---
title: "Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) design and build project - Lancashire Renewables"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-06e9af"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-06e9af"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06e9af.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06e9af.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Planning"
buyer: "LANCASHIRE RENEWABLES LIMITED"
published: "2026-08-21"
---

# Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) design and build project - Lancashire Renewables

Buyer: LANCASHIRE RENEWABLES LIMITED  
Current stage: Planning  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-06e9af

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## Summary

Lancashire Renewables Limited is exploring the design and construction of a new Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) at Farington Waste Recovery Park in Leyland. The works concern a waste-treatment and recycling plant for dry mixed recyclables, supporting the organisation’s public-sector shareholders. The proposed facility would process forecast volumes on site, reduce off-site diversion, and improve recovery, purity and revenue from plastics, ferrous and non-ferrous metals, glass and fibre. It is expected to address flexible plastics, cartons, paper and card, while making practical use of the existing building shell, power and utilities. The scope also includes safe and efficient operations, limited disruption during transition, process control, automation, optical sorting, monitoring, robotics, redundancy, maintainability, storage and future flexibility. The relevant construction categories are recycling-station and waste-treatment plant construction.

This process is at planning and is preliminary market engagement, not an invitation to tender or a competition. Lancashire Renewables Limited expects a two-stage approach: an initial light-touch expression of interest, followed by site visits and structured feedback from selected experienced participants. Expressions of interest are expected by 5 October 2026, with site visits and engagement meetings anticipated around November 2026. The buyer is testing technical, commercial, programme and delivery assumptions before business-case approval. Earlier market understanding indicated a potential new-MRF cost of £13m–£15m, while a feasibility study indicated an approximate total project cost of £20m and delivery over about three to four years; these are not a budget or target price. Indicative system contract dates are 1 September 2027 to 31 August 2028 and may change. One lot is planned.

The engagement is suited to organisations with demonstrable experience designing, integrating, constructing, refurbishing, commissioning or delivering Materials Recovery Facilities for municipal dry mixed recyclables. Relevant suppliers may include MRF designers and builders, process-equipment suppliers, systems integrators, principal contractors, turnkey providers, and EPC or EPCM contractors. Lancashire Renewables Limited also welcomes integrated teams and consortia able to manage process, civil, structural, electrical, controls and project-delivery interfaces. Participants should be able to provide up to three comparable municipal MRF examples, covering their role, facility scale, delivered scope and current status, and demonstrate capacity for site engagement around November 2026. Useful capability includes improving throughput, recovery, output quality and flexibility, managing live-site transition, and applying automation, optical sorting, data systems, AI monitoring or robotics where justified. This is preparation for a possible future procurement, not a current bid opportunity.

