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INTRODUCTION
Portsmouth City Council ("the Council", "the Developer", the "Authority") is undertaking a Preliminary Market Engagement (PME) exercise to inform the future procurement strategy that will be used to establish a multi-contractor framework agreement for the delivery of commercial & industrial development works.
The framework agreement will be used to deliver development works within Portsmouth and neighbouring South East Hampshire areas, focusing upon further development of the Council owned Dunsbury Park located within Havant and Lakeside North Harbour located within Cosham.
Following completion of this PME exercise, the Council will undertake a formal Procurement Act 23 (PA 23) compliant competitive procurement process to establish the future framework agreement. The Council is targeting to have commenced the formal procurement process on 20th July 2026, to allow for award by early December 2026 and commencement of the framework agreement from 4th January 2026.
The framework agreement will then run for a 4-year term extendable by a further 2 years in increments to be agreed. Spend via the framework agreement over the total term could be up to £150M, although this is not guaranteed and will be dependent upon future tenant demand for new commercial / industrial facilities at the Council sites. Development works may be brought forward on both a secured tenant build to suit and prospective demand basis.
Development of plots will be undertaken incrementally in phases in line with dynamic demand requirements with works let via individual call off contracts. The value of individual call off contracts will be variable but is expected to range between £5M - £20M on average, based upon current construction costs.
Call off contracts will be predominantly let on a 2-stage contracting strategy utilising the JCT Pre-Construction Agreement for 1st stage pre-construction activities and the JCT Design & Build Contract used for 2nd stage construction works.
DEVELOPMENT SITES
DUNSBURY PARK
The Council is the freehold owner of some 21 hectares (52 acres) of land adjoining J3 of A3M junction at Waterlooville. The site is marketed under the title of 'Dunsbury Park' and is located at Fitzwygram Way, Hampshire, PO9 4EE.
The Council has to date delivered road infrastructure and cycle path, site levelling, utility connections and approx. 42,000 sqm of commercial buildings. The future development on the site comprises 5 no. units with a combined area of approximately 42,000 sqm of B2/B8 use.
The current occupational position, planning strategy and remaining land for development as of May 2026 is included within the PME Brief accessible via the Council's e-sourcing system In-tend.
| Lot | Title | Value |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lot 1 | — |
The Council estimates that value of work that could be let via the framework agreement to develop the remaining plots at Dunsbury Park could equate to approx. £70M over the term of the agreement.
However, as noted above no guarantee in respect of volume and value of call off contracts let via the framework agreement can be provided as this will be dependent upon future tenant demand and financial viability considerations.
Further information including for completed development, infrastructure, current tenants, development opportunities, location, access, Freeport Tax Site status, environmental standards, brochures, etc. can be found at the Dunsbury Park website using the web address below:
https://www.dunsburypark.co.uk/
LAKESIDE NORTH HARBOUR
The Council is also the freehold owner of circa 52 hectares (130 acres) of land adjoining Junction 12 of the M27 motorway in Portsmouth on which Lakeside North Harbour is located.
Lakeside is a business park incorporating offices, retail, hotel and ancillary accommodation. The Council is currently undertaking a feasibility study to rationalise site infrastructure and extend the mix of uses on the site to include up to 250,000 sq. ft (23,200 m2) of commercial B8 development.
The Council estimates that value of work that could be let via the framework agreement for development works at Lakeside North Harbour could equate to approx. £60M over the term of the agreement, however as per Dunsbury Park the Council cannot provide any guarantee of volume and value of call off contracts.
Further information including for office space, development land, current tenants, location, access, facilities, environmental standards, brochures, etc. can be found at the Lakeside North Harbour website via the web address below:
https://lakesidenorthharbour.com/
FURTHER DEVELOPMENT SITES & LOCAL GOVERNMENT REORGANISATION
The Council has not currently identified any further specific sites within its property portfolio for commercial / industrial development. However, the Council will establish the future framework agreement on a flexible basis to ensure that it can be utilised for development works at any further sites located within Portsmouth and the surrounding area.
As part of the UK Government's wider Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) programme, the Council has been required to engage with neighbouring authorities to explore future structural reform, shared service opportunities, and alignment of governance arrangements.
The UK Government has now confirmed its decision regarding Local Government Reorganisation across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. Under the confirmed proposals, the Council will become part of a new, larger unitary authority covering the areas of Gosport, Fareham and Havant, and including Newlands, Horndean, Clanfield and Rowlands Castle.
The new unitary authority will formally come into existence on 1 April 2028, at which point the Council, as it currently exists, will be legally dissolved on 31 March 2028.
Upon dissolution of the Council and vesting of the new unitary authority the framework agreement and any call off contracts let via the agreement will automatically transfer to the new authority. Property assets, including for any further commercial / industrial development sites, will also transfer to the new authority.
Work is currently ongoing to identify the full list of property assets and development sites that will transfer to the new authority. As such, the Council is unable to provide further details at this time but is targeting to provide more detail on further development opportunities which may be progressed via the future framework agreement when the subsequent formal procurement process is commenced.
The Council will aim to provide more information in respect of volume and value of development works at any further identified sites when the formal procurement process is commenced but at this point does not estimate that the total value of such works let over the term of the agreement would exceed £20M.
Ahead of vesting day, the Council will also enable the following neighbouring contracting authority district & borough councils to access the framework agreement and let call of contracts directly:
NEW FRAMEWORK PROPOSED SCOPE
The core scope of works and associated services that will be covered by the framework agreement at summary level is likely to include for the following activities:
NEW FRAMEWORK PROPOSED STRUCTURE & TIERING MODEL
The Council's proposed strategy is to establish a framework agreement comprising a Primary Tier of 3-4 Contractors and Secondary Tier of 2-3 Contractors. The key purpose of the Secondary Tier to provide contingency in the event of any capacity (e.g. expressly declining opportunities, insufficient scale, etc.) performance (e.g. significant issues with works delivery) or eligibility (e.g. legal standing, exclusion grounds, H&S infringements, financial standing, etc.) issues with one or more of the Primary Tier Contractors.
Contractors will be ranked and allocated to tiers based upon the combined quality and scores achieved at tender evaluation, with the highest ranking 3-4 Contractors appointed onto the Primary Tier and the next ranking 2-3 Contractors appointed onto the Secondary Tier.
GENERAL
Successful Contactors will be appointed onto an overarching framework agreement which will set out the high-level framework operating mechanisms and framework level Contractor obligations which flow through from their tender submitted at framework establishment.
The Council will include for a range of options for calling off developments works via the framework agreement, covering a spectrum of direct award and competitive processes which may be deployed as proportionate to the value, complexity, risk and time constraints of the development works in question.