Track the business activity and commercial plans of Ebbsfleet Development Corporation — identify tender and future spending opportunities before they reach the market, follow cabinet and committee decisions, and understand the council’s priorities, with intelligence extracted from 17 analysed meetings.
Meetings analysed17
Procurement opportunities19
Pressures tracked17
Estimated pipeline value£168m–£237m
Active procurement topics
Over the last 12 months, the most frequently discussed commercial topics in this council's meetings have been Construction & Building Works (28 mentions, easing), IT & Digital (14 mentions, easing), Culture & Leisure (10 mentions, rising) and Corporate & Business Support (9 mentions, rising).
Commercial signals extracted from recent Ebbsfleet Development Corporation meetings — approvals, budget decisions and early procurement discussions, before a tender is published.
The committee approved reserved matters for the first extensive phase of the Eastern Quarry major urban park. The park will include sports and recreation facilities, an urban square, play areas, a community garden, a skate area and a 9v9 pitch. The scheme also brings ongoing maintenance implications, funded through resident service charges and trust stewardship arrangements.
“the proposals before you tonight are made by easn quy limited and seek permission for fo Reserve matters for the first extensive phase of the major Urban Park comprising a high quality landscape vity space and formal Sports recreational facilities including but not limited to a m…”
The corporation commenced the first formal stage of contractor procurement for infrastructure needed to enable phase one of development at EC Central. Submissions were due in mid-February and the board noted a strong level of interest through the tender portal, indicating a live and material procurement opportunity.
“So I'll take my section as read just a couple of highlights um before I hand over to Paul which is that in the at the start of January 6th of January to be precise we commence the first formal stage of our contractor procurement process um for the infrastructure to enable the fir…”
The board reviewed the half-year finance position and forecast annual spend. Revenue expenditure is expected to be £7.4m, made up of a £6.0m departmental allocation and £1.4m from reserves, while forecast capital expenditure is £17.3m, mainly on Ebbsfleet Central, community buildings and electricity investment for the Garden City.
“The report in front of you um shows the position as at the half year point so as at the end of September uh section two and Annex a show up our Revenue uh expenditure we are forecasting that we're going to spend 7.4 million this year which is made up of six million allocation fro…”
The board was told that a revised procurement and contract management policy had been amended to reflect the new Procurement Act and was agreed at the Audit and Risk Committee that morning. Training for staff was due to begin, with the updated policy to come back to the next board meeting for sign-off.
“"I did want to to note that on um page four of that particular paper there's an action here for us to implement and embed the new requirements of the procurement act um which came in February at our act this morning. Um our act considered um a revised procurement and contract man…”
Reserved matters approval was granted for Ashmere Western Village phase 3, delivering 216 new homes with 25% affordable housing, associated infrastructure and a substation. The scheme is a significant residential development within the Eastern Quarry area and is to proceed subject to conditions.
“phase three will deliver 216 high quality new homes 25% of which will be affordable in accordance with the outline planning per Mission a mix of unit types proposed including one and two bedroom Apartments through to two three and four bedroom houses to meet a variety of housing…”
The committee approved reserve matters for Ashmir Phase 4, a 228-dwelling residential scheme in Eastern Quarry/White Cliff. The approval is subject to planning conditions and supplementary updates, with delegated authority to finalise minor wording changes. This is a policy and development control decision enabling the next phase of housing delivery.
“So, next um officer introductions. Um Michael you're here in person and we've got Mark Pullin on the screen. Are you going to take the lead or is Mah I >> I'll take the lead. So yeah, Michael Chess, head of development management at EDC. Um Shane Eid um senior planning manager, S…”
The board discussed governance approvals, including changes to delegated authority and standing financial instructions, with a proposed £500,000 capital delegation to the executive subject to further clarification. Members also reviewed performance updates showing housing delivery broadly on track, with emerging build cost and labour risks, and noted progress on infrastructure matters. A major focus was the tragic drowning at Bambber Pit, prompting security reviews, water-safety outreach, partnership working, and summer diversion activities including swimming at Bluewater.
The board reviewed a new consolidated performance report covering year-end finances, delivery and KPIs. Key procurement-relevant points were the provisional underspend on both revenue and capital, delays to the Welden pavilion works due to electrical cable diversion, progress on infrastructure adoption and design appointments, and a proposed move to improve the visual presentation of meetings by the end of summer. The board also noted strong investment delivery, but weaker housing completion performance than target.
The board focused heavily on housing delivery pressures, with members discussing falling starts and completions, market weakness, and the need for better mitigation and market intelligence to support developers. There was also significant procurement and contract activity around infrastructure works at Eastern Quarry central, the fast track beam tunnel, and the transfer/adoption of the Spring Head Bridge and other assets. Governance items included an updated data retention policy, biodiversity duty reporting, and a funding issue where £720,000 could not be passed to Kent County Council because grant conditions were not yet met.
The committee considered reserve matters for Ashmir Phase 4 in Eastern Quarry, covering 228 homes, affordable housing, parking strategy, sustainability measures, landscaping, lighting and highway adoption. Members focused on the private-vs-adopted roads arrangement, visitor parking, fasttrack usage, affordable housing mix, conditions, and whether lighting and design controls would be robustly enforced. The application was recommended for approval and approved unanimously, alongside routine planning activity and delegated decision reports.
The board focused heavily on housing delivery slowdown, planning risk, and how to respond through tenure diversification, design changes and possible policy levers. There were also procurement-adjacent updates on community infrastructure, digital planning, the resident survey, park run launch support, and infrastructure works including wastewater treatment, bridge adoption and site investigations. Financially, the corporation is forecasting an underspend on revenue and a capital outturn of around £18m, with grant carry-forward and receipt funding assumptions.
The board approved revised procurement and contract management policies to reflect the Procurement Act 2023 and internal learning, including a higher pre-procurement approval threshold. Members also discussed board committee appointments and the need for a rapid skills audit ahead of remaining vacancies. Wider items covered delivery progress on fasttrack, infrastructure, community facilities, and a forthcoming social value impact report, alongside procurement-related cost pressures such as Northfleet wastewater odor control and the ongoing strategic review of Swanscombe Peninsula.