Find a TenderAwardedContract award notice
Published 16 May 2025, 15:49 BST

Official UK procurement notice

South West Kent Waste Partnership - Household Recycling, Waste Collection And Street Cleansing Contract 2027

Official notice

Authority: Tunbridge Wells Borough Council (Local council)·Consortium: 2 public authorities

ServicesCompetitive flexible procedureAbove threshold
Published estimate£266,000,000≈ £22m / year · £266,000,000 inc. VAT16.5% below published estimate
Submissions closed 28 Jul 2025awarded 23 Apr 2026
Award (standstill) to FCC Waste Services (UK) Limited
Contract term 12 yrsends 1 Apr 2039 · up to 1 Apr 2041 with extensions · starts 1 Apr 2027

What is being bought

Published requirement description

Tunbridge Wells Borough Council (TWBC) and Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council (TMBC) as the South West Kent Waste Partnership (together the Authorities) are looking to procure a Household Recycling, Waste Collection and Street Cleansing Services contractor. The Authorities have been working in partnership since 2018.

  • The authority expects to re-tender this requirement around 1 May 2036, 23:59 BST.
  • How the procedure runs: Stage One - Invitation to Submit Initial Tenders Both a tender notice and the full tender pack will be issued, and any interested tenderer will be eligible to come forward, view and respond to the documents. Once the initial tender period has closed, the Authorities will begin the evaluation. The evaluation of initial tenders will be completed in the following order: 1. All pre supplier questionnaires will be assessed and evaluated. 2. The Authorities will then move to assessing the mandatory elements listed within the tender documents. 3. The scored elements will then be assessed, once initial scoring is completed, the Authorities will have an opportunity to raise any clarifications required. The responses to clarifications will then be considered and scoring may be adjusted. Once the scoring window is closed, no further changes will be made to assigned scores. Tenderers will be assessed against the advertised criteria. Tenderers may be excluded throughout the process - the evaluation section of this ITT sets out the criteria for assessment and relevant exclusion terms and set benchmarks. 4. Once the assessment of initial tenders has concluded, tenderers who remain in the process will proceed to Stage two. Stage Two - Dialogue Stage two will begin dialogue between the Authorities and the tenderers. These sessions will have the aim of furthering both tenderers' and the Authorities' understanding of the contract requirements and dialogue will focus on the issues highlighted within the specification document. For clarity, dialogue in this process will be defined as, 'discussion between the Authorities and tenderers to discuss any aspect of the service, e.g. the service requirements or proposed solution (enhancing understanding)'. 1. Stage two will commence with the issuing of a letter inviting tenderers that have successfully passed Stage one to attend one or more dialogue meetings. 2. The letter will also provide details of any new information made available to tenderers at this stage in the procurement. 3. The letter will also describe how the dialogue will be conducted, including the location and dates for the relevant meetings, as well as the attendee arrangements. 4. Stage two will conclude with the issuing of letters to all participating tenderers confirming the closure of dialogue. Stage Three - Negotiation Stage three will move into the negotiation of proposals. Whilst the Authorities' intention is to hold a negotiation stage within this process, in the event that the Authorities deem this stage to offer no value to the process, they reserve the right to disregard this stage and move forward to stage four. Negotiation in this process will be defined as, 'discussion between the Authorities and the tenderers with a view to improving the content of tenders'. 1. Stage three will commence with the issuing of a letter inviting tenderers to attend one or more negotiation meetings. 2. The letter will also provide details of any new information made available to tenderers at this stage in the procurement. 3. The letter will also describe how the negotiations will be conducted, including the location and dates for the relevant meetings, as well as the attendee arrangements. 4. Stage three will conclude with the issuing of letters to all participating tenderers confirming the closure of negotiations. Stage Four - Invitation to Submit Final Tenders At Stage four, tenderers will be given an opportunity to submit their final tender and will be informed of the outcome of the process. 1. Stage four will commence with the issuing of a letter inviting tenderers to submit their final tenders. 2. Final tenders must be submitted in accordance with the timetable and instructions set out in this document and any additional information provided. 3. After the deadline for submission of final tenders, the Authorities will consider, in respect of each tenderer that submitted a tender, whether the tenderer or any related persons within its corporate group, associated persons relied on to meet the conditions of participation, or proposed sub-contractors, are excluded or excludable tenderers and will consider whether to disregard the tender submitted in accordance with their obligations under the Act. If the tenderer is an excluded or excludable tenderer only by virtue of an associated person or proposed sub-contractor, the Authorities will notify the tenderer of their intention to disregard its tender and provide the tenderer with reasonable opportunity to replace the associated person or sub-contractor. If as a consequence of this process the Authorities disregard a tender from an excluded or excludable tenderer, or are aware of an associated person or sub-contractor having been replaced, they will give notice of this fact within 30 days of their decision to the Procurement Review Unit (PRU). 4. The Authorities will conduct an assessment of all final tenders in order to identify the tenderer which has submitted the most advantageous tender in accordance with the assessment methodology and award criteria set out in the Tender Notice and described in this document. In carrying out this assessment, the Authorities will disregard any tender that does not satisfy the conditions of participation. The Authorities may also disregard a tender: a. from a tenderer that is not a United Kingdom tenderer or a treaty state Supplier or that intends to sub-contract the performance of all or part of the contract to a Supplier that is not a United Kingdom Supplier or a treaty state Supplier; or b. if the tender breaches a procedural requirement set out in the Tender Notice or associated tender documents; or c. if the tender offers a price that the Authorities consider to be abnormally low for the performance of the contract. Where the Authorities consider that a price offered by a tenderer is abnormally low, the Authorities will notify the tenderer and give it reasonable opportunity to demonstrate that it will be able to perform the contract for the price offered. The Authorities will only disregard the tender if the tenderer cannot satisfactorily demonstrate that it will be able to perform the contract for the price offered. 5. Once the assessment has concluded, the Authorities will provide an assessment summary to all tenderers that submitted final tenders to: a. inform them whether they have been successful in being awarded the contract b. provide an explanation of the assessment of their tender against the relevant award criteria, in accordance with the requirements of the Act c. where different from the tenderers concerned, provide information in respect of the most advantageous tender submitted, including details of the assessment of this tender against the relevant award criteria and the tenderer's name 6. Once the assessment summaries have been provided to the tenderers that submitted final tenders, the Authorities will also publish a contract award notice on the Central Digital Platform to commence the mandatory 8 working day standstill period. 7. Subject to completion of the mandatory standstill period, Stage four will end with the Authorities entering into the contract with the preferred tenderer and publication of a Contract Details Notice on the Central Digital Platform (within 30 days of the date on which the contract is entered into). Where appropriate, a copy of the contract may also be published on the Central Digital Platform. Procurement Portal The Authorities are in the process of changing procurement portal providers. The Authorities will switch from the current Proactis portal in August 2025 and move to the Delta system in October 2025. The Authorities will conduct events 1-5 using the Proactis system, stages 6 and 7 will be managed via email. The Authorities intend to conduct stages 8 onward via the Delta system, subject to successful migration across to the new platform. In the event of a delay, the Authorities will inform tenderers, and it is likely that we will continue to use email as the management system for stages 8 onward. Once the transition is complete all further notices required for compliance with the Act will be issued using the Delta platform.
  • No preliminary market engagement: Preliminary market engagement was carried under Public Contract Regulations 2015 our prior to Procurement Act 2023 going live.

