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PROCUREMENT OPPORTUNITY

Main Contractor for Cathedral Gardens (& Blitz Memorial)

Belfast City Council · Tender notice on Find a Tender

Tender information last checkedLast checked 30 Sept 2026, 08:27.

Opportunity overview

Cathedral Gardens is a strategically important public open space in the heart of Belfast City Centre. With the recent development of Ulster University, Cathedral Gardens is now part of an exciting, rapidly developing area of Belfast City Centre. St Anne’s Cathedral, a listed building, lies south of the site across Academy Street. The existing site is a predominantly hard aging, civic space comprising the following: established trees and raised garden beds; seating integrated into low concrete retaining walls; and open paved surfaces of varied materials which have been repaired and altered over time. The project is for the provision of the redevelopment of the existing Cathedral Gardens area of Belfast. The project is a public realm environmental improvement scheme and aims to provide Belfast City Centre with an innovative, multifunctional, and digitally driven vision for Cathedral Gardens. Cathedral Gardens is a key area of public open space located next to Ulster University, Writer’s Square, and St Anne’s Cathedral. Redevelopment of the site will include but is not limited to; • Site clearance; • Demolition including the breakout and removal of concrete; • Decommissioning and infill of existing underground tank and plantroom; • Isolation and disconnection of NIE metered supply, lighting columns; • Tree protection and felling works; • Site preparation works, adjusting existing levels to formation level; • Soil remediation including capping works to soft landscaped areas and testing of incoming material to soft landscaped areas; • Validation and verification of land remedial works; • Ground investigation works; • Hard and soft landscaping including drainage, ducting, paving, porous asphalt, kerbing, edging, planters, pre-cast concrete, planting shrubbery, trees and pleached trees complete with watering and aeration system, rootball cradles, grass turfing, street furniture, decorative boulders, and boundary treatment works; • Retaining walls; • SuDs tree pits and rain garden; • Foundations; • An interactive lighting experience including associated controls, remote and wireless connectivity, data cabling, network links, lighting control strategy including third party control, licences, commissioning, training, operation manual and after-care. Lighting in the form of catenary lighting on feature columns, including a canopy covered interactive digital play zone and projector provision for digital art displays; • CCTV system including fold down CCTV camera towers; • Ducting, cable chambers, feeder pillars including NIE connection, meter and switchgear including testing and commissioning; • Liaising with statutory authorities including NIE, DfI • Flood lighting and feature lighting including slip rated ground recessed lighting, bollard lighting, up-light and down-light fittings; • A public plaza capable of accommodating small to modestly sized events with pop-up electrical services for vendors to connect to; • An urban forest / woodland garden area to function as a quiet place and to promote wildlife; • A lawn area next to the university to soften this urban environment and complement university café culture; • A Blitz memorial to commemorate this WWII tragedy; and • Retention of Rinty Monaghan statue.

Awarded to

Amounts belong to published awards or contracts. Where several suppliers share one value, it is labelled as shared and is not a supplier-specific allocation.

Published award value
£3.3m
Awarded
23 Sept 2025
Award ID
1
Status
active
Identifier
GB-COH NI003255
Location
Lisburn, County Antrim, UKN0E, BT28 2SA, United Kingdom

Classification

  • CPV45200000 — Works for complete or part construction and civil engineering work

Lots

  • Lot 1£5.5m

Documents and notices

Published notice details

Additional information from the published procurement release. Fields appear only when supplied by the source; check the original notice and tender documents before acting.

