---
title: "Development & Funding Partner to develop the Birkenhead Heat Network"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-052272"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-052272"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-052272.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-052272.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "WIRRAL COUNCIL"
published: "2026-03-24"
---

# Development & Funding Partner to develop the Birkenhead Heat Network

Buyer: WIRRAL COUNCIL  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-052272

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## Summary

Wirral Council is leading the procurement process to find a Development and Funding Partner for the ambitious Birkenhead Heat Network project, part of the Birkenhead 2040 Regeneration Framework. This transformative project aims to develop a new district heating network to serve a variety of residential and commercial buildings in Birkenhead, a designated 'priority district heating zone' in the Wirral Local Plan. With a procurement status of "complete," and the award expected by 31st March 2026, the project is positioned to reduce carbon emissions and offer lower-cost heating solutions. The procurement method is a competitive flexible procedure, ensuring rigorous selection based on technical, commercial, and social value criteria.

The Birkenhead Heat Network tender represents a significant opportunity for businesses specialising in construction, utilities, and energy services. With anticipated revenue between £250 million and £300 million over the next 40 years, the project offers robust growth potential for entities like district heating providers and firms involved in energy solutions. Businesses capable of delivering innovative and sustainable solutions will find themselves well-suited to compete, especially those experienced in collaborating with public sector clients like sixth form colleges, higher education organisations, and NHS Primary Care bodies. Establishing partnerships with Wirral Council in this key initiative could lead to long-term investment and strategic collaboration in one of the UK's largest brownfield redevelopment sites.

## Notice

The project comprises development of a new heat network serving a mix of buildings including new build residential, existing residential, new build commercial and existing commercial. The project forms an integral part of Birkenhead 2040 Regeneration Framework; one of the biggest brownfield redevelopment sites in the UK. This regeneration of Birkenhead will take place across nine areas providing 21,000 new homes and almost 1,000,000 square metres of employment space over the next 20 years. The area to be served by the network has been identified as a 'priority district heating zone' in Wirral's Local Plan. It will make a significant contribution to reducing the carbon impact of new / existing development in the Borough and provide opportunities to residents and businesses for lower cost heating. The project is well-aligned with regional policy objectives and initiatives. It also fits into the Government's introduction of 'heat network zoning', which, through implementation, will mandate certain types of buildings in identified urban areas such as Birkenhead to connect to district heating within a prescribed timeframe. It is envisaged that, once heat networking zoning is in place, the Birkenhead Heat Network could benefit from zoning 'incumbency' rules - meaning that nearby eligible buildings will be mandated to connect, further securing demand. The Council and Development Partner will enter into a Development Agreement under which the Development Partner will further develop its proposals for the heat network. The Development Agreement sets out a number of requirements which the project must meet in order to proceed into an approvals gateway process. If the project proceeds beyond the development period (i.e. is "approved" as part of the approvals gateway process), the Council and Development Partner will become shareholders in the ESCo, albeit that the Council's shareholding will be limited to a "Golden Share". The ESCo will be the supplier of heat to a number of public and private sector bodies (including the Council) under separate heat connection and supply agreements. The Council will not be investing in the project. The Golden Share will simply allow the Council to exercise control in relation to a limited number of reserved matters including carbon intensity, reporting and tariffs. The ESCo will be required to source all capital funding for the project. The ESCo partner will be appointed in perpetuity. The revenue derived over the first 40 years of the network is estimated to be in the region of PS200 million (excluding VAT) / PS240 million (including VAT) - PS250 million (excluding VAT) / PS300 million (including VAT). This includes all phases and connected buildings in the core scheme and allowing for further expansion with the wider geographic area. The estimated value cannot be guaranteed. As part of the operation and expansion of the project, a range of customers in the Birkenhead area may seek to use the heat network, including a mix of public sector and private sector entities. It is intended that this project will be available to those other entities. Those entities may include: Sixth form colleges Central government departments (responsible for local offices) Higher education organisations NHS Primary Care bodies Pursuant to Section 51 of the Procurement Act 2023, the Council must allow a minimum of eight working days, starting the day this contract award notice is published and the award of the contract.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/026935-2026 |
| Notice type | UK6 - Contract Award Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Selective |
| Procurement method details | Competitive flexible procedure |
| Tender suitability | SME, VCSE |
| Awardee scale | Large |
| All stages | Planning, Tender, Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 24 Mar 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | 27 Jun 2025 |
| Award date | 24 Mar 2026 |
| Contract period | 12 Apr 2026 - 12 Apr 2069 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | £250,000,000 |
| Lots value | £250,000,000 |
| Awards value | £300,000,000 |
| Contracts value | Not specified |

## Status

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

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | WIRRAL COUNCIL |
| Additional buyers | CARBON TRUST ADVISORY LIMITED; WOMBLE BOND DICKINSON (UK) LLP |
| Locality | WALLASEY |
| Post town | Chester |
| Postcode | CH44 8ED |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLI London |
| ITL 2 | TLI4 Inner London - East |
| ITL 3 | TLI44 Lewisham and Southwark |
| Local authority | Southwark |
| Electoral ward | Borough & Bankside |
| Westminster constituency | Bermondsey and Old Southwark |
| Delivery location | TLD74 Wirral |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | VITAL ENERGI UTILITIES |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 09 - Petroleum products, fuel, electricity and other sources of energy
- 45 - Construction work
- 65 - Public utilities
- 71 - Architectural, construction, engineering and inspection services

### Codes

- 09323000 - District heating
- 45000000 - Construction work
- 65000000 - Public utilities
- 71314000 - Energy and related services
- 71500000 - Construction-related services

## Release History

- 24 Mar 2026 at 15:23 - Award - UK6 - Contract Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/026935-2026
- 20 Jun 2025 at 10:09 - Tender - UK4 - Tender Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/033995-2025
- 23 May 2025 at 12:39 - Planning - UK3 - Planned Procurement Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/026354-2025
- 23 May 2025 at 12:14 - Planning - UK1 - Pipeline Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/026301-2025

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/026935-2026
  24th March 2026 - Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/033995-2025
  20th June 2025 - Tender notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/026354-2025
  23rd May 2025 - Planned procurement notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/026301-2025
  23rd May 2025 - Pipeline notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- http://www.carbontrust.com
- http://www.vitalenergi.co.uk
- http://www.womblebonddickinson.com
- https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/companies-house
- https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents
- https://www.the-chest.org.uk/
- https://www.the-chest.org.uk/SupplierSupport.html

## 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-052272. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-052272.json.