CPV: Household-refuse collection services · Street-cleaning and sweeping services

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · value published
Lot #1AwardedRenewal 12 yrsPublished value£266,000,000
Contract period: 1 Apr 2027 – 1 Apr 2039 (12 yrs) · up to 1 Apr 2041 with extensionsValue: £266,000,000 exc. VAT · £266,000,000 inc. VAT
Delivery: South East
Extensions: Tender has an option for one 24 month extension.

What it takes to win
i

How this buyer will score bids.

The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).

Evaluation split and conditions of participation as published; the tender pack may add more
How bids were scored
  • Stage one (Initial Tenders) - Cost: Weighting - 0%
  • Stage one (Initial Tenders) - Quality: Weighting - 100%
  • Stage 2 (Final Tenders)- Cost: Weighting - 60%
  • Stage 2 (Final Tenders) - Quality: Weighting - 40%

Procedure terms & legal framework

From the official record
Procedure method
Competitive flexible procedure
Legal basis
UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
Procurement category
Services
Notice status
Awarded
Procurement threshold
Above threshold (FTS publication)
Regulatory regime
Standard
Commercial structure
Stand-alone contract (no framework)
Competition type
Competitive procedure
GPA / WTO covered
Unspecified in notice
Recurring procurement
Yes · next expected 1 May 2036
First published
16 May 2025, 15:49 BST
Last source update
23 Apr 2026, 16:53 BST
Award evaluation window
Submission end – 21 Apr 2026
Authority reference
DN774678
FTS notice number
2025/S 000-022347
Latest notice
Contract award notice (UK6)
Classification (CPV)
Household-refuse collection servicesStreet-cleaning and sweeping services
Delivery area
South East (UKJ46)
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-05162b Find a Tender
How it runs

Stage One - Invitation to Submit Initial Tenders

Both a tender notice and the full tender pack will be issued, and any interested tenderer will be eligible to come forward, view and respond to the documents.

