Official UK procurement notice
WO2136 Central Depot - Melksham
Authority: Wiltshire Council (Local council)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionThe development of a new Strategic Central Depot at Bowerhill, Melksham, forming part of a wider programme to rationalise and modernise the Council’s operational estate. The depot will consolidate multiple existing facilities and services, including Highways, Waste, Streetscene and Fleet operations, into a single multi-functional site.
CPV: Construction work
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedPipeline intelligence · planning stage: how this market runs before the tender is published
How Wiltshire Council buys Construction work (CPV 45), and who usually turns up
Wiltshire Council’s published record next to the market for the same work. Frameworks and DPS are left out: they draw different bid counts. Whole-market view: Construction work (CPV 45) →
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.
Local means the winner is registered in the region where that award was delivered. The market figure counts awards delivered in South West England.
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
Most of this buyer’s recorded winners were registered in the region where that award was delivered. More of this buyer’s work stays local than in this market: 75% against 41%, n=12.
i
How long buyers here take to decide after bids close.
Middle value in days from the bid deadline to the award date, on competitions that published both.
Only decided tenders count, so slow ones still waiting are not in.
Half of these awards have an award date within 140 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.
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.
1 bid0% / 11%
2–340% / 25%
4–640% / 29%
7+20% / 36%
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 estimate45% / 43%
Within ±2%45% / 28%
Above estimate9% / 29%
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 45Published estimate£25m
This lot lists more than one class in CPV 45. The comparison uses that group.
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 265 past lots.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid11%
2–325%
4–629%
7+36%
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- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Works
- Notice status
- Planned procurement
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 15 Apr 2026, 11:14 BST
- Last source update
- 15 Apr 2026, 11:14 BST
- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-034085- Latest notice
- Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-0682b8Find a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- —
Timeline
15 Apr 2026 → 1 Feb 2027 · 4 dates- Planning notice published192 days ago15 Apr 2026, 11:14 BST
- Market engagement185 days ago22 Apr 2026, 23:59 BST
Wiltshire Council is progressing the development of a new Strategic Central Depot at Bowerhill, Melksham, forming part of a wider programme to rationalise and modernise the Council’s operational estate. The depot will consolidate multiple existing facilities and services, including Highways, Waste, Streetscene and Fleet operations, into a single multi-functional site
The development is intending to be delivered on a live operational site, with existing Highways and Household Waste Recycling Centre functions to remain active throughout the design and construction phases. These operations include 24/7 highways response capability and daily public access to the HWRC, requiring careful planning, segregation and continuity of service at all times.
The scheme is comprised of a complex mix of facilities, including operational yards, extensive vehicle stabling, maintenance workshops (supporting HGV and LGV fleets), office and welfare accommodation, HWRC infrastructure, fuelling and washdown facilities, and significant material storage areas. The site must support a wide range of vehicle types (up to 32t) and high operational areas, including public interface areas and future adaptability for fleet electrification.
Several key constraints will influence design and delivery, including:
- Live operational environment and phasing requirements
- Site covenants restricting development in parts of the former golf course
- Ground, ecological and drainage considerations, including biodiversity net gain
- Identified radiological risk requiring further investigation and specialist input prior to intrusive works
- Complex access arrangements and the need to segregate public, contractor and operational movements
The development is targeting BREEAM ‘Excellent’ and aligns with Wiltshire Council’s net zero ambitions, requiring a fabric-first approach, low-carbon energy strategies (including air source heat pumps and photovoltaics), and infrastructure that supports future operational flexibility and resilience.
Procurement options under consideration include both single-contractor and dual-contractor approaches (separating civils and building works), under standard forms of contract such as NEC, ICC and JCT.
Wiltshire Council intends to hold a Soft Market Testing (SMT) engagement exercise webinar at 13:30 on the 23rd April 2026 on Microsoft Teams.
This exercise is intended to inform the Council’s approach and does not constitute a call for competition. A formal procurement process will follow in due course.
Any suppliers interested in attending should express an interest via email to [email protected] and they will receive further information regarding the event details.
Should you be interested in attending the event please express your interest by emailing names, roles, and contact details to the above-mentioned e-mail address by no later than 12:00 22nd April 2026 .
Yours Faithfully
Wiltshire Council
- Tender notice expected103 days ago13 Jul 2026, 23:59 BST
- Today24 Oct 2026
- Contract startsin 99 days1 Feb 2027
Notice history
1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender- Preliminary market engagement notice published15 Apr 2026, 11:14 BSTUK2
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 (1)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender