Solent Freeport Feasibility Study into Space Focused Infrastructure 2026

Competition Brief

The Portsmouth City Council is looking for a consultancy to do a big study on space-related infrastructure in the Solent area. They want to know if it is an idea to have a Centre of Excellence for things like Electric Propulsion, Satellite Manufacturing, or Satellite Communications.

The people doing the study will think about what’s needed,d if it is possible, le how it should work,ork, and where it should be. The Solent Freeport is an area that includes Portsmouth, Southampton, and the surrounding areas. This is a project that involves architecture, urban planning, and coming up with a plan for the economy. They want to figure out what a high-technology facility, in the Solent area, should look like and how it should work.

Intent

The people doing this study will find out if there is demand and if it is a good idea to have a Centre of Excellence in the Solent. They will look at what the Centre of Excellence in the Solent would have and where the Centre of Excellence in the Solent should be. This will help people make decisions about where to put their money, who to work with,h and what buildings to make in the Centre of Excellence in the Solent area.

Purpose

The company that gets the job will do a study that is based on facts and will cover things: looking at what is missi, ng what people n,eed what other people are d,oing what the Centre of Excellence in the Solent could be, where the Centre of Excellence in the Solent should be, how it could, work and how much money it could make. The final report will help people see what the Centre of Excellence in the Solent could look like and what it could do.

Requirements

Any company that’s qualified and has experience can apply if they are from the UK. When we look at what people apply, we care about the quality of what they can do,o which is 70 percent,t and the price, which is 30 percent. The people who apply must tell us how much they charge per hour for each type of work they do. This is a competition, and it follows the rules of the Procurement Act 2023.

Deliverables

The company that gets the job will have to go to a meeting on 8 April 202,6 send us a plan for the project by 15 April 20,26 give us a draft of the report by 26 June 2026, and send us the final report and a summary that we can share with others by 31 July 2026. We might ask the company to keep working for one or two months, but that would be up to us.

Contract Value

Item	Detail
Total Contract Value	£125,000 including VAT
Evaluation: Quality	70%
Evaluation: Price	30%
Contract Type	Below threshold – open competition
Possible Extension	Up to 2 additional months (council discretion)

Key Dates

Milestone	Date
Documents available	4 March 2026
Deadline for clarification requests	25 March 2026,5:00 pmm
Submission deadline	25 March 2026, 5:00pm
Award decision notified	3 April 2026
Contract start / Inception meeting	8 April 2026
Detailed project plan due	15 April 2026
Draft feasibility report due	26 June 2026
Final report and executive summary due	31 July 2026
Possible contract extension end	30 September 2026

✦ ArchUp Competition Review

This is a public sector procurement tender issued by Portsmouth City Council under the UK Procurement Act 2023, not a traditional open design competition. The organiser is a transparent and accountable public authority with a clear brief and published evaluation criteria. The contract value of £125,000 is modest for a feasibility study of this strategic scale, covering seven distinct workstreams within a four-month delivery window, which raises questions about the depth achievable within budget. The heavy weighting toward quality (70%) over price (30%) is a positive signal that the council prioritises rigour over cost-cutting. However, the commission is restricted to UK-registered firms and the submission deadline falls within days of publication, giving consultancies very limited preparation time. For architecture and urban planning practices with space-sector experience, this represents a genuine opportunity to shape built infrastructure strategy at a regional scale.

Final Thoughts

The Solent Freeport feasibility study is a chance for companies that work with architecture, city planning,g and new technology to come together. The Solent Freeport feasibility study has a deadline and not a lot of moneywhich makesss things tough. The Solent Freeport feasibility study is very important because it could decide where and how a national space technology centre is built. This makes the Solent Freeport feasibility study a good project for the company to take on.