Once the initial tender period has closed, the Authorities will begin the evaluation. The evaluation of initial tenders will be completed in the following order:

  1. All pre supplier questionnaires will be assessed and evaluated.
  2. The Authorities will then move to assessing the mandatory elements listed within the tender documents.
  3. The scored elements will then be assessed, once initial scoring is completed, the Authorities will have an opportunity to raise any clarifications required. The responses to clarifications will then be considered and scoring may be adjusted. Once the scoring window is closed, no further changes will be made to assigned scores.

Tenderers will be assessed against the advertised criteria. Tenderers may be excluded throughout the process - the evaluation section of this ITT sets out the criteria for assessment and relevant exclusion terms and set benchmarks.

  1. Once the assessment of initial tenders has concluded, tenderers who remain in the process will proceed to Stage two.

Stage Two - Dialogue

Stage two will begin dialogue between the Authorities and the tenderers. These sessions will have the aim of furthering both tenderers' and the Authorities' understanding of the contract requirements and dialogue will focus on the issues highlighted within the specification document. For clarity, dialogue in this process will be defined as, 'discussion between the Authorities and tenderers to discuss any aspect of the service, e.g. the service requirements or proposed solution (enhancing understanding)'.

  1. Stage two will commence with the issuing of a letter inviting tenderers that have successfully passed Stage one to attend one or more dialogue meetings.
  2. The letter will also provide details of any new information made available to tenderers at this stage in the procurement.
  3. The letter will also describe how the dialogue will be conducted, including the location and dates for the relevant meetings, as well as the attendee arrangements.
  4. Stage two will conclude with the issuing of letters to all participating tenderers confirming the closure of dialogue.

Stage Three - Negotiation

Stage three will move into the negotiation of proposals. Whilst the Authorities' intention is to hold a negotiation stage within this process, in the event that the Authorities deem this stage to offer no value to the process, they reserve the right to disregard this stage and move forward to stage four. Negotiation in this process will be defined as, 'discussion between the Authorities and the tenderers with a view to improving the content of tenders'.

  1. Stage three will commence with the issuing of a letter inviting tenderers to attend one or more negotiation meetings.
  2. The letter will also provide details of any new information made available to tenderers at this stage in the procurement.
  3. The letter will also describe how the negotiations will be conducted, including the location and dates for the relevant meetings, as well as the attendee arrangements.
  4. Stage three will conclude with the issuing of letters to all participating tenderers confirming the closure of negotiations.

Stage Four - Invitation to Submit Final Tenders

At Stage four, tenderers will be given an opportunity to submit their final tender and will be informed of the outcome of the process.

  1. Stage four will commence with the issuing of a letter inviting tenderers to submit their final tenders.
  2. Final tenders must be submitted in accordance with the timetable and instructions set out in this document and any additional information provided.
  3. After the deadline for submission of final tenders, the Authorities will consider, in respect of each tenderer that submitted a tender, whether the tenderer or any related persons within its corporate group, associated persons relied on to meet the conditions of participation, or proposed sub-contractors, are excluded or excludable tenderers and will consider whether to disregard the tender submitted in accordance with their obligations under the Act. If the tenderer is an excluded or excludable tenderer only by virtue of an associated person or proposed sub-contractor, the Authorities will notify the tenderer of their intention to disregard its tender and provide the tenderer with reasonable opportunity to replace the associated person or sub-contractor. If as a consequence of this process the Authorities disregard a tender from an excluded or excludable tenderer, or are aware of an associated person or sub-contractor having been replaced, they will give notice of this fact within 30 days of their decision to the Procurement Review Unit (PRU).
  4. The Authorities will conduct an assessment of all final tenders in order to identify the tenderer which has submitted the most advantageous tender in accordance with the assessment methodology and award criteria set out in the Tender Notice and described in this document. In carrying out this assessment, the Authorities will disregard any tender that does not satisfy the conditions of participation. The Authorities may also disregard a tender:

a. from a tenderer that is not a United Kingdom tenderer or a treaty state Supplier or that intends to sub-contract the performance of all or part of the contract to a Supplier that is not a United Kingdom Supplier or a treaty state Supplier; or

b. if the tender breaches a procedural requirement set out in the Tender Notice or associated tender documents; or

c. if the tender offers a price that the Authorities consider to be abnormally low for the performance of the contract. Where the Authorities consider that a price offered by a tenderer is abnormally low, the Authorities will notify the tenderer and give it reasonable opportunity to demonstrate that it will be able to perform the contract for the price offered. The Authorities will only disregard the tender if the tenderer cannot satisfactorily demonstrate that it will be able to perform the contract for the price offered.

