---
title: "Development at Elwick Place, Ashford, Kent"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-031e96"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-031e96"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-031e96.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-031e96.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "ASHFORD BOROUGH COUNCIL"
published: "2022-03-07"
---

# Development at Elwick Place, Ashford, Kent

Buyer: ASHFORD BOROUGH COUNCIL  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-031e96

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## Summary

The Ashford Borough Council has announced a completed procurement process for the Development at Elwick Place in Ashford, Kent, with a total contract value of £80,250,000. This project falls under the works category, specifically related to the construction of buildings for leisure, sports, culture, lodging, and restaurants. The procurement stage has reached the award phase, and the contract was signed on 4 March 2022. Initial planning for this development began back in 2010, progressing through several phases, with significant deadlines impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic and environmental regulations pertaining to the Stodmarsh area.

This tender presents a substantial opportunity for businesses involved in construction and development, particularly those specialising in large-scale projects that incorporate residential and commercial components. Companies that can offer innovative solutions in residential construction, project management, or supply chain services are especially well-suited to participate in upcoming phases of this project. With the ongoing need to address planning obligations related to environmental standards and the modifications to the development agreement, firms that can navigate these complexities will find favourable avenues for business growth and collaboration.

## Notice

A development agreement ("DA") was originally entered into in 2010 between the South East England Development Agency ("SEEDA") and Stanhope PLC and concerned the re-development, in phases, of a site in the centre of Ashford known as Elwick Place according to a masterplan to be agreed between the parties. In 2015 the Council acquired the site and the rights and obligations formerly vested in SEEDA under the DA. The Phases are now as follows: Phase 1 (cinema, hotel, restaurants, retail units and car park), Phase 2 (200 residential flats) and Phase 3 (yet to be agreed). The parties have now agreed certain changes to the DA. This notice concerns those changes.

### Lot Information

Lot 1

Phase 1 of the development has now been completed. The DA required Stanhope to begin the process of drawing down Phase 2 prior to two key dates: the "Long Stop Date" (16 March 2022) and the "Phase Termination Date" (4 May 2022) but it may only do so after satisfying a number of conditions. Delays caused by (a) the Covid-19 pandemic; and (b) the Stodmarsh issue (see below) each independently and also together cumulatively mean that Stanhope will not be able to meet the conditions before the deadlines. The Stodmarsh issue arises from formal statutory advice issued by Natural England in 2020 on development proposals in the Stour Valley River Catchment Area ( "SVRCA") and the potential for these to increase harmful nutrient impacts at designated protected lakes at Stodmarsh in east Kent. The SVRCA covers large parts of Ashford Borough including Elwick Place. Planning applications for housing development within the SVRCA cannot now be determined until formal assessment of the effects on the Stodmarsh Lakes has been completed by the Council as planning authority. The Council is progressing a strategy to offer suitable mitigations for sites (such as Elwick Phase 2) not able to offer onsite mitigation, but timescales for this are uncertain so it is unclear when the planning authority will be able to grant a Phase 2 planning permission on terms that will enable the drawdown conditions to be satisfied. Accordingly, the parties entered into an agreement on 4 March 2022 to extend each of the deadlines (the "Extension") by up to 515 days or (if later) until 40 days after (i) any off-site Stodmarsh mitigation measures required of the developer in respect of Phase 2 have been complied with or if later (ii) the period for any Judicial Review challenge to the Phase 2 planning permission has expired with no challenge being made or any challenge has been resolved. Provided that if Stanhope has yet to complete a planning obligation that would result in the issue of a Phase 2 planning permission the maximum Extension is 9 months from the date on which the local Council's resolution to grant a Phase 2 planning permission will not require any offsite Stodmarsh mitigation measures to be complied with by Stanhope. The aim is to restore Stanhope, in terms of the timing of Phase 2, to the situation it would have been in had Covid and Stodmarsh not intervened. The parties have also provided for new activity milestones in respect of Phase 2. If Stanhope fails to achieve any of these milestones the Council may terminate the DA. Additionally, Stanhope has agreed to relinquish certain rights it had over the Phase 3 land. Additional information: The current value of the Development Agreement as provided in this notice strips out the effects of inflation, as required by Regulation 72(7) Public Contracts Regulations 2015

### Procurement Information

Regulation 72(1)(c) Public Contracts Regulations 2015 applies. Stanhope planned to seek bids from residential development and funding partners in Spring 2020, in ample time to satisfy the drawdown conditions for Phase 2 within the terms of the DA. The March 2020 Covid national lockdown and the ongoing restrictions thereafter radically altered the situation causing huge uncertainties for valuation, funding and development generally. Funders were preoccupied with preserving their existing investments through the unprecedented crisis: there was no appetite for taking on new projects. Accordingly, Stanhope was advised not to engage the market as planned. Only in late Spring 2021 was Stanhope able to progress the appointment of partners and the process of satisfying the drawdown conditions, which nonetheless cannot be completed until the Stodmarsh situation has been resolved. Neither the Covid-19 pandemic, and the resulting series of national lockdowns and regional tiered restrictions on normal activities, nor the Stodmarsh issue could have been foreseen by a diligent authority when the DA was entered into in 2010 and none of these events were foreseen by the Council. The new activity milestones and Stanhope's relinquishing of certain rights over the Phase 3 land, do not entail substantial change: if they alter the economic balance at all they do so in favour of the Council. None of the amendments change the nature of the agreement.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/006141-2022 |
| Notice type | Award Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Works |
| Procurement method | Limited |
| Procurement method details | Award procedure without prior publication of a call for competition |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | Large |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 7 Mar 2022 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 4 Mar 2022 |
| Contract period | Not specified |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | £80,250,000 |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Cancelled |
| Awards status | Active |
| Contracts status | Active |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | ASHFORD BOROUGH COUNCIL |
| Locality | ASHFORD |
| Post town | Tonbridge |
| Postcode | TN23 1PL |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLJ South East (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLJ4 Kent |
| ITL 3 | TLJ45 Mid Kent |
| Local authority | Ashford |
| Electoral ward | Victoria |
| Westminster constituency | Ashford |
| Delivery location | TLJ4 Kent |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | STANHOPE |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 45 - Construction work

### Codes

- 45211340 - Multi-dwelling buildings construction work
- 45212000 - Construction work for buildings relating to leisure, sports, culture, lodging and restaurants

## Release History

- 7 Mar 2022 at 11:17 - Award - Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/006141-2022

## Notice URLs

- http://www.ashford.gov.uk
- https://www.mytenders.co.uk/search/Search_AuthProfile.aspx?ID=AA28849

## Provenance

This Markdown file is an alternate public rendering of the D3 Tenders contract record. The canonical page is https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-031e96. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-031e96.json.