Chichester District Council has issued a preliminary market engagement notice seeking supply chain interest in its £108 million Selsey Coastal Scheme Capital Works.

Chichester District Council has undertaken a successful programme of beach management over the last decade - Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management (FCERM) Grant in Aid (GiA) funding is in place to continue these works till 2027.

However, the Council says that beach management alone does not address the long-term challenges faced which include:

• increased frequency, magnitude and complexity of the works required to maintain the existing coastal defence structures, as they reach the end of the design lives.
• predicted sea level rise due to climate change.

A feasibility study which was completed in 2023 by Coastal Partners, the council's coastal engineering service, confirmed the viability of a major capital scheme for Selsey. Coastal Partners is the team responsible for managing coastal flood and erosion risk across five Local Authorities. The partnership includes Chichester District Council, Fareham Borough Council, Gosport Borough Council, Portsmouth City Council and Havant Borough Council.

Following a successful Flood Defence Grant in Aid (FDGiA) funding application, the Environment Agency awarded £2.9 million-plus in funding for the options appraisal and outline design phase of the project which commenced in November 2024.

The primary outputs of the options appraisal and outline design stage are an Outline Business Case (OBC) and an outline design for the scheme. Subject to a successful OBC, the design will then be progressed to developed / planning design, detailed design and all the necessary licences and consents will be sought.

Given the condition of the current assets, CDC says the outline design solutions are likely to include encapsulating the existing assets with new structures and capital replacement of existing assets. The size and scale of these works will exceed £50 million and be considered a major project.

Funding for the construction phase will be dependent on a successful Full Business Case. The Council have secured funding to commence the options appraisal and outline design of a major flood and coastal erosion risk management Scheme for Selsey.

The extensive project will require a number of sub-projects to be commissioned prior to the main construction contract being put in place.

Engagement process description

In addition, the project will require extensive market engagement prior to agreeing the scope of work and appointing a supplier to deliver the capital works along the Chichester District coastline.

To support delivery of the options appraisal and outline design stage CDC is now seeking preliminary market engagement to:

• positively influence the shortlist and preferred options selection;
• seek feedback on proposed options, buildability, programme and sequencing;
• provide cost data for bespoke items and temporary works; and
• provide a high-level phase plan to support the OBC.

The key objectives of the early market engagement are to ensure that:

• suppliers have a good understanding of the scheme and site / delivery constraints and risks.
• CDC ends this project stage with robust outline design options;
• CDC develops a delivery procurement strategy informed by market feedback; and
• CDC generates sufficient market interest in the Scheme delivery phase.

The initial market engagement activity is intended to consider options to engage with potential suppliers and to shape and plan the consultation process prior to finalising the project brief. The activities will consist of a combination of virtual meetings, in person workshops and site visits.

As the early market engagement tasks are technically focused, those participating will need to be suitably experienced in coastal and civil engineering and have practical experience working on projects of this type, scale and nature.

Chichester District Council are now inviting interested suppliers by emailing This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it to register their interest and to provide contact details for a representative/lead contact that the Council will contact: company name, contact, email and mobile no.

Estimated publication date of a formal tender notice is 1 April 2030 with an estimated contract start date of 2 September 2030 and an end date of 1 September 2040.

Click here to access the PMEN notice online