## Notice

Lancashire Renewables Limited (LRL) operates and manages two waste treatment facilities on behalf of its public sector shareholders. LRL is undertaking a strategic review of the Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) at Farington Waste Recovery Park, Sustainability Way, Leyland, PR26 6TB. The existing MRF was commissioned approximately 15 years ago. It processes dry mixed recyclables but is increasingly constrained by its design capacity, ageing infrastructure, process bottlenecks, variable output quality and limited ability to recover additional materials. LRL currently manages approximately 65,000 tonnes per annum of dry mixed recyclables, of which approximately 50,000 tonnes per annum can be processed at Farington; the balance is diverted off site. The existing plant operates at an estimated average throughput of approximately 16 tonnes per hour and does not currently target paper, card, cartons or flexible plastics as separate output streams. Changes to waste composition, end-market quality requirements and national policy initiatives, including Extended Producer Responsibility, the Deposit Return Scheme and Simpler Recycling, create a need for greater capacity, recovery, quality and flexibility. LRL has recently concluded an independent feasibility study assessing three strategic options: refurbishment of the existing MRF; construction of a new advanced MRF; and a hybrid solution combining a new MRF with redevelopment of the existing plant. The study identifies a new MRF as the most robust long-term option, while recognising the higher capital requirement and the need for further design and commercial validation. LRL is therefore undertaking preliminary market engagement to substantiate the feasibility study's principal cost, programme, technical and delivery assumptions before further developing a business case for its Shareholders. LRL's earlier high-level market understanding indicated a potential new-MRF cost in the region of PS13-15m, whereas the independent feasibility assessment produced an indicative total project cost closer to PS20m and a delivery period of approximately 3-4 years. The cost figures are not a budget, target price or statement of affordability. At this stage, LRL would like to formally engage with experienced MRF designers and builders, process-equipment integrators, principal contractors and organisations capable of turnkey, EPC or EPCM delivery. Consortium or supply-chain responses are welcome where the proposed team can demonstrate an integrated route to delivery. The indicative project requirements and outputs from a future MRF build project are to: * Provide a resilient facility capable of processing LRL's forecast dry mixed recyclables, currently considered to be broadly 64,000 to 67,000 tonnes per annum, subject to validation. * Enable full or materially increased on-site processing and reduce reliance on off-site diversion. * Improve recovery rates, output purity and revenue potential across plastics, ferrous and non-ferrous metals, glass and fibre streams. * Provide a credible approach to flexible plastics, cartons, paper and card, taking account of evolving collection systems, legislation and end markets. * Make effective use of the existing building shell and available site infrastructure where practicable, including existing power and utilities, while identifying upgrades if required. * Maintain safe, compliant and efficient operations and minimise interruption to the existing MRF during delivery and transition. * Include appropriate process control, data, automation, optical sorting, AI-enabled monitoring or robotics where technically and commercially justified. * Provide suitable redundancy, maintainability, access, storage and future flexibility. The purpose of this engagement is to obtain current market evidence sufficient to inform LRL's business case, preferred technical option, delivery strategy and any subsequent procurement. It is not a call for competition, invitation to tender or request for a developed design. The engagement is intended to operate in two stages: an initial, light-touch expression of interest followed by site visits and structured post-visit feedback from selected participants. More detailed market views will be sought only after participants have received further context. LRL intends to use the engagement to: * Test the likely total project cost and the principal components of that cost; * Understand what a proportionate, value-for-money technical solution would look like for the site; * Understand realistic project development and delivery timescales; * Identify the main technical, commercial, programme, operational, planning, permitting and interface risks; * Understand preferred contracting and risk-allocation models; * Identify information required from LRL to enable a future market to price and programme the project with confidence; * Ultimately, assess market capability, capacity and interest in a potential future procurement to build a new MRF at LRL's Leyland facility. The contract dates provided are indicative placeholders for system compliance purposes only. Actual contract dates will be determined upon completion of this PME exercise and will be subject to subsequent business case approval.

