The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has opened preliminary market engagement for two construction packages worth a combined £36.5 million to £40.5 million excluding VAT for the Queen Elizabeth II Memorial in St James’s Park, with formal tendering expected to follow in January 2027.
The procurement is split between a Principal/Main Contractor package estimated at £25 million to £27.5 million and a specialist Bridge Contractor package estimated at £11.5 million to £13 million. Both were published on 20 October as UK2 Preliminary Market Engagement Notices under the Procurement Act 2023.
No contractor has been shortlisted, selected or appointed. The £40.5 million headline figure is the upper end of the combined estimates for the two packages rather than an awarded contract value or the total cost of the memorial programme.
Buckingham Palace and the Victoria Memorial in central London, close to St James’s Park where the Queen Elizabeth II Memorial programme is being developed. Photo: London Construction Magazine.
Key Takeaway: DCMS is testing the construction market before tendering two separate packages. Both are proposed as two-stage appointments beginning with pre-construction services, while the specialist bridge contractor is intended to be appointed directly before later novation to the main contractor.
Two Construction Packages Worth Up to £40.5m
The Principal/Main Contractor market-engagement notice covers the wider construction and civil engineering programme in St James’s Park. Its estimated value is £25 million to £27.5 million excluding VAT.
The scope includes enabling works, site establishment and temporary works; demolition of the existing bridge; bridge foundations and substructures; demolition and reconstruction of public toilets; hard and soft landscaping; drainage and public-realm works; and the careful dismantling, relocation and reinstatement of Grade II-listed structures. The main contractor will also coordinate the installation of memorial sculptures and interface with the separately procured bridge specialist.
The separate Bridge Contractor notice carries an estimated value of £11.5 million to £13 million excluding VAT and covers a substantially more specialist package. DCMS is seeking a contractor capable of developing and delivering the replacement pedestrian bridge with Foster + Partners and the wider design team.
| Package | Estimated Value Excl. VAT | Core Scope |
|---|---|---|
| Principal/Main Contractor | £25m–£27.5m | Enabling works, demolition, civils, bridge substructure, landscaping, heritage works and memorial integration |
| Bridge Contractor | £11.5m–£13m | Design validation, prototyping, stainless-steel fabrication, glazing, assembly, transport, lifting and installation |
The bridge package includes structural stainless-steel fabrication, specialist glass balustrades, incorporated paving and finishes, prototype manufacture and testing, detailed fabrication modelling, assembly, transportation, lifting, installation and associated temporary works. DCMS has not published the final structural geometry, detailed erection sequence or fabrication tolerances at this stage.
PCSA Route Puts Bridge Specialist Ahead of Main Contractor
Both procurements are being developed as two-stage appointments. The first stage would be a Pre-Construction Services Agreement, allowing contractor input into buildability, programme, supply-chain engagement, technical design, risk and price development before DCMS separately commits to Stage Two construction or fabrication works.
For the bridge specialist, the pre-construction phase is expected to cover prototype development and testing, design validation, fabrication detailing and technical refinement. DCMS is specifically asking the market about stainless-steel manufacturing capacity, specialist finishing, glass-balustrade systems, paving interfaces, long-lead materials and the information contractors would need before committing to a Stage Two price.
The proposed commercial structure also creates an unusual interface. DCMS intends initially to appoint the Bridge Contractor directly before subsequently novating the appointment to the Principal/Main Contractor, subject to the final contractual arrangements and approvals.
That sequence is intended to bring specialist bridge expertise into the programme early, but it places particular importance on the boundary between the two packages. The main contractor is expected to deliver the bridge foundations and wider site works, while the specialist package covers the bridge superstructure and its fabrication-to-installation process. Detailed allocation of lifting, installation and other interface responsibilities remains part of the procurement development.
DCMS is considering NEC4 Engineering and Construction Contract arrangements and is seeking market feedback on pricing, risk allocation and the transition from pre-construction into Stage Two. No specific NEC4 main option, Z clauses or final compensation-event structure has been confirmed in the published engagement material.
St James’s Park Adds Heritage and Logistics Constraints
The construction environment will be as important as the permanent design. The memorial runs from Marlborough Gate on The Mall through St James’s Park and across the lake towards Birdcage Walk, combining new landscape works, sculptures, paths and a replacement bridge within one of central London’s most sensitive public spaces.
Foster + Partners was selected to lead the memorial design in 2025. The final proposals include statues of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip by Martin Jennings, a later-life bust of the Queen by Karen Newman, a Commonwealth artwork by Yinka Shonibare and landscape design developed with Michel Desvigne Paysagiste. The existing Blue Bridge is to be replaced by the new pedestrian crossing, whose design includes cast-glass elements inspired by Queen Mary’s Fringe Tiara.
Westminster City Council granted conditional planning permission and listed building consent on 7 April 2026 for the St James’s Park memorial scheme. The approved works include partial relandscaping, figurative sculptures, the replacement bridge, alterations at Marlborough Gate and relocation of public conveniences, the kiosk, gas lamps and The Boy Statue.
Pre-commencement requirements include biodiversity measures and tree protection, adding another layer to a programme that must also manage public access, heritage assets, lake interfaces, security and construction logistics. LCM has previously examined similar delivery pressures in its analysis of central London public-realm construction and logistics risk, where constrained access and live public use can become as important to programme as the permanent works themselves.
Formal Tendering Is Expected in January 2027
The current process is designed to test those commercial and technical assumptions before DCMS issues formal tender notices. Market engagement runs until 31 December 2026, with a joint supplier event scheduled in Westminster on 9 November. Registration for that event closes on 4 November and participating contractors are required to complete a non-disclosure agreement.
Participation in the engagement process is voluntary and is not a condition of bidding later. Formal tender notices for both packages are expected in January 2027 under a Competitive Flexible Procedure being developed in accordance with the Procurement Act 2023.
Indicative procurement information points to the Bridge Contractor entering its pre-construction stage before the main contractor, with target starts in May and August 2027 respectively. Later commitments to bridge fabrication and main construction remain separate Stage Two decisions, and DCMS has not yet fixed the physical construction completion date.
No enabling, demolition, foundation or main construction works have started. The immediate next stage is market engagement, followed by the anticipated publication of the two formal tender notices in January 2027.
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