Official UK procurement notice
Ipswich Heat Network Development Partner
Authority: Suffolk County Council (Local council)·On behalf of: AECOM LIMITED
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionSuffolk County Council (the "Council") is seeking to appoint a Funding and Development Partner who will develop, fund, deliver and operate the Ipswich Heat Network.
The Council has been leading on the feasibility of a heat network project since 2021 and has now secured £10 million from the Government's Green Heat Network Fund to secure a private sector partner to deliver the core network.
The core network reference scheme is in Ipswich Town Centre and the intention is that the primary heat source will be the River Gipping. The network is currently expected to provide over 30 GWh of heat each year to public buildings across Ipswich.
The Council's preferred delivery vehicle is a Joint Venture with the Council anchoring and promoting the project delivery and funding provided from the private sector. The Council would hold a Golden or Special Share.
CPV: District-heating mains construction work · Energy and related services · Heating works · Urban development construction work
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedPipeline intelligence · planning stage: how this market runs before the tender is published
How Suffolk County Council buys Consultative engineering and construction services (CPV 7131), and who usually turns up
Suffolk County Council’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: Consultative engineering and construction services (CPV 7131) →
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 East of England.
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
Most of this buyer’s recorded winners are registered outside East of 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 55 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.
Direct awards or one recorded bid are common here. Check the route before spending time on a bid.
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 bid6% / 14%
2–326% / 7%
4–639% / 26%
7+29% / 53%
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 estimate23% / 41%
Within ±2%68% / 37%
Above estimate9% / 22%
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 7131Published estimate£301m
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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 43 past lots.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid14%
2–37%
4–626%
7+53%
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.
No earlier contract of this buyer matches this lot on the published record.
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.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Procedure method
- Competitive flexible procedure
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Works
- Notice status
- Planned procurement
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Concession
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 23 Jan 2026, 16:53 GMT
- Last source update
- 20 Apr 2026, 09:24 BST
- Authority reference
PA0033- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-035439- Latest notice
- Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-060dc2Find a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- —
Timeline
23 Jan 2026 → 1 Apr 2027 · 5 dates- Planning notice published272 days ago23 Jan 2026, 16:53 GMT
- Latest notice published185 days ago20 Apr 2026, 09:24 BST
- Market engagement175 days ago30 Apr 2026, 23:59 BST
To support this preliminary market engagement exercise the Council has developed a detailed market update document setting out more detail about the project and inviting responses to a short questionnaire.
This document can be downloaded from the Suffolk Sourcing portal, accessible via the following link: in-tendhost.co.uk/suffolksourcing/aspx… ↗
(If not already registered on Suffolk Sourcing you will be able to register from the link)
Completed questionnaires should be submitted to the Council by 12:00 noon on 30 April 2026. Please submit your response through the Portal.
As a result of the recent announcement of the outcome of the local government reorganisation ("LGR") for Suffolk, a decision has been taken to pause the Ipswich District Heat Network Project (the "Project") while the implications of the announcement are worked through. As the LGR outcome is likely to require substantial local reorganisation, it is right that this is given due consideration prior to engaging the market in a formal procurement process.
We will therefore be postponing the forthcoming Supplier Day and the procurement process for a Development Partner will not now commence until the future direction of the Project has been aligned to our newly reorganised local government landscape.
This decision is not taken lightly but has been taken in recognition that competing for an opportunity such as our Project requires a significant commitment from Suppliers in terms of both time and cost. Given the uncertainty regarding the reorganised local context, we feel it would be unfair to ask the market to make such a commitment when there remains such a degree of uncertainty as to the establishment of Suffolk's future councils.
Notwithstanding the above, our commitment to the Project remains and therefore we would still welcome the opportunity to sit down on a 1:1 basis with any Suppliers who wish to discuss the Project at this time. If you would like to arrange a discussion of this sort, please contact us at [email protected] by 17th April 2026. The Council will then respond with a proposed time for a meeting.
We would also encourage providers who are interested in this opportunity to register on the new Central Digital Platform, following the guidance at the following web address:
- Tender notice expected150 days ago25 May 2026, 23:59 BST
- Today22 Oct 2026
- Contract startsin 160 days1 Apr 2027, 00:00 BST
Notice history
7 events · 7 releases on Find a Tender · since 23 Jan 2026- Pipeline notice published23 Jan 2026, 16:53 GMTUK1
- Preliminary market engagement notice published23 Mar 2026, 11:07 GMTUK2
- Pipeline notice published23 Mar 2026, 11:15 GMTUK1
- Pipeline notice published31 Mar 2026, 15:23 BSTUK1
- Preliminary market engagement notice published31 Mar 2026, 16:01 BSTUK2
- Preliminary market engagement notice published13 Apr 2026, 14:24 BSTUK2
- Preliminary market engagement notice published20 Apr 2026, 09:24 BSTUK2
Published amendments (5)
Estimated Tender Notice date amended
Contract dates and tender issue dates amended to allow for LGR implications to be considered
Contract dates and tender submission dates updated to allow for the implications of LGR to be considered, Supplier Day has also been postponed.
The link to Suffolk Sourcing has been updated as a new project has been created with the new deadline for questionnaires to be submitted (17 April 2026)
Engagement period extended until 30/04/2026 for interested parties to submit their questionnaire response.
Routine re-releases (7)
- 2026-03: 3 releases · 23 Mar 2026, 31 Mar 2026
- 2026-01: 1 release · 23 Jan 2026
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
6 public bodies on the noticeOther public bodies
- ADDLESHAW GODDARD LLPProcuring entityLegal Advisor
- AECOM LIMITEDProcuring entityTechnical Advisor
- ASTEROS ADVISERS LTDProcuring entityFinancial Advisor
- BIRD & BIRD LLPProcuring entityProcurement Support & Advise
- HERMETICA BLACK LIMITEDProcuring entityCommercial Advisor
Official documents & specifications (7)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
- Pipeline notice Pipeline notice on Find a Tender
- Pipeline notice Pipeline notice on Find a Tender
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
- Pipeline notice Pipeline notice on Find a Tender