DMNV 026 - Severn Valley Funding and Finance Strategy

This is an award notice for consultancy support with technical expertise in funding, finance and delivery models.

The Severn Valley Water Management Scheme (SVWMS) is an ambitious project at a strategic scale which focuses on exploring how the natural landscape and natural processes may be used to contribute to climate resilience and improved community wellbeing across the Upper Severn. To deliver this integrated catchment approach, a joint project team has been established. The Environment Agency and Natural Resources Wales are leading the technical water management work and Shropshire and Powys Councils are taking the lead on the local place-based requirements, including understanding and quantifying the integrated benefits across environmental, social and economic drivers and using these to develop a funding and finance strategy. Given the transformative nature of the scheme, Shropshire Council is seeking support to provide a flexible and innovative approach to funding models, focusing on the delivery of key outputs for the funding and finance workstream. This needs to be achieved at pace in line with the wider SVWMS work programme up to December 2025. Highly experienced and forward thinking consultancy support is required with technical expertise in funding, finance and delivery models. With demonstratable experience in strategic scale infrastructure and providing robust and innovative financing solutions, the contractor must be able to develop a comprehensive funding strategy which accompanies the technical infrastructure solution. This must capitalise on the unique cross border geography between England and Wales, consider the wider ecosystem and integrated approach to benefits, provide a model which supports delivery, management and maintenance and takes an innovative approach which unlocks investment and a long term commitment from the private sector.

Whilst initially focused on establishing the funding and delivery approach within a strategy for the Severn Valley Water Management Scheme, subsequent work will be required to progress the overarching strategy into a suite of robust business cases. Subject to the outcome of this initial phase, the successful contractor may therefore be required to take the funding and finance work forward into the next stage.