High Speed 2 (HS2) Ltd has gone out to tender with a major contract for Green Asset Maintenance & Management Services with an estimated value of up to £209.4 million.

HS2 Ltd is a non-departmental public body, wholly funded by the Secretary of State for Transport and sponsored by the Department for Transport.

Under the High Speed Rail (London – West Midlands) Act 2017 HS2 Ltd has a legal requirement to mitigate its environmental effects. In addition, HS2 Ltd also has a requirement through agreements with the Department for Transport to provide environmental benefits. The requirements and provision of benefits include the provision of green assets.

HS2 Ltd has acquired much of its land temporarily to construct the railway. Some of the land has been or will be developed into environmental mitigation sites (Green Assets), which range from sites compensating for the loss of grassland, scrub and woodland habitats to new receptor sites for ancient woodland soils, amphibians and reptiles as well as other ecological and landscape mitigation sites.

Collectively, this is referred to as HS2 Ltd’s Green Corridor, which, once delivered, will span 3,500ha.

HS2 Ltd. has adopted a hierarchical strategy transfer Green Assets not required to safely operate the railway, firstly to original landowners, then with other third parties such as NGOs and charities, and then commercial use before any residual assets become part of the operational asset portfolio.

The final volumes of Maintenance and Management of residual Green Assets will therefore be dependent upon the levels of these asset transfers. The green assets include:

• Woodlands;
• Grasslands;
• Hedgerows;
• Ponds, ditches and other non-engineering related drainage features; and
• • Habitat, including bat houses, reptile banks and hibernacula.

HS2 Ltd are now looking for contractors to undertake the M&M of the assets, saying it is important that M&M of green assets continues to happen to ensure that:

• Its mitigation sites meet their design objectives;
• It achieves its "No Net Loss" requirements and delivers the Green Corridor ambitions;
• It ensures compliance with the Environmental Minimum Requirements (EMRs) and other licence conditions imparted on HS2 Ltd by statutory bodies such as Natural England

In addition, HS2 is seeking to avoid unnecessary reputational damage from failure of habitats and associated programme issues (cost and schedule) of rectifying.

The contract is being tendered in the following three separate Lots:

• Lot 1 Maintenance and Management of Phase 1 Area North (£78,264,000 maximum value)
• Lot 2 Maintenance and Management of Phase 1 Area Central / South ( £117,396,000 maximum value)
• Lot 3 Maintenance and Management of Phase 1 land within the security fence and any operationally sensitive slopes or cuttings. (£13,748,000 maximum value)

Initial contract term for each Lot is 60 months with an option to further extend the contracts for up to a further 60 months via single or multiple fixed term increments. The estimated values include allowance for the contract extension.

Time limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate is 27 February 2024 – click here to access the tender documentation.