The Environment Agency is flagging up the upcoming £3.6 million opportunity for the operation and maintenance of the Boston Barrier ahead of issuing a revised programme update for the procurement, which is now being conducted as a Competitive Flexible Procedure.

 The Boston Barrier comprises a group of over 100 individual assets including a radial gate flood barrier, which between them protect more than 14,000 residential properties and 800 commercial and community buildings.

Since being active the barrier and associated assets have been operated and maintained under an NEC Term Service Contract. The current contract is expected to end in June 2027 and to ensure the continuing readiness of the gate and associated assets a new service contract for their long-term operation and maintenance is required.

The Tender will be split into the following high-level stages:

Stage One – Pre-Selection Stage. This will consist of the following requirements:

• 1A: Procurement Specific Questionnaire (PSQ), including Conditions of Participation (CoP).
• 1B: A Mini-Technical Envelope (Scored), which will be used to down-select suppliers.

Stage Two – Invitation to Tender (ITT) Stage. This will likely include a site visit and will consist of the following requirements:

• 2A: Quality Envelope (including Social Value)
• 2B: Price (Commercial Envelope)
• (OPTIONAL) Stage Three – Final Clarification and Negotiation interviews and/or presentations.

Current estimated start and end contract dates are 4 January 2027 to 30 June 2032, with a further possible extension to 30 June 2033 -Current estimated publication date of the tender notice is 26 October 2026 - at this stage the tender date is an estimate only.