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SWAST-5149-E- Exeter Main Operating Base

South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust

This public procurement record has 2 releases in its history.

Planning

17 Sep 2026 at 12:45

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Planning

14 Apr 2026 at 09:32

UK1 - Pipeline Notice
Summary of the contracting process

South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust intends to procure the construction and fit-out of a new main operating base in Exeter. The works category is construction, covering a purpose-built operational facility for ambulance services. The building is expected to include offices for operational and administrative teams, meeting and training rooms, vehicle preparation, maintenance and washdown areas, a drugs room and dirty utility, computer and storage rooms, battery and plant rooms, and external parking, refuelling, bin and cycle facilities with soft landscaping. The project also includes a new substation and connection to the existing Eon heating network. The buyer has appointed a full design team. Planning reference 22/2825/MFUL contains the project drawings.

This procurement is at the planning and market-scoping stage; it is an intention to procure, not an invitation to tender. The buyer proposes an open tender with three or four phases, reducing the field through compliance, experience, skills, resourcing, method statements and social value assessments before a final price-based phase. The proposed contract is fixed price, using either NEC4 Option A or JCT Design and Build 2024. The anticipated contract sum is £15 million excluding VAT (£18 million including VAT). The planned contract period is 1 May 2027 to 30 September 2028, with a possible extension to 30 April 2029. A main contractor appointment is expected in spring 2027, subject to governance. Market feedback on the proposed approach was requested by 24 September 2026.

The project is likely to suit established main contractors with the capacity to deliver a substantial ambulance operations facility and coordinate complex construction, fit-out and external infrastructure works. Relevant experience includes operational or healthcare-related buildings, vehicle maintenance or fleet facilities, and projects requiring specialist vehicle preparation, servicing, washdown, refuelling and storage areas. Bidders should be prepared to develop an early RIBA Stage 4 design through the tender and construction process, take design responsibility for the tender information, and potentially novate the architect and civil and structural engineer. Building services coordination will remain partly with the client’s engineer. The proposed assessment is likely to test creditworthiness, health and safety, environmental compliance, local market knowledge, detailed resourcing, construction methods and social value commitments. SMEs are identified as suitable.

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Notice Information

Notice Title

SWAST-5149-E- Exeter Main Operating Base

Notice Description

Building and fit out for Exeter Main Operating Base

Planning Information

This is an initial market scoping exercise to see who would be interested in the South West area. The market engagement is to determine that the tender approach and design level is sufficient to be able to complete the project. 1. Project brief The project summary is: • New Main Operating Base (MOB) for the provision of the following: o Offices for operation and administrative teams. o Meeting rooms. o Training rooms. o Vehicle preparation space (similar to a garage, but to clean and re-stock ambulances between shifts). o Vehicle maintenance space (garage space for repairs and servicing of ambulances). o A drugs room & dirty utility (likely to be the only clinical space). o Sundry other space eg computer rooms, storage areas, battery stores etc. o Plant space. o New sub-station and connection to existing Eon heating network. o General external space eg parking, re-fuelling, bin compounds, cycle stores, soft landscaping etc. o Vehicle washdown area. • The approximate contract sum is anticipated to be £15m exc VAT. • A main contractor appointment is proposed to be made in the spring of 2027, pending governance process. • The planning reference is 22/2825/MFUL, where the drawings for the project can be viewed. • The client has appointed a full design team. 2. Proposed procurement process The following items detail the anticipated procurement process: • The level of design will be early RIBA4. • The contract is proposed to be a fixed price contract, either as an NEC4 Option A or JCT Design and Build 2024. • The main contractor will be required to take on the design provided in the tender period and develop it to full RIBA4 and then commence construction. • The main contractor will be able to novate the architect and civil / structural engineer into their design team. The building services engineer is proposed to remain employed by the client. • The tender process is proposed to be an open tender with 3-4 phases, broken down approximately as follows: o Phase 1: Initial enquiry. Bidders will be required to demonstrate basic compliance commonly seen in public procurement exercises, with checks on credit worthiness, basic H&S, environmental compliance. There will also be a requirement to demonstrate local market knowledge and experience of constructing these types of buildings. It is anticipated that the tender list will be reduced significantly, with approximately 8-12 tenderers passing into phase 2. o Phase 2: Developed enquiry. This phase will examine the shortlist’s detailed skillset, looking more carefully at each prospective bidder’s experience. There may also be an early pricing component to this phase. It is anticipated that approximately 6-10 tenderers will pass into phase 3. o Phase 3: Detailed enquiry. This phase will interrogate the remaining bidders in terms of their resourcing, their method statements, their social value commitments and other detailed quality-related elements. A shortlist of 4-7 tenderers would pass into the final phase. o Phase 4: Pricing. It is proposed that this final phase would be judged purely on price. This process is subject to change. For example, phases 2 and 3 could be merged into a single phase. The scoring methodologies are also still to be developed. 3. Invitation for prospective contractors to provide their input Prospective tenderers are invited to provide comments about the proposed procurement methodology outlined in this document. Input is welcomed across a range of subjects varying from the tender process itself (ie the proposed phases), the design level which is completed by the time of tender and any other observations that prospective bidders may have. We request that feedback is limited to 300 words. Please submit your information to stephen.walker@swast.nhs.uk

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-06818d
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/088172-2026
Current Stage
Planning
All Stages
Planning

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Works
Procurement Method
Not Specified
Procurement Method Details
Not specified
Tender Suitability
SME
Awardee Scale
Not specified

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

45 - Construction work

CPV Codes

45000000 - Construction work

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£15,000,000 £10M-£100M
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
17 Sep 20264 days ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
31 May 2026Expired
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
1 May 2027 - 1 Oct 2028 1-2 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Planned
Lots Status
Planned
Awards Status
Not Specified
Contracts Status
Not Specified

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
EXETER
Postcode
EX2 7HY
Postcode Area
Exeter
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLK South West (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLK4 Devon
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLK43 Devon CC
Delivery Location
TLK4 Devon
Local Authority
Exeter
Electoral Ward
St Loyes
Westminster Constituency
Exmouth and Exeter East

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

View full OCDS Record for this contracting process

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The Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) is a framework designed to increase transparency and access to public procurement data in the public sector. It is widely used by governments and organisations worldwide to report on procurement processes and contracts.

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