Tenders

Invitation to Tender for Cheshire and Warrington Outline Water Plan

The newly established Cheshire and Warrington Combined Authority (CWCA) has recently stated its intention to commission an Independent Economic Review (IER) for the subregion – setting out the evidence for the opportunities for and constraints on local growth. In support of this, it is vital to better understand where water infrastructure may require upgrades to support local ambition, and how we can better work together to ensure that flooding and drought are not impediments to growth whilst ensuring that wider ecosystem services and farming resilience are better supported.

Simultaneously, the Water White Paper published in January 2026 committed Government to act on the Independent Water Commission recommendation, setting up Regional Systems Planning in England. DEFRA have set out an intention to pilot this through Regional System Planners (RSPs), established across each region of England with the aim of influencing both PR29 and other water system investment plans. Defra are keen for partnerships to pilot RSP governance and structures during this set-up year. and have set out that they only intend to provide high‑level direction on form. Within this context there is a significant opportunity to influence water planning, and ensure alignment with local growth and wider environmental ambitions.

To support the IER along with engagement with the establishing North West RSP, ECW is seeking to appoint consultants to develop a strategic, place‑based evidence base and outline water plan that sits between national/regional water planning processes and local spatial, economic, and infrastructure planning. This will:

• Provide a strategic evidence base that surfaces and supports growth and development priorities and pipeline, facilitating project delivery through interaction with incoming statutory plans and funding rounds
• Provide evidence for the Spatial Development Strategy (SDS), Growth Plan, and constituent Local Plans, ensuring water availability, flood risk, environmental limits, and infrastructure needs are addressed early and coherently;
• Builds on already proposed landscape scale interventions to create a single place-based evidence base and plan that maps how these will impact future water system. This will build the case for a single-linked plan for delivery of allo interventions and enable a systems view of interventions in future water system challenges - particularly including Nature‑based Solutions (NbS), grey water usage, water recycling, and increased groundwater use as part of long‑term water resilience, flood mitigation, and environmental recovery.

The successful bidder will also facilitate set-up of a working groups which can inform ongoing local input to the emerging Regional System Plan and water company PR29 post-contract conclusion.  These will likely include groups focused on:

•  Growth & demand scenarios
• Flood risk & drainage integration
• Environmental limits & WFD/Habitats
• Innovation & alternative water solutions
• NbS/landscape interventions

It is worth noting for prospective tenderers that the SDS has not yet been developed and our LA partners are currently developing new Local Plans. Growth and demand scenarios should therefore be presented in a bounded manner, with an understanding that the exact nature of future development is in question – with some schemes more well-progressed and certain than others. The engagement with partners developing major growth projects and developing these plans should be carefully coordinated with consultants undertaking the IER and other wider partners to ensure that stakeholder fatigue is minimised, and that a shared understanding of future scenarios is utilised where possible.

Closing Date & Submission 

The closing date and time for the receipt of submissions and all requested documentation relating to this stage is 17:00 hours on 24th September 2026. Late submissions will not be accepted.

Submissions will only be accepted if they are returned via email to tenders@cheshireandwarrington.com Bidders should not send their completed submissions to/copy in any other email address.

Tenderers are advised that it is compulsory to complete and return all of the following documents in the format provided as per the instructions of this ITT. All questions must be answered, where a question does not apply please state “Not applicable”.  Failure to complete the documents in full and/or provide all documentation will result in a non-compliant tender submission and will mean that your tender is not considered.

1. Form of Tender Declaration (Appendix 1)
2. Pricing Schedule (Appendix 2)
3. Supplier Technical Questions & Answer Sheet (Appendix 3)

Tender Queries

If you have any specific questions concerning this document or the process for submission of your proposal, then please email through to: tenders@cheshireandwarrington.com no later than 17:00, 10th September 2026. Only questions submitted to this email address will be answered.  Queries received after this date will not be accepted and will not be responded to.

It would be most helpful if queries could be submitted in one email rather than piecemeal. If any question or request for clarification is considered to be of material significance, both the question and the response may be issued for review by all potential providers in a suitably anonymous form. All communication received from potential providers will be treated in strict confidence but are subject to this paragraph.

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