### Planning Information

The engagement deadline above is for initial expressions of interest to this PME via our e-tender portal only. Project engagement will continue beyond that date. 
Interested organisations are invited to submit a short expression of interest, normally no more than 3-5 pages excluding a cover page and brief case study sheets. The purpose of this initial response is to allow LRL to understand market interest, relevant capability and the potential value of further engagement. LRL recognises that respondents will not yet have access to sufficient site, layout, waste, utilities or operating information to develop a reliable solution or estimate.
EOIs should contain the following:
1. Organisation and proposed role: a brief description of the respondent, its relevant UK capability and whether it would expect to participate as a MRF designer or builder, process-equipment supplier, systems integrator, principal contractor, turnkey provider, EPC or EPCM provider, consortium member or in another role.
2. Relevant experience: up to three concise examples of comparable municipal MRF projects, identifying the respondent's role, broad facility scale, scope delivered and current status.
3. Interest and capacity: confirmation of interest in the potential project, capacity to participate in site engagement around November 2026 and the disciplines or proposed attendees that would be represented.
4. Indicative range, if reasonably available: respondents may provide a broad, non-binding view of potential total project cost and overall delivery duration, together with the most important assumptions or caveats. This is optional, and responses will not be disadvantaged where the respondent considers that additional information or a site visit is required before offering a meaningful view.
5. Information requirements: the key information and documents the respondent would ideally need to provide useful feedback following the next stage of the engagement process.
Interested organisations are invited to:
• Register on LRL's e-tender portal, https://www.the-chest.org.uk/;
• Locate the market engagement project under current opportunities by Lancashire Renewables Limited and express interest;
• Submit the short expression of interest described above through the portal by the engagement deadline.
LRL anticipates holding site visits and structured engagement meetings around November 2026. Subject to the level of interest and practical capacity, LRL may invite a nominal number of suitably experienced respondents to participate. Invitations are expected to take account of relevant experience, the respondent's proposed role, capacity to engage and the range of useful market perspectives represented. Any invitation will be for market-engagement purposes only; it will not constitute a procurement shortlist or confer an advantage in any future competition.
At the site visits, LRL expects to provide a presentation on the current operation, the feasibility study's key outputs, forecast requirements, the business-case challenge, and a walk around site to the relevant buildings where a future MRF could be built. LRL expects to provide a consistent, proportionate information pack, potentially including relevant site and building-layout drawings, available utilities information, current process and operating data, indicative waste composition, known site constraints and selected feasibility-study information. Information may be subject to confidentiality restrictions.
Following the visits, LRL intends to invite participating organisations to formalise their observations through a short, structured feedback return. This is expected to seek proportionate, non-binding views on: the respondent's indicative preferred solution; total capital cost range and major cost headings; indicative staffing and principal operating-cost drivers; likely throughput, recovery, quality and availability; a high-level programme; preferred delivery and contract model; principal risks and assumptions; and any further surveys or information required. Regarding estimated costs, respondents are encouraged to provide their own independent, evidence-based ranges and assumptions rather than align with the estimates provided by LRL or its feasibility study.
LRL will not seek a tender-level price, developed process design, detailed equipment schedule, full mass balance or activity-level programme. 
LRL may use a standard agenda and feedback template to improve comparability. It may publish or otherwise share an anonymised summary of material market feedback to support transparency and ensure that participation does not create an unfair advantage in any future procurement.
This engagement is particularly suited to organisations with demonstrable experience in the design, integration, construction, refurbishment, commissioning or turnkey delivery of MRFs processing municipal dry mixed recyclables. LRL also welcomes responses from integrated teams or consortia capable of addressing process, civil, structural, electrical, controls and project-delivery interfaces.
Please note:
• Participation is voluntary and at each organisation's own cost. LRL will not pay fees, expenses or other compensation for preparing a response or attending a site visit. 
• LRL does not require respondents to undertake material design development or disclose proprietary know-how. Respondents should clearly identify commercially sensitive information.
• This notice does not commit LRL to undertake a procurement, select any option, use any delivery model, invite any respondent to tender or award a contract.
• Participation or non-participation will not of itself advantage or disadvantage an organisation in any future procurement.
• LRL may use information received to develop its requirements, business case, procurement strategy, contract terms and evaluation approach. Any future procurement will be conducted separately and in accordance with applicable law.
• LRL may contact respondents for clarification and may amend or cancel the engagement process.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/079952-2026 |
| Notice type | UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Works |
| Procurement method | Not Specified |
| Procurement method details | Not specified |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | Not specified |
| All stages | Planning |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 21 Aug 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | 5 Oct 2026 |
| Award date | Not specified |
| Contract period | 1 Sep 2027 - 31 Aug 2028 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | Not specified |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Planning |
| Lots status | Planning |
| Awards status | Not specified |
| Contracts status | Not specified |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | LANCASHIRE RENEWABLES LIMITED |
| Locality | LEYLAND |
| Postcode area | Preston |
| Postcode | PR26 6TB |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLD North West (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLD4 Lancashire |
| ITL 3 | TLD45 Mid Lancashire |
| Local authority | South Ribble |
| Electoral ward | Farington West |
| Westminster constituency | South Ribble |
| Delivery location | TLD4 Lancashire |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 45 - Construction work

### Codes

- 45213270 - Construction works for recycling station
- 45222100 - Waste-treatment plant construction work

## Release History

- 21 Aug 2026 at 14:04 - Planning - UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/079952-2026

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/079952-2026
  21st August 2026 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- https://www.lancashirerenewables.co.uk/
- https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents
- https://www.the-chest.org.uk/

## Provenance

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