Scope, procedure and submissions

Id
PQQ 4660
Status
complete
Above Threshold
Yes
Procurement Method
open
Main Procurement Category
works
Procurement Method Details
Competitive flexible procedure

Covered By

GPA

Procedure

Features
This procurement has concluded this notice is for administrative purposes only, refer to FTS: F02: Contract notice Notice identifier: 2025/S 000-018480 Procurement identifier (OCID): ocds-h6vhtk-050b81

Legal basis

Id
2023/54
Scheme
UKPGA

Expected award period

Ends
7 Oct 2025, 23:59

Tender Period

Ends
23 Sept 2025, 23:59

Submission terms

Electronic Submission Policy
allowed

Languages

en

Lots and requirements

Entry 1
Id
1
Status
complete

Value

Amount
5,500,000
Currency
GBP
Including VAT
6,600,000

Award criteria

Criteria

Criterion 1
Name
Quality Submission (including Social Value)
Type
quality

Numbers

Entry 1
Number
40
Weight
percentageExact
Criterion 2
Name
Price
Type
cost

Numbers

Entry 1
Number
60
Weight
percentageExact

Contract period

Ends
7 Oct 2026, 23:59
Starts
7 Oct 2025, 00:00

Items and delivery

Item 1
Id
1
Related Lot
1

Additional Classifications

Entry 1
Id
45200000
Scheme
CPV
Description
Works for complete or part construction and civil engineering work

Published documents

Entry 1
Id
conflictOfInterest
Description
Not published
Document Type
conflictOfInterest
Entry 2
Id
052490-2025
Format
text/html
Notice Type
UK4
Description
Tender notice on Find a Tender
Document Type
tenderNotice
Published
29 Aug 2025, 14:25

Planning and budget

No Engagement Notice Rationale
This procurement has concluded this notice is for administrative purposes only

Buyer, suppliers and contacts

Organisation 1
Id
GB-PPON-PQXY-5321-CGZM
Name
Belfast City Council

Roles

buyer

Address

Region
UKN06
Country
GB
Locality
Belfast
Postal Code
BT2 8DJ
Country Name
United Kingdom
Street Address
9 Adelaide Street

Details

Classifications

Entry 1
Id
publicAuthoritySubCentralGovernment
Scheme
UK_CA_TYPE
Description
Public authority - sub-central government
Entry 2
Id
GB-NIR
Scheme
UK_CA_DEVOLVED_REGULATIONS
Description
Northern Irish devolved regulations apply

Identifier

Id
PQXY-5321-CGZM
Scheme
GB-PPON

Contact

Organisation 2
Id
GB-COH-NI003255
Name
John McQuillan (Contracts) Ltd

Roles

supplier

Address

Region
UKN0E
Country
GB
Locality
Lisburn, County Antrim
Postal Code
BT28 2SA
Country Name
United Kingdom
Street Address
11 Ballinderry Road

Details

Vcse
No
Scale
sme

Identifier

Id
NI003255
Scheme
GB-COH

Contact

Award information

Award 1
Id
1
Date
24 Sept 2025, 00:00
Status
active
Above Threshold
No
Main Procurement Category
works
Assessment Summaries Date Sent
24 Sept 2025, 00:00

Items

Item 1
Id
1
Related Lot
1

Additional Classifications

Entry 1
Id
45200000
Scheme
CPV
Description
Works for complete or part construction and civil engineering work

Value

Amount
3,257,921.54
Currency
GBP
Including VAT
3,909,505.85

Documents

Entry 1
Id
059585-2025
Format
text/html
Notice Type
UK6
Description
Contract award notice on Find a Tender
Document Type
awardNotice
Published
25 Sept 2025, 11:29

Suppliers

Supplier 1
Id
GB-COH-NI003255
Name
John McQuillan (Contracts) Ltd

Milestones

Entry 1
Id
1
Type
futureSignatureDate
Status
scheduled
Due
7 Oct 2025, 23:59

Related lots

1

Contract period

Ends
9 Oct 2026, 23:59
Starts
7 Oct 2025, 00:00

Recorded locations

  • Buyer location · Belfast · UKN06 · BT2 8DJ · United Kingdom

Notice and amendment history

1 published notice version reviewed by ProcuraAxis.

1 VERSION
  1. ocds-h6vhtk-05908a-2025-09-25T11:29:08+01:00Tender notice on Find a Tender ·