Find a TenderAwarded
Published 18 Apr 2024, 13:25 BST

Official UK procurement notice

Tamar Crossings - Painting, Paint Inspection & Maintenance Support Services

Official notice

Authority: Cornwall Council (Local council)·Consortium: 3 public authorities

WorksOpen procedure
Final published estimate£8,500,000initial estimate £2,999,999 · 2 value updates
Submissions closed 5 Mar 2025awarded 5 Aug 2025
Awarded to Underhill Engineering (UK) Ltd, Paintel Limited2 awards
Contract term 10 yrsends 30 Sept 2035 · extension options published · starts 1 Oct 2025

What is being bought

Published requirement description

Contract for Painting, Paint Inspection & Maintenance Support Services at Tamar Crossings

CPV: Bridge operating services · Bridge-inspection services · Painting and protective-coating work of structures · Painting work of structures

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · value published
Lot #1Tamar Crossings and Cornwall Council, on behalf of the parent authorities of Cornwall…AwardedRenewal 10 yrsPublished value£2,999,999

Tamar Crossings and Cornwall Council, on behalf of the parent authorities of Cornwall Council and Plymouth City Council, invites tender submissions, from experienced contractors to provide a wide range of maintenance and support services to the engineering function at Tamar Crossings. The maximum opportunity of this contract is for a period of 10 years, comprising of an initial 4 year contract term, which may be followed by up to two optional extension clauses, the first of which is 4 years and then a further for 2 years providing the maximum opportunity of 10 years.

Prospective Contractors will be required to confirm they currently hold the following key Quality based, Industry recognised Accreditation requirements (or equivalents), and maintain these throughout the life of the contract:

  • ISO9001 (Quality Management Systems)
  • ISO14001 (Environmental Management Systems)
  • ISO45001 (Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems)
  • NHSS19A (National Highways Sector Scheme for Highways Painting)
  • ICATS registered (Industrial Coatings Applicator Training Scheme)

The Form of Contract will be an NEC4 Term Service Short Contract. It should be noted that there will be no minimum guaranteed volume of work and future works will be dependent on maintenance inspections, budget restraints etc. Work is instructed by the client, based on a schedule contractual rate which vary depending on skill levels utilised. For example the general litter picking rate might be the lowest hourly rate and specialist paint inspections services might be the highest hourly rate.

The incumbent contractor currently has between 4-12 personnel working on site daily throughout the year. This will vary depending on client requirements, budget provisions, availability of work, and weather.

It is anticipated that TUPE staff transfers will apply.

Below is a list of the typical services that are required under the contract –

  • Inspection support for Tamar Bridge inspectors
  • Contract support services –paint inspection, rope access inspection, ferry operations
  • Maintenance painting to buildings, structures or ferries
  • Minor structural repairs – replacing damaged drainage, parapet mesh panels and more
  • Clearance of Debris and detritus across the Tamar Crossings Estate
  • Rope access services – painting, difficult access inspections, inspection support
  • Provision of other special access requirements – access towers, mobile platforms
  • Confined space work
  • Vegetation clearance
  • General labour support – ferry chain replacement, ferry gantry maintenance
  • Occasional overnight or weekend working requirements, where necessary.

The approximate breakdown of works by location are typically 85% at the Bridge, 15% at the Ferry.

The typical breakdown by activity is as follows. However, it should be noted that this may change to suit client requirements and it is only intended to give a general indication of the requirements -

  • 30% Maintenance Painting
  • 20% Miscellaneous maintenance
  • 10% Work at height/rope access works –inspections, painting, other maintenance
  • 15% Inspection support/other Contractor support
  • 10% General labour support
  • 5% Paint inspection
  • 5% Vegetation clearance
  • 5% Debris/Detritus clearance
Contract period: 1 Oct 2025 – 30 Sept 2035 (10 yrs)
Delivery: South West · Tamar Bridge and Torpoint Ferry premises, along the river border between the Counties of Devon and Cornwall.
Extensions: The maximum opportunity of this contract is for a period of 10 years, as detailed by the start and end dates. Comprising of an initial 4 year contract term, which may be followed by up to two optional extension clauses, the first of which is 4 years and then a further for 2 years providing the maximum opportunity of 10 years.Variant bids: not allowed

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
How bids were scored
Quality: 50%Price: 35%Social value: 15%
Published award criteria (3)
  • Quality: 50
  • Social Value: 15
  • Price: 35
What this means for your bid
  • Price carries 35 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 3.5 points. The method statement decides this lot, not the discount.

Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula.

Procedure terms & legal framework

From the official record
Procedure method
Open procedure
Legal basis
CELEX · 32014L0024 Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (Directive 2014/24/EU)
Procurement category
Works
Notice status
Awarded
Procurement threshold
Unspecified in notice
Regulatory regime
Standard
Commercial structure
Stand-alone contract (no framework)
Competition type
Competitive procedure
GPA / WTO covered
Yes (GPA)
Recurring procurement
Yes
First published
18 Apr 2024, 13:25 BST
Last source update
5 Aug 2025, 16:38 BST
Award evaluation window
5 Mar 2025 – …
Authority reference
DN737028
FTS notice number
2025/S 000-046287
Classification (CPV)
Bridge operating servicesBridge-inspection servicesPainting and protective-coating work of structuresPainting work of structures
Delivery area
South West (UKK3)
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-045353 Find a Tender

How it was run

Official notice
Run through: ProContract (Due North) · Who buys & how to bid on ProContract
Supplier login requiredLanguage: EN
Access & registration note: Free · short registration with manual review; public opportunity list
Submission deadline
5 Mar 2025, 15:00 GMT
Submission channel
{"electronicSubmission"}
Accepted languages
en
Bids opened
5 Mar 2025, 15:00 GMT
Detailed submission instructions & authority contactsFrom official release

Timeline

12 Jun 2024 → 1 Oct 2025 · 5 dates
  1. Next notice expected
    12 Jun 2024, 00:00 BST
  2. Submission deadline
    5 Mar 2025, 15:00 GMT
  3. Bids opened
    5 Mar 2025, 15:00 GMT
  4. Notice published
    5 Aug 2025, 16:38 BST
  5. Contract starts380 days ago
    1 Oct 2025, 00:00 BST

Notice history

8 events · 6 releases on Find a Tender · since 14 Jun 2024
  1. Published value published: £2,999,999
    14 Jun 2024, 12:56 BST
  2. Status changed to active
    14 Jun 2024, 12:56 BST
  3. Procurement method changed
    14 Jun 2024, 12:56 BST
  4. Deadline published: 2 Aug 2024, 15:00 BST
    14 Jun 2024, 12:56 BST
  5. Buyer details updated
    14 Jun 2024, 12:56 BST
  6. Published value updated to £8,500,000
    8 Jan 2025, 09:32 GMT
    was £2,999,999
  7. Deadline moved to 5 Mar 2025, 15:00 GMT
    8 Jan 2025, 09:32 GMT
    +215 days · was 2 Aug 2024, 15:00 BST
  8. Status changed to complete
    27 Mar 2025, 13:00 GMT
Published amendments (1 · 0 deadline changes)
WhenWhatBeforeAfterShift
—DateDate of conclusion of the contract · V.2.15 Aug 202530 Sept 2035+3708 d

1 amendment published without a description.

Routine re-releases (6)
  • 2025-01: 1 release · 8 Jan 2025
  • 2024-06: 1 release · 14 Jun 2024
  • 2024-04: 1 release · 18 Apr 2024

Commercial outcome & contract awards

Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast
Awards 2
Awarded value £7,378,7501 contract exc. VAT
Bids received 3
Contracts signed 2latest 5 Aug 2025
Awarded toValueDateStatus
Underhill Engineering (UK) LtdSME——Awarded
Paintel LimitedSME——Awarded

Contracts

  • Contract 046279-2025-DN737028-1 · Paintel LimitedSME

    Signed
    5 Aug 2025
    Value
    £7,378,750
    Period
    … – 30 Sept 2035
    Status
    active
  • Contract 011547-2025-DN717909-1 · Underhill Engineering (UK) LtdSME

    Signed
    26 Mar 2025
    Value
    —
    Period
    … – 30 Sept 2035
    Status
    active

Bid statistics published by the authority

BidsSMEVCSEValid bid range
3bids——£1 – £3,730,000

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

2 public bodies on the notice

Cornwall Council

Contracting authorityLocal CouncilRegional or local authorityGeneral public services County Hall, Treyew Road, Truro, South West, TR1 3AYContact name, email, phone Published organisation website ↗

Consortium members and other public bodies

Bidders & participating suppliers

2 commercial parties on the notice

Official documents & specifications

Official links; attachments are not copied

No document links were published on the notice.