Find a TenderPlanned procurementPreliminary market engagement notice
Published 24 Nov 2025, 16:30 GMT

Official UK procurement notice

PRO005025-Works-Framework-Rural Works · UK public procurement notice

Authority: United Utilities Water Limited (Public body)

Framework agreementWorksAbove thresholdUtilitiesSME suitable
Planned pipeline value£1pipeline notice, not a live tender
Tender notice expected 20 Feb 2026from the planned procurement notice
Framework period 5 yrsends 1 Jun 2031 · up to 1 Jun 2036 with extensions · starts 1 Jun 2026

What is being bought

Published requirement description

United Utilities are looking to procure competent rural works contractors. Ensuring compliance with health, safety, environmental and quality standards, aligning with United Utilities' strategic goals. The framework will consist of 6 Lots which include: Lot 1 – Woodland

  • Tree Work - Arboricultural Services: o Lopping of trees o Crown reduction of trees o Dismantling of trees o Pruning of trees o Felling of trees o Hedge cutting o Vegetation management o Tree safety assessments o Traffic management for tree work o Environmental Inspection of trees o Chipping of arisings o Removal of timber o Stump Grinding o Chemical application o Site security o Hedge Laying o Portable saw mill - optional / potential
  • Silviculture - Woodland management o Clear felling o Thinning o Selective felling o Felling of trees o Timber Extraction o Timber haulage o Timber sales o Vegetation management o Regen cutting o Brash management o Mensuration o Planting trees o Tree Protection o Chemical application on trees o Traffic management o Site security o Seed spreading o Habitat creation o Coppicing Lot 2 – Boundaries
  • Rural & Agricultural Fencing o Stock fencing o Deer fencing o Post and rail o Line wire fencing o Wooden gate installation o Metal gate installation o Difficult site fencing o Remote site material distribution o Stile installation o Water gates o Maintenance / repairs o Heli Lift
  • Drystone Walling o Wall gaps o Wall dismantle o Wall rebuild o New wall o Retaining wall o Associated Fencing Lot 3 – Tracks & Paths
  • Rural Ground Works Tracks & Paths o Forest road construction o Forest road maintenance o Associated Drainage o Associated Culverts o Stone Footpath Construction o Stone Footpath maintenance o Timber bridges o Boardwalks o Handrails o Associated walling o Car park surface management o Reactive work - Landslips, storm damage etc o Timber / stone steps o Gabions o Retaining walls o Ditches o Stone pitching o Tarmac Track o Concrete Track o Ground Re instatement o Re Seeding Lot 4 - Restoration
  • Peat Restoration o peat depth survey and mapping o restoration plan development o Groundworks (all) o Heli lift (stone, timber, geojute) o Heli lift (excavators) o Site security o Stone dam materials o Timber dam materials o Peat dams o Supply and plant sphagnum o Vegetation cutting o Reprofiling o Peat condition survey o Bunding o Wildfire Management response
  • Habitat Restoration o Vegetation management o Wetland design o Wetland build o Reedbed design o Reedbed build o Meadow restoration / creation o UKHab Survey o Phase 1 and Phase 2 Survey o Restoration plan development o Plant nursery costs o Heathland restoration o Site security o Pond Creation o Pond restoration Lot 5 – Farms
  • Farm interventions o Diesel and Fuel tanks - Installation, Maintenance and removal o Cross drain installation (sleeping policemen) o RW Guttering o Rain water harvest o Biobeds design o Biobeds build o Agri-environmental advice, application help, water audit, pollution control, o Package Treatment Plant / Waste Tanks o Underground Pipework / Maintenance Lot 6 – Surveys
  • Environmental Surveys o NVC vegetation Survey o Breeding Wader survey / breeding bird survey o Schedule 1 / raptor survey o General bird survey o Peat survey o Archeology Survey - ground truthing o Bryophyte surveys o Wax caps - fungi o Tree Safety survey o Deer impact surveys o Deer census o Drone surveys - thermal imagery o Veteran tree and ancient woodland survey o Bat surveys o Squirrel survey o Species specific surveys o HIA statements o EIA o Ordinary Water course consent - flow monitoring

CPV: Agricultural, forestry, horticultural, aquacultural and apicultural services · Construction work · Surveying services

How this framework works

From the published notice
Framework period
5 yrs · up to 10 yrs from 1 Jun 2026

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · no lot value published
Lot #1PlannedRenewal 5 yrsSME
Contract period: 1 Jun 2026 – 1 Jun 2031 (5 yrs) · up to 1 Jun 2036 with extensions
Delivery: North WestEligibility: SME eligible
Extensions: Extension options published

Who is likely to bid for this lot ↓

What it takes to win
i

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 more
What this means for your bid
  • “PRO005025-Works-Framework-Rural Works” is a framework: the contest is a place on its panel, not a single contract.

