---
title: "Oxpens River Bridge Steel Material Procurement"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-05f321"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-05f321"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-05f321.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-05f321.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "OXFORD CITY COUNCIL"
published: "2026-03-19"
---

# Oxpens River Bridge Steel Material Procurement

Buyer: OXFORD CITY COUNCIL  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-05f321

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## Summary

Oxford City Council, located in Oxford, United Kingdom, initiated a tender process titled "Oxpens River Bridge Steel Material Procurement," targeting the construction industry category with a focus on structural steel materials. As of December 2025, the tender has progressed to the award stage, where the contract, valued at £500,000 excluding VAT, has been awarded to Briton Fabricators Limited. The procurement method employed was a direct award, justified by Briton's role as the original designer of the bridge and their ownership of the design copyrights, allowing for continuity and compatibility of the materials required. The contract period spans from January 19, 2026, to May 29, 2026, and seeks to ensure timely procurement of steel necessary for the bridge's construction to meet the programme window in September 2026.

This procurement offers significant opportunities for businesses in the steel fabrication sector, particularly those experienced in complex construction projects involving bespoke designs. Briton Fabricators Limited, an SME based in Nottingham, is the supplier selected due to their specialised expertise and previous involvement in the design phase. Businesses with capabilities in steel production and supply could explore potential collaborations or future tenders under similar frameworks, as the demand for specialist input in civic infrastructure projects continues to grow. This specific procurement highlights the importance of maintaining consistent supplier relationships and the ability to navigate technical complexities, positioning well-equipped firms for growth in public sector contracts.

## Notice

For the early procurement of steel material for the main construction phase of the Oxpens River Bridge through a preferred specialist supplier to the steel supply company.

### Procurement Information

The proposed Oxpens river bridge is an architecturally designed long box span bridge with 'arch edge beams' formed by SHS sections with vertical stiffeners to create wave sections. The complex nature of fabrication, transportation and installation of this structure has required significant and continuous input from the specialist contractor throughout the detailed design phase. Briton were sub-contracted by the original contractor for the design of the bridge, however the contractor has decided not to continue with the construction phase of the project, whereby a procurement under a Framework for a new contractor is underway. The construction phase of the project is limited by restrictions imposed by the Environment Agent and high risk of seasonal flooding. The window to install the main span is September 2026. To achieve this programme a steel order must be placed in mid-January 2026. The authority intends to procure the steel directly should a main contract not be awarded by mid-January to achieve the overall construction programme. As Briton prepared the designs for the project and own the copyright over them, they are required to calculate the amount of steel required based on the designs, the Council is unable to order the steel directly and would have to expend considerable additional costs for work already carried out in respect of further designs by another supplier, to be able to procure the steel required for the project. Otherwise, the Council could receive an incompatible amount of steel goods which would result in severely disproportionate difficulty in the operation of building the bridge. The Council could not have foreseen that Balfour Beatty would withdraw from the project but as a result, the Council needs to procure Britons to calculate and order the steel required for the project based on their existing designs to continue with the project under the new contractor. Therefore Oxford City Council are switching to a direct award to Briton under section 7 of Schedule 5 of the Procurement Act 2023: Additional or repeat goods, services or works 7 The public contract concerns the supply of goods, services or works by the existing supplier which are intended as an extension to, or partial replacement of, existing goods, services or works in circumstances where- (a)a change in supplier would result in the contracting authority receiving goods, services or works that are different from, or incompatible with, the existing goods, services or works, and (b)the difference or incompatibility would result in disproportionate technical difficulties in operation or maintenance.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/025270-2026 |
| Notice type | UK5 - Transparency Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Goods |
| Procurement method | Direct |
| Procurement method details | Direct award |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | SME |
| All stages | Tender, Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 19 Mar 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 10 Dec 2025 |
| Contract period | 19 Jan 2026 - 29 May 2026 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

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

## Status

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

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | OXFORD CITY COUNCIL |
| Additional buyers | Missing |
| Locality | OXFORD |
| Post town | Oxford |
| Postcode | OX1 1BX |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLJ South East (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLJ1 Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire |
| ITL 3 | TLJ14 Oxfordshire CC |
| Local authority | Oxford |
| Electoral ward | Holywell |
| Westminster constituency | Oxford West and Abingdon |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | BRITON FABRICATORS |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 14 - Mining, basic metals and related products

### Codes

- 14622000 - Steel

## Release History

- 19 Mar 2026 at 14:44 - TenderCancellation - UK12 - Procurement Termination Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/025270-2026
- 10 Dec 2025 at 16:16 - Award - UK5 - Transparency Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/081663-2025

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/025270-2026
  19th March 2026 - Procurement termination notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/081663-2025
  10th December 2025 - Transparency notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- http://www.britonsltd.co.uk
- https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents

## 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-05f321. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-05f321.json.