RFP QuestBeta
OpenStage · tender

Forestry Commission

Construction of a new laboratory building (Holt 2 Lab), designed and built to operate at Containment Level 3 (CL3) standards

ConstructionCPV 45214610
Value£16.7m
Deadline
Published8 Apr 2026
RegionNationwide
Who to contact
Lucia Mihok
lucia.mihok@forestresearch.gov.uk
0300 067 4000

The procurement contact named on the official notice.

How to submit
Open the submissions portal

The submission route named on the official notice.

Contract value in context
£16.7mtotal contract value
median £158k
this tender£0£18.0m

This is a large award for Construction — above three-quarters of comparable contracts. Based on 64,002 valued Construction tenders in our corpus.

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The brief

SCOPE OF WORKS: Construction of a new laboratory building designed and built to operate at Containment Level 3 (CL3), on a greenfield site within the existing boundary of Forest Research's Alice Holt Research Station in Farnham, Surrey, UK.

The new 'Holt 2' research facility will be a purpose-built expansion of existing facilities at Forest Research's Alice Holt Research Station, designed to significantly enhance the UK's capability and capacity to study tree pests and pathogens in controlled environments.

The new facility will significantly increase the capacity of the existing Holt 1 containment laboratory.

Full specifications will be provided in the Specification Documents once the Invitation to Tender is released.

The project overview document is attached to this notice.

CONTRACT STRATEGY: Traditional construction works, turnkey contract (Client-supplied detailed design & specification) on a fixed lump sum basis using the NEC4 ECC Main Option A - Priced contract with Activity Schedule.

Performance Bond (10%), and Parent Company Guarantees (where applicable).

Liquidated damages for delay are anticipated to be set at £700 per day, subject to confirmation in the ITT.

DESIGN STRATEGY: At the time of issuing the ITT, detailed design and specification for all elements (RIBA Stage 4) will have been completed (and included in the ITT); the appointed turnkey contractor will take responsibility from, and progress from, the start of RIBA Stage 5 onwards.

It is anticipated that the ITT may include an option (or alternative) for the novation of client‑supplied designs to the turnkey contractor.

Note that certain proprietary equipment and supply chain requirements will be specified within the ITT where necessary to meet technical and operational requirements of the contract works.

The new building is required to achieve a BREEAM Excellent rating, demonstrating a high standard of environmental performance and sustainability.

Note: A Planning Application has been submitted for this build.

The contract scope includes all works and services required to deliver the laboratory as a fully operational, CL3‑validated containment facility, as outlined above, on a turnkey basis.

This includes traditional building construction works—such as foundations, structural steelwork, cladding, building services and landscaping—as well as specialist laboratory and containment facility works.

Included with this Notice are the following documents and drawings, which provide further information on the location and the overall laboratory building structure: 1.3434001 A (Location Plan) 2.3434009 (Proposed Block Plan) 3.3434010 D (Proposed Ground Floor Plan) 4.3434011 D (Proposed First Floor Plan) 5.3434012 C (Proposed Roof Plan) 6.3434015 B (Proposed North Elevation) 7.3434016 B (Proposed South Elevation) 8.3434017 A (Proposed East Elevation) 9.3434018 A (Proposed West Elevation) 10.8492PLGA110 (Proposed Site Plan) 11.G28553PERHL2XXDRS06001 P04 12.G28553PERHL2XXDRS06002 P04 13.Holt 2 project overview for tender - rev01

Key requirements

What the supplier must deliver

01

The new building is required to achieve

The new building is required to achieve a BREEAM Excellent rating, demonstrating a high standard of environmental performance and sustainability.

02

The contract scope includes all works

The contract scope includes all works and services required to deliver the laboratory as a fully operational, CL3‑validated containment facility, as outlined above, on a turnkey basis.

03

Included with this Notice are the following

Included with this Notice are the following documents and drawings, which provide further information on the location and the overall laboratory building structure:.

Derived from the notice text — always confirm against the original documents.

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Source & provenance
OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-067e4a
Stage
tender · Open
Source
Find a Tender
Buyer ref
032066-2026
View the original notice on Find a Tender

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source data © Crown copyright.

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