Bolton Council is seeking to appoint an investor and developer to lead the commercialisation and delivery of its Advanced Zonal Program (AZP) heat network, including a town-centre reference scheme.

The selected partner will take the project from its current pre-investment status through to full financial and delivery commitment, culminating in the signing of a Development Agreement. This major infrastructure initiative, estimated at GBP 400 million (US$ 537 million), forms part of Bolton's long-term ambitions for low-carbon energy transformation. The appointed development partner will be expected to provide both the technical capability and financial capacity to design, build, finance, and operate the scheme. The procurement process will assess bidders on a pass/fail basis against defined financial and technical thresholds, including submission of relevant case studies. The tender is scheduled to be published on 29 July 2025, with a submission deadline of 15 September 2025 at 5:00pm, and the contract is expected to run from 1 December 2025 to 1 December 2026.