Herring and Haven Bridge

What the buyer is asking for

Norfolk County Council is responsible for the maintenance of the Haven Bridge, and the maintenance and operation of the Herring Bridge, which are both twin-leaf lifting bridges located in the port town of Great Yarmouth. The Haven Bridge is operated by Peel Ports on behalf of Great Yarmouth Port Authority, who have a statutory obligation to operate the bridge for navigation. On 19 November 2025, the Minister of State for Local Government and Homelessness made a written statement [UIN HCWS1071] saying that three proposals for unitary local government in Norfolk had been received - these could entail the creation of one, two or three unitary councils. The Minister announced a consultation exercise, which ended on 11 January 2026. The Minister stated that "once the consultations have concluded, the Government will assess the proposals against the criteria in the invitation and decide, subject to parliamentary approval, which, if any, proposals are to be implemented, with or without modification. On 4 December 2025, the Secretary of State for Local Government made a written statement [UIN HCWS1128] stating that the government intends to establish a Mayoral Strategic Authority for Norfolk and Suffolk as soon as possible, and that it is minded to hold inaugural mayoral elections in May 2028. Should these processes lead to unitary local government in Norfolk and/or to the establishment of a Mayoral Strategic Authority covering Norfolk (i) the contract may be transferred, assigned or novated to any successor authority(ies) to the council, or to any joint body incorporating or formed by any such successor and/or to any Mayoral Strategic Authority; and/or (ii) the council or a successor authority or joint body may order services on behalf of other local authorities serving any area within Norfolk's current geographical boundaries.

How this is scored

Published by the buyer. A winning response is written to these weightings, not to the question.

• 10%qualityStaff Experience and Structure
• 6%qualityMobilisation
• 17%qualityRoutine Works and Emergency Response
• 10%qualityCommuncation
• 6%qualityEnvironment
• 8%qualityKPI and Report Management
• 3%qualityStock Management
• 40%pricePrice

What you must already have

Conditions of participation. These are pass or fail, so check them before writing anything.

• economic

  As stated in the procurement documents.

• technical

  As stated in the procurement documents.

2 lots

You can usually bid for one lot without bidding for all of them.

• Maintenance of Haven and Herring Bridge£2.1m

  The following maintenance services are required: 1) Maintenance (planned and reactive). 2) Planned and reactive maintenance of road traffic equipment including movable barriers, flashing beacons, audible warnings and CCTV. 3) Providing support to the emergency services in case of maritime or road traffic accident, chemical spillage, fire or other incident. 4) LOLER and weekly walkover inspection. Full details of the requirement can be found in the Service Specification, which forms a Schedule to the Terms and Conditions.

• Operation of Herring Bridge£4.6m

  The following operation services are required: 1) Operation of the bridge 24/7/365 from a manned control tower on site. 2) Soft and hard facilities management [planned and reactive] of the control buildings, control tower and welfare facilities including cleaning, HVAC, and domestic electrical, plumbing and heating systems. Full details of the requirement can be found in the Service Specification, which forms a Schedule to the Terms and Conditions.

How contested is this?

Buyers publish how many bids they received. Across 38 comparable procurements we can tell you the typical field size, how often one of these goes uncontested, and whether the buyer awards on price or on quality.

Timeline

4 published dates · Europe/London

1. Tender notice published27 days ago

   25 Aug 2026, 16:50 BST
2. Clarification questions by5 days ago

   17 Sept 2026, 12:00 BST
3. Submission deadlinein 6 days

   28 Sept 2026, 10:00 BST
4. Award decision expected byin 84 days

   14 Dec 2026, 23:59 GMT

Commercial outcome and contract awards

Nothing awarded yet

Notice history

1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender

1. Tender notice25 Aug 2026, 16:50 BST081005-2026

Documents

• Tender notice on Find a Tender