Galliford Try’s Environment business has been appointed to a £110m contract by Severn Trent Water to deliver the River Mease Improvement Project, centred on a 23km cross-country wastewater pipeline. The scheme will transfer treated flows from Packington and Measham treatment works out of the protected River Mease catchment, with the pipeline including a duelled section at the A42 crossing before discharging at a designated outfall into the River Tame.
Galliford Try formally announced the £110m appointment on 3 September 2026. The award adds another major water and wastewater infrastructure package to the UK’s AMP8 construction programme, where regulated investment is creating substantial civils, treatment and network workloads. LCM has separately examined the scale and delivery risks within the £20.5bn Thames Water AMP8 infrastructure pipeline.
Editorial illustration: London Construction Magazine.
£110m Is a Contract Award, Not a Programme Ceiling
Galliford Try’s announcement states that its Environment business has been “appointed to a £110m contract” to deliver the River Mease Improvement Project on behalf of Severn Trent Water. That makes the £110m a confirmed contract value attached to the named project rather than a wider AMP8 programme figure or framework ceiling.
The precise procurement route has not been publicly confirmed in the project announcement. Galliford Try already works with Severn Trent across major water infrastructure programmes, but the available primary material does not establish whether this individual award was made through an existing framework, another procurement mechanism or a separate competition. Galliford Try chief executive Bill Hocking said the scheme reinforces the contractor’s position in “complex, large-scale water and wastewater infrastructure projects”, while strengthening its long-standing relationship with Severn Trent.
23km Pipeline Will Move Flows Out of River Mease Catchment
The core confirmed scope is a 23km cross-country pipeline carrying treated flows from the Packington and Measham treatment works. Galliford Try also confirms a duelled pipeline section at the A42 crossing before the transferred flows reach the River Tame. Earlier Severn Trent community information described approximately 24km of underground pipe and modernisation work at Packington and Measham. LCM is using the 23km figure for the awarded contract because it is the figure stated in Galliford Try’s latest contract announcement.
Detailed engineering information remains limited. The pipeline diameter, pipe material, pumping-station configuration, number of chambers and shafts, detailed tunnelling or horizontal directional drilling scope and MEICA package breakdown have not been publicly confirmed in the latest award information. The award further strengthens Galliford Try’s position among the major UK infrastructure contractors competing for regulated utilities investment. The contractor is also included in LCM’s UK Tier 1 contractor and specialist supply-chain guide, which tracks the large contractors controlling access to major infrastructure and public-sector workloads.
Construction Activity Predates the September Award Announcement
There is an important programme distinction in the River Mease story. The September announcement confirms the £110m Galliford Try appointment, but it should not be treated as the first evidence of physical activity on the scheme.
A Severn Trent community notice issued through Appleby Magna Parish Council in May 2026 said work was beginning on the wider project and that pipe installation would cross Gallows Lane between Measham Road and Leicester Road. The same notice identified Galliford Try as Severn Trent’s contract partner.
This indicates that early pipeline construction activity was already taking place before the £110m appointment was formally announced in September. No single project-wide main construction start date has been publicly confirmed, so the May activity should be described as verified on-site pipeline work rather than used to derive a broader contractual commencement date.
Protected River Drives the Investment
The project is being delivered in response to Water Industry National Environment Programme requirements and forms part of the wider AMP8 environmental investment cycle. The River Mease is protected as a Special Area of Conservation, with nutrient pollution and treated wastewater flows creating long-running environmental constraints within the catchment. North West Leicestershire District Council says new development that increases nutrient loading can only proceed where the authority can establish that the development is nutrient neutral.
Moving treated flows from Packington and Measham away from the Mease is therefore significant beyond the water sector itself. The wider environmental programme has implications for housing and commercial development across settlements affected by nutrient-neutrality requirements.
LCM Analysis: Award, Framework and Construction Are Different Milestones
For contractors and suppliers, the £110m figure is considerably more useful than a headline AMP8 allocation because it represents an identified contractor appointment against a defined project.
It is also important not to reverse-engineer the procurement route from Galliford Try’s wider framework relationships. A framework position provides access to potential work; it is not itself a guarantee that the framework ceiling will convert into contractor revenue. LCM has examined that distinction in its analysis of the £9.5bn UK public works framework and contractor opportunities.
River Mease is different because the £110m project contract has now been publicly announced and physical pipeline activity has separately been evidenced on the ground. What remains unclear is the detailed package structure underneath Galliford Try, including specialist civils, tunnelling, pipe supply, MEICA and other subcontract opportunities.
What Happens Next?
Galliford Try and Severn Trent will continue delivery of the cross-country transfer scheme while the detailed construction programme, specialist supply-chain appointments and remaining technical package information emerge. Earlier
public information identified 2027 as the revised target for completion of the wider pump-out scheme, but the September £110m contract announcement does not confirm a contractual completion date. LCM will therefore treat 2027 as the wider programme target rather than a confirmed Galliford Try completion milestone until the project team publishes an updated construction programme.
public information identified 2027 as the revised target for completion of the wider pump-out scheme, but the September £110m contract announcement does not confirm a contractual completion date. LCM will therefore treat 2027 as the wider programme target rather than a confirmed Galliford Try completion milestone until the project team publishes an updated construction programme.
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Expert Verification & Authorship: Mihai Chelmus
Founder, London Construction Magazine | Construction Testing & Investigation Specialist |