Pipeline intelligence · planning stage: how this market runs before the tender is published

How United Utilities Water Limited buys Engineering-related scientific and technical services (CPV 7135), and who usually turns up

United Utilities Water Limited’s own published record, next to the published market for the same work. This notice is a framework or DPS, so only frameworks and DPS are compared. Whole-market view: Engineering-related scientific and technical services (CPV 7135) →

1

How the contest usually goes

Winner shares use published awards; bid and price charts use contested lots.

Question for the bid
This buyerUnited Utilities Water Limited · division 71
What to do with it
How often do SMEs win?
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.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: 11 of 17 known-size awards · market: CPV 7135 · UK-wide, n=7
65%71%

Small firms have won here. Neither number says whether you qualify; it describes who has been winning.

How often do local suppliers win?
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 the winner is registered in the region where that contract was delivered.

A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: 20 of 28 known-location awards · market: CPV 7135 · UK-wide, n=7
71%29%

Most of this buyer’s recorded winners are registered in North West England.

How long to a decision?
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.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: 7 decided notices · market: CPV 7135 · UK-wide, n=10
27 days83 days

Half of these awards were announced within 27 days of the bid deadline.

How often single-bid or direct?
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.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: 6 procurements with awards; rival share unknown · market: CPV 7135 · UK-wide, n=10
—10%

Awards are recorded, but published direct routes and bid counts do not establish this buyer’s share.

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.

Last 36 months.

This buyer9 lots with bid counts · all categories
0% had one bid
The market61 lots with bid counts · CPV 7135 · UK-wide
2% had one bid
Buyer / market · select a colour for counts
1 bid0% / 2%
Buyer: 0 of 9 lots with published bid counts. Market: 1 of 61 lots with published bid counts.
2–30% / 13%
Buyer: 0 of 9 lots with published bid counts. Market: 8 of 61 lots with published bid counts.
4–678% / 28%
Buyer: 7 of 9 lots with published bid counts. Market: 17 of 61 lots with published bid counts.
7+22% / 57%
Buyer: 2 of 9 lots with published bid counts. Market: 35 of 61 lots with published bid counts.

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.

On a framework or DPS, prices are agreed when work is called off.

Past prices are a guide, not a bid price.

Last 36 months.

Not comparable on a framework or DPS. The notice sets up a supplier panel and a ceiling value; what the work actually costs is agreed later, on each call-off or mini-competition, and those publish as contract notices of their own. The award-vs-estimate record of this market therefore sits on the call-offs; this page shows it on the contracts, not on the panel that frames them.

2

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.

Open a lot for its forecast, this buyer’s previous supplier and possible competitors, from published award history, not a bid list

Lot #1CPV 713560 monthsSME suitableNo real estimate
Expected competition
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 111 past lots.

A forecast, not a list of bidders.

—No model forecast yet2% single-bid risk
Past bids on 111 similar lots
1 bid2%
2 of 111 similar past lots received 1 bid (2%).
2–314%
15 of 111 similar past lots received 2–3 (14%).
4–621%
23 of 111 similar past lots received 4–6 (21%).
7+64%
71 of 111 similar past lots received 7+ (64%).
Comparable past lots usually drew 10 bids.
Commercial price forecast
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.

—Priced at call-off
On a framework or DPS the price is agreed on each call-off, so there is no award price to forecast here: the published figure is a ceiling.

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.

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.

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
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
Framework agreement
Who may use this agreement
Not stated in the notice; call-off rights may be limited to the establishing authority
Competition type
Competitive procedure
GPA / WTO covered
Unspecified in notice
Recurring procurement
Unspecified in notice
First published
24 Nov 2025, 16:30 GMT
Last source update
24 Nov 2025, 16:30 GMT
Authority reference
PRO005025
FTS notice number
2025/S 000-076627
Latest notice
Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
Classification (CPV)
Agricultural, forestry, horticultural, aquacultural and apicultural servicesConstruction workSurveying services
Delivery area
North West (UKD)
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-05e7c6 Find a Tender

How it was run

Official notice
Appointment period ends
—

Timeline

24 Nov 2025 → 1 Jun 2026 · 4 dates
  1. Planning notice published331 days ago
    24 Nov 2025, 16:30 GMT
  2. Market engagement313 days ago
    12 Dec 2025, 23:59 GMT

    uk.eu-supply.com/app/rfq/rwlentrance_… ↗ If you have experience in this area please could you provide at a minimum the following information and submit to the United Utilities AMP8 mail box - [email protected]:

    • Company Name
    • Contact details, including location telephone and e-mail address, main point of contact and position in Company My Checklist The checklist is here to help you finalize the notice. Click the
  3. Tender notice expected243 days ago
    20 Feb 2026, 23:59 GMT
  4. Contract starts143 days ago
    1 Jun 2026

Notice history

1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender
  1. Preliminary market engagement notice published
    24 Nov 2025, 16:30 GMT
    UK2

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

United Utilities Water Limited

Contracting authorityPrivate utility GB-PPON: PVVB-5589-BWHX Lingley Mere Business Park, Warrington, North West, WA5 3LPContact name, email

Official documents & specifications (1)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Notices published for this procedure