IN Brief:
- Eastleigh Borough Council is procuring one main contractor for 192 approved homes at Kings Copse Avenue, Botley.
- The new £60m tender estimate supersedes an earlier £40m indicative construction figure from pre-market engagement.
- Applications close on 11 November; the competitive flexible procedure may include four shortlisted suppliers and an optional final-offer stage.
Eastleigh Borough Council has opened a main contractor competition for 192 new houses and apartments at Kings Copse Avenue in Botley, Hampshire. The design and build opportunity carries an estimated value of £60m and follows the securing of full development consent in 2026. Published on 12 October, the formal tender marks the transition from project planning and market engagement to the selection of a contractor capable of completing the council-led housing scheme.
The site forms part of Eastleigh’s own housing delivery pipeline, with homes intended for a mixture of market sale, market rent and affordable tenures. Earlier procurement information described a range of one- to four-bedroom properties and an approximately equal division between houses and apartments. The precise final mix and any variations available to the client will depend on the contract documents and development specification, rather than an assumption that all 192 units share the same construction form or tenure.
The formal notice identifies a single design and build contract, bringing the contractor into responsibility for both the design obligations assigned by the client and physical construction. This differs from treating the opportunity as separate appointments for architectural design and a later general building package. The council has established a dedicated delivery team that oversaw the planning stages and is expected to support the scheme through procurement and delivery. This creates a client-side point of coordination for questions about land, planning conditions and the scope allocated to the contractor, although the notice does not identify which design packages are already complete and which must be developed by the appointed business.
Suppliers must first complete a Procurement Specific Questionnaire addressing pass-or-fail participation conditions and scored evidence of technical capability. The deadline for the qualification submission is 11 November 2026, with clarification questions closing on 6 November. Eastleigh intends to invite the four highest-scoring eligible applicants into the invitation-to-tender stage, although the exact outcome depends on the assessments rather than four places being guaranteed regardless of submissions.
In the next stage the shortlisted businesses would submit pricing and development-specific technical proposals and take part in interviews. Eastleigh is running a competitive flexible procedure under the Procurement Act 2023, allowing the authority to reserve an optional best-and-final-offer stage after evaluating initial bids. If that additional stage is not used, selection would be based on the most advantageous tender under the published evaluation criteria. The process is therefore at qualification, with no winning contractor, signed main contract or final construction price announced.
The £60m tender estimate needs to be distinguished from the £40m indicative construction value given in July’s early market-engagement material. The older notice considered the developing scheme and anticipated procurement arrangements; the October opportunity records the figure for the live competition. Neither is proof of final contracted expenditure. Earlier notices also described a JCT Design and Build 2024 form with amendments, and the formal tender continues to position the appointment as a design and build undertaking.
Separate council procurement preparation has considered a ground source heating and cooling network for all 192 dwellings. That early market notice discussed heat pumps and hot-water cylinders in individual properties, plus a shared arrangement of boreholes and pipework, with alternative ownership models to be examined. Those proposals help explain the coordination that may be required between the main contractor and specialist building services packages, but they are not evidence that a heating-network installer has been selected or that final technical specifications have been fixed.
For the main works, coordination between housing types, servicing infrastructure and public realm will form part of a complete project delivery proposal. The scheme has approval and the council has indicated an intention to provide homes and supporting infrastructure on land it owns. Procurement listings suggest an estimated construction period beginning in May 2027 and continuing towards late 2030, but those dates are indicative; the notice does not establish a confirmed mobilisation date or an agreed completion programme.
The formal competition now gives contractors a defined route to the opportunity. Qualifying suppliers face the November submission deadline before the council evaluates technical capability and moves to pricing and interviews. Only after that process, and any optional final-offer round, will Eastleigh be in a position to identify the successful bidder and confirm the construction contract.