  1. Once the assessment has concluded, the Authorities will provide an assessment summary to all tenderers that submitted final tenders to:

a. inform them whether they have been successful in being awarded the contract

b. provide an explanation of the assessment of their tender against the relevant award criteria, in accordance with the requirements of the Act

c. where different from the tenderers concerned, provide information in respect of the most advantageous tender submitted, including details of the assessment of this tender against the relevant award criteria and the tenderer's name

  1. Once the assessment summaries have been provided to the tenderers that submitted final tenders, the Authorities will also publish a contract award notice on the Central Digital Platform to commence the mandatory 8 working day standstill period.
  2. Subject to completion of the mandatory standstill period, Stage four will end with the Authorities entering into the contract with the preferred tenderer and publication of a Contract Details Notice on the Central Digital Platform (within 30 days of the date on which the contract is entered into). Where appropriate, a copy of the contract may also be published on the Central Digital Platform.

Procurement Portal

The Authorities are in the process of changing procurement portal providers. The Authorities will switch from the current Proactis portal in August 2025 and move to the Delta system in October 2025. The Authorities will conduct events 1-5 using the Proactis system, stages 6 and 7 will be managed via email. The Authorities intend to conduct stages 8 onward via the Delta system, subject to successful migration across to the new platform. In the event of a delay, the Authorities will inform tenderers, and it is likely that we will continue to use email as the management system for stages 8 onward. Once the transition is complete all further notices required for compliance with the Act will be issued using the Delta platform.

Review and risk notes
Risks

Throughout the commissioning cycle, the Authorities have collated the following list of known contract risks, identified by the Authorities as potentially resulting in the need for modifications during the term of the contract. If any of the following risks materialise during the term, the Authorities reserve the right to modify the contract as per Sections 18 (2)(z)(i) and 74 (Schedule 8 part 5) of the Procurement Act 2023 (the Act).

Risk 1

Local Government Reorganisation (LGR)

As per the announcement in late 2024, the Authorities are in a two-tier authority area and are likely to be subject to LGR. Further information is available at, www.gov.uk/government/collectio… ↗.

Will the risks be subject to dialogue/negotiation? No, any information will be publicly available.

Will the risks be priced as part of the tender? No, as the Authorities are not yet aware of how much this will affect the contract.

Will the risks be evaluated and, if so, how? No

How will the risks be reflected in the terms of the contract so that they constitute permitted modifications under the Act? The terms and conditions of the contract allow for the contract to novate to any new body established to take on the legal responsibilities of the Authorities.

Risk 2

Fleet replacement and composition in 2031

The Authorities are aware that a significant proportion of the collection fleet will need to be renewed in 2031.

Will the risks be subject to dialogue/negotiation? Subject to potential modification in the future

Will the risks be priced as part of the tender? No

Will the risks be evaluated and, if so, how? No

How will the risks be reflected in the terms of the contract so that they constitute permitted modifications under the Act? The terms and conditions of the contract refer to the relevant modification exemptions in the Act, referred to above.

Risk 3

Deposit Return Scheme (DRS)

Introduction of a DRS

Impact on nature, volume and tonnage of material, for Household collections and Street cleaning arisings.

Will the risks be subject to dialogue/negotiation? Yes, dialogue to be held during Procurement Process

Will the risks be priced as part of the tender? No

Will the risks be evaluated and, if so, how? No

How will the risks be reflected in the terms of the contract so that they constitute permitted modifications under the Act? The terms and conditions of the contract refer to the relevant modification exemptions in the Act, referred to above.

Risk 4

Simpler Recycling Reforms

Full implementation of the reforms

Impact on nature, volume and tonnage of materials

Will the risks be subject to dialogue/negotiation? Yes, dialogue to be held during Procurement Process.

Will the risks be priced as part of the tender? No

Will the risks be evaluated and, if so, how? Yes

How will the risks be reflected in the terms of the contract so that they constitute permitted modifications under the Act? The terms and conditions of the contract refer to the relevant modification exemptions in the Act, referred to above.

Risk 5

Fuel Tank

No fuel tank is available at North Farm Depot. Installation of such is a project under consideration by the Authorities. The project is dependent on a number of factors and will be confirmed to the successful tenderer in due course. In the event that a fuel tank is installed for contractor use, the Authorities anticipate the successful tenderer being responsible for maintenance, however this will be subject to discussion.

