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PROCUREMENT OPPORTUNITY

ED0389-25 Delivery of District Heating to the Cranbrook Expansion Areas by an ESCo

East Devon District Council · Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender

Tender information last checkedLast checked 30 Sept 2026, 11:38.

Opportunity overview

East Devon District Council (EDDC) is seeking to engage the market in advance of procuring a long-term Energy Services Company (ESCo) to deliver a new District Heating Network to serve the expansion areas of Cranbrook. The scheme will serve the growth of Cranbrook new town, supplying low-carbon heat to approximately 4,500 new homes and 24,500m2 of commercial space, including three new schools. The project has successfully secured a £5.95 million capital contribution grant from the Green Heat Network Fund (GHNF), administered by Triple Point on behalf of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. This funding is intended to support the delivery of low-carbon heat infrastructure and will be made available to the appointed ESCo as a contribution towards eligible capital works. The scheme will be required to meet Future Homes and Future Building standards as set out in the updated building regulations. Planning consent for the network has already been secured under East Devon District Council's Local Development Order (LDO) for district heating, adopted in July 2020. Additionally, the Cranbrook Plan has allocated two hectares of land for an Energy Centre and associated heat network plant and equipment within the development. The new heat network will include heat distribution pipework, and a new heat generation source. The estimated annual heat demand from the new development is 27.4 GWh, with a peak demand of 14.8 MW. A feasibility study has been carried out that has built the technical and economic case for the expansion. The successful bidder will need to develop the design to construction stage. This will involve coordination with the developers and their network builders/operators. The successful bidder will then operate and maintain the network for the duration of the contract in line with industry best practices and the Heat Trust Scheme Standards with a subsequent move to market regulations where applicable. The given contract end date is indicative of the construction end, the expectation is that the successful bidder will then operate and maintain the network for a period of circa 80 years.

Classification

  • CPV45251250 — District-heating plant construction work
  • CPV71314000 — Energy and related services

Lots

  • Lot 1Value not stated

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
ED0389-25
Status
planning
Above Threshold
Yes
Main Procurement Category
works

Legal basis

Id
2023/54
Scheme
UKPGA

Communication

Future Notice Date
9 Feb 2026, 23:59

Lots and requirements

Entry 1
Id
1
Status
planning

Contract period

Ends
1 Jan 2040, 23:59
Starts
1 Nov 2026, 00:00

Items and delivery

Item 1
Id
1
Related Lot
1

Delivery locations

Entry 1
Region
UKK4
Country
GB
Country Name
United Kingdom

Additional Classifications

Entry 1
Id
45251250
Scheme
CPV
Description
District-heating plant construction work
Entry 2
Id
71314000
Scheme
CPV
Description
Energy and related services

Planning and budget

Documents

Entry 1
Id
068502-2025
Format
text/html
Notice Type
UK2
Description
Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
Document Type
marketEngagementNotice
Published
27 Oct 2025, 11:47

Milestones

Entry 1
Id
engagement
Type
engagement
Status
scheduled
Due
21 Nov 2025, 23:59
Description
An online presentation will be delivered by the project team via Microsoft Teams to provide an update on the project. The session will primarily address commercial arrangements and present additional detail regarding the project timeline. This presentation is intended as a market engagement activity and does not constitute a call for competition. Interested parties are invited to RSVP through the following link to receive an invitation to attend: https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/2d232462-8ce6-4d8d-9f26-d920ba4136a9@7b064412-956e-4ebd-880e-2153190112e9 All communications must be directed exclusively through the portal to ensure that all interested parties have equal opportunity to register and receive relevant updates. The presentation will give an overview of the district heating project, which is set to be procured at a later stage. The project team will present updates on the current planning environment, outline developer intentions, and detail the proposed energy strategy for the Cranbrook Expansion Areas. Additionally, the session will include an update on the anticipated timeframes for both procurement and buildout phases. Following the session, the project team will seek feedback from attendees on the comparative merits of options currently under review. This input will support the ongoing refinement of the scheme.

Buyer, suppliers and contacts

Organisation 1
Id
GB-PPON-PLPC-3866-LXMN
Name
East Devon District Council

Roles

buyer

Address

Region
UKK43
Country
GB
Locality
Honiton
Postal Code
EX14 1EJ
Country Name
United Kingdom
Street Address
Blackdown House

Details

Classifications

Entry 1
Id
publicAuthoritySubCentralGovernment
Scheme
UK_CA_TYPE
Description
Public authority - sub-central government

Identifier

Id
PLPC-3866-LXMN
Scheme
GB-PPON

Contact

Recorded locations

  • Buyer location · Honiton · UKK43 · EX14 1EJ · United Kingdom
  • Delivery location · UKK4 · United Kingdom

Notice and amendment history

1 published notice version reviewed by ProcuraAxis.

1 VERSION
  1. ocds-h6vhtk-05d40f-2025-10-27T11:47:31ZPreliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender ·