Portsmouth City Council has opened the procurement for the SCG / SCOPAC Coastal and Flood Works Framework 2027. The framework is valued at up to £75 million excluding VAT and will provide a route for coastal defence, flood risk management and specialist beach management work across southern and south-western authorities.
This is a live two-stage competition. Contractors must first pass a Procurement Selection Questionnaire before shortlisted bidders are invited to submit full tenders.
Three framework lots
The tender notice divides the requirement into:
- Lot 1a, Minor Coastal and Flood Civil Engineering Works: generally lower-value, less complex maintenance and repairs, with typical call-offs of £10,000 to £100,000;
- Lot 1b, General Coastal and Flood Civil Engineering Works: larger capital schemes, refurbishment and new defences, with typical call-offs of £250,000 to £5 million; and
- Lot 2, Specialist Beach Management Works: excavation, haulage, placement, profiling and screening of beach materials, with typical call-offs of £50,000 to £1 million.
Works may include timber structures, groynes, revetments, concrete, rock armour, embankments, flood gates, marine and harbour works, slipways, promenades, piling, habitat creation and emergency response. The final scope depends on the lot and the individual call-off.
Our review of construction tendering trends provides wider context on the quality, compliance and sustainability evidence increasingly expected from infrastructure contractors.
Framework structure and call-offs
Up to six contractors may be appointed to each lot. The current intention is to create a delivery tier of four contractors and a reserve tier of two, although Portsmouth City Council can adjust the final structure based on the tenders received.
Mini-competition will be the default route for call-offs, but direct awards may be used for urgent, emergency, repeat or specialist requirements where the framework rules allow. Pricing at framework level will focus on NEC4 fee percentages. Project-specific prices will generally be tested at call-off stage.
A 0.5% framework rebate applies to call-off contracts with an estimated lifetime value of £100,000 or more, capped at £10,000 per call-off.
Stage 1 selection requirements
The PSQ places heavy emphasis on directly relevant experience. Bidders must provide four or five contract case studies from the last five years, and each example requires external validation.
The minimum experience differs by lot. Lot 1a requires tidal coastal work, concrete repairs, timber sea-defence repairs and projects in the £50,000 to £150,000 range. Lot 1b requires experience of tidal works, refurbishment or replacement, new open-coast assets, estuary or harbour work, NEC4 ECC and principal contractor projects between £250,000 and £5 million. Lot 2 requires tidal-cycle working, beach material movement, ancillary coastal works, public safety around large equipment and principal contractor projects between £50,000 and £500,000.
Minimum turnover is £500,000 for Lot 1a, £8 million for Lot 1b and £1 million for Lot 2. The notice also includes insurance, SSIP, modern slavery and sustainability requirements. Lot 1b has additional expectations around ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 or equivalent arrangements.
How the full tender is expected to be scored
The current intention is an 80% quality and 20% cost split, although this may be adjusted to as much as 70% quality and 30% cost. Quality is expected to cover technical delivery through scenarios, as well as framework management, quality, supplier resilience, social value, sustainability and health and safety.
For Lot 2, the authority may use a live mini-bid instead of hypothetical scenarios. Suppliers should therefore be ready to develop a credible project methodology, programme, resource model and price within the tender timetable.
Quick facts
- Contracting authority: Portsmouth City Council on behalf of SCG and SCOPAC
- Estimated value: Up to £75 million excluding VAT, £90 million including VAT
- Expected term: Four years from March 2027, with up to two years of extensions
- Maximum suppliers: Six per lot, 18 overall
- Stage 1 enquiry deadline: 4 August 2026 at noon
- PSQ deadline: 14 August 2026 at noon
- Expected Stage 2 tender deadline: 20 November 2026 at noon
Preparing a strong PSQ
Start with the minimum requirements, not the most impressive projects in isolation. Map every proposed case study against the pass or fail criteria for the selected lot and confirm that the client can validate the information within the procurement timetable.
Use additional experience criteria to decide between otherwise suitable examples. The strongest case-study set will cover the mandatory requirements while also demonstrating rock, concrete, embankment, emergency response, public safety, marine works, piling or beach management experience relevant to the lot.
Thornton & Lowe supports civil engineering and infrastructure contractors with conditions of participation, case studies and full tender responses.
