Official UK procurement notice
Poole Water Recycling and Transfer
Authority: Wessex Water Services Ltd (Public body)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionAs part of wider plans from the West Country Water and Environment Group (WCWE), two projects are in early planning and development, namely the Poole Water Recycling and Transfer Project, and Cheddar 2 Reservoir and Transfer.
This Preliminary Market Engagement Notice refers only to the Poole Water Recycling and Transfer Project, led by Wessex Water, however a separate Preliminary Market Engagement Notice has been concurrently issued by South West Water for the Cheddar 2 Reservoir Project.
A Planned Procurement Notice reference 2025/S 000-037909 www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/037909-2025 ↗ has previously been published in relation to this Project.
It is Wessex Water's intent to procure a Competitively Appointed Provider (CAP) to design, build, finance, operate and maintain a new Poole Water Recycling and Transfer centre under the Direct Procurement for Customers (DPC) model. Please note that this Notice is not a call for competition.
At this stage the Project scope comprises a new 30 Ml/d Water Recycling Centre at Corfe Mullen, together with ancillary associated works including transfer from the existing Poole Water Recycling Centre to the new Water Recycling Centre at Corfe Mullen, creation of new wetlands, and discharge pipelines. The estimated capital value of the work is c.£287m.
A launch event was held on Tuesday 9th September 2025, followed in October 2025 by bilateral discussions with interested parties from the target market. Wessex Water invites interested parties via this Notice to participate in further Market Engagement activities, as part of a planned ongoing programme of market engagement for the Poole Water Recycling and Transfer Project.
The programme of engagement is proposed to help develop a wider understanding of the delivery of the Project from both a construction and investment perspective, and presents an opportunity for Wessex Water to engage and collaborate with the market in refining its delivery and commercial model, procurement approach and contracting terms.
Additionally, the programme of market engagement seeks to encourage multi-party discussions that will align the Project's development and presentation to market with market trends, taking into account the perspectives of both Investors and Main Works Contractors who it is envisaged would form and comprise the CAP.
This round of Market Engagement will commence with a Webinar in July 2026 to provide project updates. We envisage this will be followed by a Poole engagement event Autumn 2026, and then further bilateral meetings following this. Only parties who have not registered previously through this PMEN will need to register as per the details below.
CPV: Ancillary works for pipelines and cables · Banking services · Building construction work · Construction work for dams, canals, irrigation channels and aqueducts · Construction work for engineering works except bridges, tunnels, shafts and subways · Construction work for pipelines, communication and power lines · Construction works for sewage treatment plants, purification plants and refuse incineration plants · Construction-related services · Consulting services for water-supply and waste consultancy · Corporate finance and venture capital services · Dredging and pumping works for water treatment plant installations · Engineering services · +11 more
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1PlannedPublished value£345,000,000
- Condition of participationshortlisting
Further details will be provided in the Tender Notice
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).
- Condition of participationshortlisting
Further details will be provided in the Tender Notice
Pipeline intelligence · planning stage: how this market runs before the tender is published
Construction work for pipelines, communication and power lines, for highways, roads, airfields and railways; flatwork (CPV 4523) in South West England, and who usually turns up
Wessex Water Services Ltd has too little published record in this market to describe on its own. Published market evidence for the same work stands beside whatever it has. Frameworks and DPS are kept out: they attract a different number of bids. Whole-market view: Construction work for pipelines, communication and power lines, for highways, roads, airfields and railways; flatwork (CPV 4523) →
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.
Across this market, small firms won 71% of awards with a known supplier size.
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.
Across this market, 59% of winners were registered in the delivery region.
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 63 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.
The market share is a minimum: some awards have no bid count.
Thin markets produce this too; it is not proof of a tailored specification.
Across this market, at least 42% of awarded procurements had no recorded rival.
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 bid18%
2–345%
4–623%
7+14%
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 estimate13%
Within ±2%53%
Above estimate33%
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 4523Published estimate£345m
i
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 22 past lots.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid18%
2–345%
4–623%
7+14%
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
- Utilities
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 7 Jul 2025, 15:20 BST
- Last source update
- 3 Jul 2026, 12:19 BST
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 1 May 2029
- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-062751- Latest notice
- Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-055a5dFind a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Requests to participate (first stage)
- 26 Nov 2027, 23:59 GMT
- Submission deadline
- 26 Nov 2027, 23:59 GMT
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
Timeline
7 Jul 2025 → 1 Jul 2029 · 7 dates- Planning notice published7 Jul 2025, 15:20 BST
- Latest notice published110 days ago3 Jul 2026, 12:19 BST
- Today21 Oct 2026
- Market engagementin 253 days1 Jul 2027, 23:59 BST
Wessex Water now invites interested parties via this Notice to participate in the Market Engagement, as part of a planned ongoing programme of market engagement for the Poole Water Recycling and Transfer Project. Please note that this Notice is not a call for competition. If suppliers have not registered interest in the project last year, please contact us by emailing [email protected].
If suppliers have registered last year a communication will be sent to the email address(es) registered with us containing a MS Form link to express interest in the event. Suppliers whose contact details have changed since the previous market engagement should notify the project team by emailing [email protected] to ensure project communications are received.
An initial Industry Day / Launch Event has already been held on 9th September 2025 followed in October 2025 by bilateral discussions with interested parties from the target market.
A Webinar is being held 14th July 2026 to update the market on the current position of this project.
This engagement will help develop a wider understanding of the delivery of the project from both a construction and investment perspective.
Previous Market Engagement material can be found here:
- Tender notice expectedin 282 days30 Jul 2027, 23:59 BST
- Submission deadline26 Nov 2027, 23:59 GMT
- Award decision expected by1 May 2029, 23:59 BST
- Contract starts1 Jul 2029, 00:00 BST
Notice history
4 events · 4 releases on Find a Tender · since 7 Jul 2025- Planned procurement notice published7 Jul 2025, 15:20 BSTUK3
- Preliminary market engagement notice published10 Sept 2025, 17:18 BSTUK2
- Preliminary market engagement notice published2 Jul 2026, 13:49 BSTUK2
- Preliminary market engagement notice published3 Jul 2026, 12:19 BSTUK2
Published amendments (2)
The scope description and engagement process have been updated to reflect the development and future plans for the Poole SRO market engagement activities
Updated to reflect current capital value estimate.
Routine re-releases (4)
- 2025-07: 1 release · 7 Jul 2025
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 (5)
Official links; attachments are not copiedTender pack and attachments
- Bidding documents and specificationsAccess: Further details will be provided in the Tender Notice
Notices 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
- Planned procurement notice Planned procurement notice on Find a Tender