---
title: "S30115 Drainage Technical Standard Committee DMRB and MCHW cyclic reviews and delivery of updates"
ocid: "ocds-b5fd17-3f45a20b-8757-4b2d-95d5-deac28dc4b68"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-b5fd17-3f45a20b-8757-4b2d-95d5-deac28dc4b68"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-3f45a20b-8757-4b2d-95d5-deac28dc4b68.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-3f45a20b-8757-4b2d-95d5-deac28dc4b68.json"
source: "Contracts Finder"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "National Highways Limited"
published: "2026-08-11"
---

# S30115 Drainage Technical Standard Committee DMRB and MCHW cyclic reviews and delivery of updates

Buyer: National Highways Limited  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-b5fd17-3f45a20b-8757-4b2d-95d5-deac28dc4b68

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## Summary

National Highways Limited procured technical consultancy services to review and update drainage content in the Design Manual for Roads and Bridges (DMRB) and Manual of Contract Documents for Highway Works (MCHW). The work covers all 20 drainage documents: DMRB CG 501, CG 502, CD 521 to CD 536, CS 551 and MCHW CC 500. The purpose is to correct errors, incorporate improvements and introduce modern technologies and practices for the Strategic Road Network and its users. Requirements range from straightforward editorial changes to research addressing knowledge gaps and drafting new technical sections. Delivery covers the United Kingdom and wider listed territories and locations, including Europe, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man, British Overseas Territories and the rest of the world. The procurement category is development consultancy services.

The procurement is complete and the contract was awarded to OVE Arup on 10 August 2026. The awarded value is £363,130.30 including the stated currency of GBP, against an estimated procurement value of £500,000. The contract runs from 10 August 2026 to 31 March 2029. It was a selective procedure using a call-off from a framework agreement, with tender submissions due by 22 June 2026 at 19:00. National Highways prioritised more than 250 unresolved items into Must, Should and Could categories. The supplier is expected to address all Must items, then Should items and as many Could items as time and budget allow. Documents are intended for sign-off in annual batches, with the first batch expected roughly nine months after commencement.

This award indicates demand for specialist highway drainage standards consultancy at a national scale. Relevant competitors would need demonstrable capability in road drainage design, technical standards development and structured document review, with the capacity to manage updates across 20 DMRB and MCHW documents. Credible teams would combine engineering expertise with technical writing, quality assurance and change control, because the requirement spans simple amendments, complex improvements and research to resolve knowledge gaps. Experience of the Design Manual for Roads and Bridges, the Manual of Contract Documents for Highway Works, or comparable infrastructure standards would be valuable. Suppliers should also be able to prioritise a substantial technical backlog, coordinate stakeholder review and deliver publication-ready batches. The opportunity was identified as suitable for SMEs and voluntary, community or social enterprises.

## Notice

National Highways "the Client" is seeking to set up a contract for the provision of technical services to undertake an update of the Design Manual for Roads and Bridges (DMRB) with Drainage content. The DMRB drainage update is required as part of a cyclical ongoing process to improve the DMRB so that the Strategic Road Network and its users continue to benefit from modern technologies and practices. National Highways maintains a register of errors and potential improvements for the DMRB Drainage documents. It is National Highways' objective to resolve these errors and incorporate the improvements into the DMRB. There are upwards of 250 unresolved items on the register which range significantly in scale. The most straightforward are, for example, a simple edit to change a requirement to a recommendation. The most complex might be to undertake research to fill a knowledge gap before including a new section in the DMRB. These unresolved items have been reviewed and prioritised by National Highways and have been divided into three categories Must, Should and Could. Through this contract, National Highways' objective is to address all items categorised as Must. Should and Could items will then be addressed in that order, with the aim to also complete all Should items and as many of the Could items as time and budget allows. The priority categorisation will be reviewed by National Highways at the start of the contract and periodically as the works proceed. The items will require updates to all 20 drainage documents. These are: - DMRB CG 501 and CG 502 - DMRB CD 521 to CD 536 (inclusive) - DMRB CS 551 - MCHW CC 500 The contract will run for over 2 years until the end of March 2029. The last of the documents will need to be signed off for publication by the end of the contract. It is expected that the work will be spread over the period of the contract with updated DMRB documents being signed-off for publication in annual batches, the first batch signed-off approximately 9 months after project commencement

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Contracts Finder |
| Latest notice | https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/59bbfdd6-04c1-4235-8d55-49c733c0b121 |
| Notice type | Award Notice |
| Procurement type | Framework |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Selective |
| Procurement method details | Call-off from a framework agreement |
| Tender suitability | SME, VCSE |
| Awardee scale | Large |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 11 Aug 2026 |
| Submission deadline | 22 Jun 2026 |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 10 Aug 2026 |
| Contract period | 10 Aug 2026 - 31 Mar 2029 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | £500,000 |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | £363,130 |
| Contracts value | Not specified |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Not specified |
| Awards status | Active |
| Contracts status | Not specified |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | National Highways Limited |
| Locality | BIRMINGHAM |
| Postcode area | Birmingham |
| Postcode | B4 6GA |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLG West Midlands (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLG3 West Midlands |
| ITL 3 | TLG31 Birmingham |
| Local authority | Birmingham |
| Electoral ward | Ladywood |
| Westminster constituency | Birmingham Ladywood |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | OVE Arup |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 73 - Research and development services and related consultancy services

### Codes

- 73220000 - Development consultancy services

## Release History

- 11 Aug 2026 at 14:13 - Award - Award Notice - https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/59bbfdd6-04c1-4235-8d55-49c733c0b121

## Documents

- https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/59bbfdd6-04c1-4235-8d55-49c733c0b121
  11th August 2026 - Awarded contract notice on Contracts Finder

## Provenance

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