Will the risks be subject to dialogue/negotiation? May form part of the dialogue stage.

Will the risks be priced as part of the tender? No

Will the risks be evaluated and, if so, how? No

How will the risks be reflected in the terms of the contract so that they constitute permitted modifications under the Act? The terms and conditions of the contract refer to the relevant modification exemptions in the Act, referred to above.

How it was run

Official notice
Run through: ProContract (Due North) · Who buys & how to bid on ProContract
Supplier login requiredElectronic submission allowedLanguage: EN
Access & registration note: Free · short registration with manual review; public opportunity list
Submission deadline
28 Jul 2025, 00:00 BST
Clarification deadline
27 Jun 2025, 12:00 BST
Submission channel
Official e-sourcing portal
Electronic submission
Allowed
Accepted languages
en
Detailed submission instructions & authority contactsFrom official release

Timeline

16 May 2025 → 1 Apr 2027 · 8 dates
  1. Tender notice published
    16 May 2025, 15:49 BST
  2. Clarification questions by
    27 Jun 2025, 12:00 BST
  3. Submission deadline
    28 Jul 2025, 00:00 BST
  4. Award decision expected by190 days ago
    21 Apr 2026, 23:59 BST
  5. Assessment summaries sent189 days ago
    23 Apr 2026, 00:00 BST
  6. Latest notice published188 days ago
    23 Apr 2026, 16:53 BST
  7. Standstill ends175 days ago
    6 May 2026, 23:59 BST
  8. Today
    29 Oct 2026
  9. Contract startsin 153 days
    1 Apr 2027, 00:00 BST

Notice history

5 events · 3 releases on Find a Tender · since 16 May 2025
  1. Tender notice published
    16 May 2025, 15:49 BST
    UK4
  2. Tender notice published
    27 May 2025, 18:36 BST
    UK4
  3. Contract award notice published
    23 Apr 2026, 16:53 BST
    UK6
  4. Status changed to complete
    23 Apr 2026, 16:53 BST
  5. Contract signature expected
    8 Jun 2026, 23:59 BST
    scheduled

Commercial outcome & contract awards

Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast
Awards 1
Awarded value (inc. VAT) £222,109,1261 award inc. VAT; no net value published
Bids received 2
Named bidders 2published on the award notice
Awarded toValueDateStatus
FCC Waste Services (UK) Limited1 Apr 2027 – 1 Apr 2039 · up to 1 Apr 2041Extensions: This contract is for an initial term of 12 years with an option to extend by up to two years (12+2). · Options: Vehicle costs from year 5 as per the ITT and known contract risks.£222,109,126 inc. VAT23 Apr 2026standstill to 6 May 2026Standstill

Bid statistics published by the authority

BidsSMEVCSEValid bid range
2final-stage tenders · 4 at stage one00—

Who bid

Bidders as named on the Procurement Act 2023 award notice. “Won” means the bidder holds an award on this notice.

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

2 public bodies on the notice

Tunbridge Wells Borough Council

Contracting authorityPublic authority - sub-central government GB-PPON: PLDX-6964-RZQX Town Hall, Monson Way, Royal Tunbridge Wells, South East, TN1 1RSContact name, email

Consortium members and other public bodies

  • Tonbridge & Malling Borough CouncilContracting authorityPublic authority - sub-central governmentGB-PPON: PBNB-2692-VQCJ West Malling, South EastContact name, email

Bidders & participating suppliers

2 commercial parties on the notice · 1 awarded
  • FCC WASTE SERVICES (UK) LIMITEDAwarded supplierGB-COH: 00988844GB-PPON: PYCH-1854-XBVD 3 Sidings Court, Doncaster, Yorkshire & Humber, DN4 5NUContact email
  • VEOLIA ES (UK) LIMITEDBidder / tendererGB-COH: 02481991GB-PPON: PHPM-6732-PLLY 210 Pentonville Road, London, London, N1 9JY

Official documents & specifications (4)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Tender pack and attachments

  • Bidding documents and specifications tenderBidding documents and specificationsTenderers must express their interest through the Kent Business Portal, (https://www.kentbusinessportal.org.uk/). The link to register is https://procontract.due-north.com/register, registration is free. Once registered tenderers will be able to express their interest and then v…

Notices published for this procedure

  • Contract award notice awardContract award noticeUK6Contract award notice on Find a Tender
  • Tender notice tenderTender noticeUK4Tender notice on Find a Tender
  • Tender notice tenderTender noticeUK4Tender notice on Find a Tender