs, including long-term health conditions, dementia, and physical disabilities.
- The authority expects to re-tender this requirement around 1 Jun 2031, 23:59 BST.
- No preliminary market engagement: In 2024 an Expressions of interest with providers was carried out, leading to 19 providers providing their interest
CPV: Social work services with accommodation
Lots and requirements (2)Procurement structure
2 lots · all with a published value (£17,300,000 together) · win at most 1 of them · same evaluation weights on every lotLot #1BlackburnAwardedRenewalPublished value£5,800,000
Lot is for Blackburn
there are two schemes, Springbank Court and Kingsway
Lot #2DarwenAwardedRenewalPublished value£11,500,000
This lot consists of 3 schemes,
Albion Mill
Riverside Heights
Pembroke Court
What it takes to wini
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
Evaluation split and conditions of participation as published; the tender pack may add morei
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
How bids were scored · same split on all 2 lots
Published sub-criteria (2)
- Quality Method statements: 85%
- Social Value: 15%
Published award criteria (2)
- Quality Method statements: There are 12 quality based questions which are weighted in accordance to importance
- Social Value: Social value is 15% of the tender
Lot distribution rule: Suppliers may bid for both lots however in the event of a supplier winning both lots they will be awarded the lot in accordance to their tender. The Council is looking for two suppliers for the 2 lots.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Procedure method
- Open procedure
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Awarded
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Light touch regime
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Yes · next expected 1 Jun 2031
- First published
- 10 Nov 2025, 09:53 GMT
- Last source update
- 6 Mar 2026, 14:32 GMT
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 10 Feb 2026
- Authority reference
DN796476- FTS notice number
2025/S 000-072261- Latest notice
- Contract award notice (UK6)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-05dd49Find a Tender
How it was run
Official noticeRun through: ProContract (Due North) · Who buys & how to bid on ProContract
Access & registration note: Free · short registration with manual review; public opportunity list
- Submission deadline
- 10 Dec 2025
- Clarification deadline
- 30 Nov 2025
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
Detailed submission instructions & authority contactsFrom official release
Tenders must be submitted via The Chest portal as well as any queries.
Timeline
10 Nov 2025 → 1 Jun 2026 · 8 dates- Tender notice published351 days ago10 Nov 2025, 09:53 GMT
- Clarification questions by332 days ago30 Nov 2025
- Submission deadline322 days ago10 Dec 2025
- Award decision expected by259 days ago10 Feb 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Assessment summaries sent236 days ago6 Mar 2026
- Latest notice published235 days ago6 Mar 2026, 14:32 GMT
- Standstill ends223 days ago18 Mar 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Contract starts149 days ago1 Jun 2026, 00:00 BST
Notice history
4 events · 2 releases on Find a Tender · since 10 Nov 2025- Tender notice published10 Nov 2025, 09:53 GMTUK4
- Contract award notice published6 Mar 2026, 14:32 GMTUK6
- Status changed to complete6 Mar 2026, 14:32 GMT
- Contract signature expected28 Mar 2026, 23:59 GMTscheduled
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecastAwards 2
Awarded value £17,300,0002 awards exc. VAT
Bids received 2214 from SMEs
Named bidders 12published on the award notice
| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lot 1 · Blackburn1 award | |||
| Housing 21VCSELot 1- Extra Care1 Jun 2026 – 31 May 2029 · up to 31 May 2031Extensions: The provider can be given an extension of a further 12 months (31 May 2030) with another further year (31 May 2031) | £5,800,000 | 6 Mar 2026standstill to 18 Mar 2026 | Standstill |
| Lot 2 · Darwen1 award | |||
| Guardian homecare UK LtdSMELot 2- Extra Care1 Jun 2026 – 31 May 2029 · up to 31 May 2031Extensions: This contract may be awarded for a further year (31 May 2030) and then a further year (30 May 2031) | £11,500,000 | 6 Mar 2026standstill to 18 Mar 2026 | Standstill |
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Lot | Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 · Blackburn | 12final-stage tenders · 23 at stage one | 7 | 1 | — |
| 2 · Darwen | 10final-stage tenders · 20 at stage one | 7 | 0 | — |
Who bid
- wonHOUSING 21VCSE · West Midlands · 1
- wonGUARDIAN HOMECARE UK LTDSME · East Midlands · all lots
- did not winAAA HEALTHCARE AGENCY LIMITEDSME · North West England · all lots
- did not winDIGNITY IN LIFE LTDSME · North West England · all lots
- did not winICARE SOLUTIONS STOCKPORT LIMITEDSME · North West England · all lots
- did not winICARE · North West England · all lots
- did not winMERIDIAN HEALTH & SOCIAL CARE LIMITED · West Midlands · 1
- did not winVALLEY CARE DIRECT LIMITED · East Midlands · all lots
- did not winWILLOWBROOK (HYNDBURN) LIMITED · North West England · all lots
- did not winSPECIALIST CARE TEAM LIMITEDSME · North West England · all lots
- did not winCARE SOLUTIONS (ST HELENS) LTD · North West England · all lots
- did not winPREMIER CARE LIMITED · East of England · all lots
Bidders as named on the Procurement Act 2023 award notice. “Won” means the bidder holds an award on this notice.
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Bidders & participating suppliers
12 commercial parties on the notice · 2 awarded- AAA HEALTHCARE AGENCY LIMITEDBidder / tenderer
- CARE SOLUTIONS (ST HELENS) LTDBidder / tenderer
- DIGNITY IN LIFE LTDBidder / tenderer
- GUARDIAN HOMECARE UK LTDAwarded supplier
- HOUSING 21Awarded supplier
- ICAREBidder / tenderer
- ICARE SOLUTIONS STOCKPORT LIMITEDBidder / tenderer
- MERIDIAN HEALTH & SOCIAL CARE LIMITEDBidder / tenderer
- PREMIER CARE LIMITEDBidder / tenderer
- SPECIALIST CARE TEAM LIMITEDBidder / tenderer
Show 2 more suppliers
- VALLEY CARE DIRECT LIMITEDBidder / tenderer
- WILLOWBROOK (HYNDBURN) LIMITEDBidder / tenderer
Official documents & specifications (17)
Official links; attachments are not copiedTender pack and attachments
- Bidding documents and specifications Pembroke Court agreement
- Bidding documents and specifications PSQ document
- Bidding documents and specifications ITT document for suppliers bidding for Lot 1
- Bidding documents and specifications ITT document for suppliers bidding for Lot 2
- Bidding documents and specifications Pricing schedule for Lot 1 and Lot 2, this is based on pass or fail
- Bidding documents and specifications Housing 21 SLA agreement
- Bidding documents and specifications Contract for lot 1
- Bidding documents and specifications Contract for lot 2
Show 6 more documents
- Bidding documents and specifications Method statements for lot 1
- Bidding documents and specifications Method statements for lot 2
- Bidding documents and specifications Specification for lot 1
- Bidding documents and specifications SLA agreement Riverside Heights
- Bidding documents and specifications Specification for lot 2
- Bidding documents and specifications SLA agreement Inclusion Housing
Notices published for this procedure
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender