Anglian Water has kicked off a significant procurement initiative to establish a multi-supplier framework agreement for ecological and hydrological survey and assessment services.
The framework, which will span an initial five years but could be extended up to 15 years, is designed to support the company’s extensive capital delivery and environmental programmes, including key regulatory and biodiversity initiatives such as the Water Industry National Environment Programme (WINEP) and Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG).
With an estimated total value of up to £47M over the asset management period (AMP), the framework will facilitate a wide range of survey and assessment activities across terrestrial, marine, coastal and estuarine environments. Contract values for individual call-offs are anticipated mainly to fall between £10,000 and £250,000, although larger, more complex projects may exceed this.
The framework is structured into two specialist lots: Lot 1 for Ecology Surveys and Assessments and Lot 2 for Hydrological Surveys and Assessments.
Each Lot includes two delivery pathways – Pathway A is for Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs) and other large-scale projects requiring stringent assurances such as collateral warranties and enhanced insurance, while Pathway B is directed at regional or less complex projects with lower assurance requirements. This flexible approach aims to maintain balanced regional supplier coverage, spanning Anglian Water’s operational footprint covering Hartlepool, Lincoln, Ruthamford, Norfolk and Essex.
The Ecology Lot will encompass a comprehensive range of services, from baseline ecological surveys and protected species assessments to Biodiversity Net Gain metric calculations and post-construction ecological monitoring. Suppliers will be required to deliver outputs that comply with UK legislation, notably the Environment Act 2021, while supporting Anglian Water’s environmental strategies and statutory planning requirements.
Similarly, the Hydrology Lot focuses on robust hydrological data acquisition and analysis, including river flow measurement, groundwater level monitoring, flood risk assessments and related impact assessments. The hydrological services will underpin project planning, permitting and environmental compliance, integrating closely with drought plan monitoring and other environmental investigations to support sustainable water resource management.
The framework commences in March 2026 with an initial five-year term, followed by two optional five-year extensions, allowing the contract to extend up to 2041. Extensions will depend on ongoing business needs, supplier performance against defined KPI measures and collaboration effectiveness within the Pan Alliance network.
Anglian Water also reserves the option to broaden the service scope in response to developments in environmental policy, technological advances such as AI and remote sensing, and emerging capital delivery programmes.
The deadline for enquiries is 11.59pm on 16 July, while the deadline for requests to participate is 11.59pm on 28 July.
A decision is expected in February 2026.
Among Anglian Water’s planned major projects are its pair of reservoirs in the Fens and in Lincolnshire, which were recently elevated to NSIP status.
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