Norfolk Supported Living for Adults with LD/PD: Market Engagement and Likely Tender Timeline

Norfolk County Council has published a Preliminary Market Engagement Notice (PMEN) for a new supported living scheme in North Walsham, designed for adults with both learning disabilities (LD) and physical disabilities (PD). It is not an invitation to tender yet, but it gives clear signals about the service model, the contract length and the likely timing of a full procurement in 2026.

What Norfolk is proposing

The notice describes a new-build supported living development offering a safe, accessible and community-connected environment. The accommodation is structured as:

  • 3 bungalows
  • 6 apartments
  • A joint staff hub for shared support teams

The scheme is intended for adults with learning disabilities and physical disabilities who require 24-hour support in a community setting rather than residential care. The emphasis is on personalised support, community access and a stable staff presence across the small cluster of bungalows and apartments.

The notice confirms that Norfolk County Council will select a care provider to deliver the support element of the model. The housing is already planned, so this is about securing a long-term care partner able to staff and run the service safely and sustainably.

Key dates and contract structure

The PMEN sets out a long-term commissioning intention:

  • Market engagement discussion date: 7 January 2026 (via Microsoft Teams)
  • Engagement deadline: 31 January 2026
  • Indicative contract start: 1 June 2026
  • Initial contract term: 5 years (to 31 May 2031)
  • Possible extension: up to 31 May 2041 (maximum 15 years in total)

These dates indicate a significant, long-horizon opportunity for providers with the expertise and resilience to commit to a specialist LD/PD scheme over many years.

Likely tender timeline based on the PMEN

Although the full invitation to tender will follow later, the PMEN allows providers to map out a realistic sequence of events. A typical pattern for this type of development would look like:

  • December 2025 – January 2026: Market engagement, Q&A and refinement of the proposed model following provider feedback.
  • February – March 2026: Norfolk finalises the specification, outcomes, pricing approach and evaluation criteria; internal approvals and governance.
  • April – early June 2026: Formal tender issued, with a submission window in the region of 4–6 weeks.
  • Summer 2026: Evaluation, moderation and governance sign-off.
  • Autumn 2026: Mobilisation, staff recruitment and transition planning, aligned to property build and handover readiness.

The notice lists 1 June 2026 as the contract start date. In practice, this may flex slightly depending on build progress and mobilisation needs, but it strongly implies that the ITT will appear in the first half of 2026.

What providers should do now

Because this is a single scheme rather than a framework with multiple lots, competition is likely to be tight. The providers who perform strongly at tender stage will usually be those who invest early in preparation, before the ITT goes live. Helpful actions now include:

1. Clarify your LD/PD clinical and behavioural capability

  • Review your existing LD/PD caseload and ensure you can evidence experience with people who have both learning and physical disabilities, not just one or the other.
  • Check that your clinical governance, risk management and multi-disciplinary working arrangements are clearly documented and up to date.
  • Gather examples that show positive risk-taking, communication support, physical health monitoring and effective use of specialist equipment.

2. Stress-test workforce and rota plans

  • Model the staffing requirements for a cluster of 3 bungalows and 6 apartments, including waking nights, sleep-ins, on-call and management oversight.
  • Consider how you would structure core teams versus per-property staff, and how the joint staff hub could support flexible deployment.
  • Review recruitment pipelines in North Walsham and surrounding areas and identify any hard-to-fill roles early.

3. Prepare to demonstrate outcomes, not just inputs

  • Collect case studies or anonymised data that show improvements in independence, participation, health outcomes and family/carer satisfaction.
  • Be ready to describe how you use support plans, technology and community assets to enable people rather than simply maintain them.
  • Think about how you will evidence co-production with people who use services and their families as the scheme develops.

4. Engage with the market event meaningfully

  • Use the 7 January 2026 session to understand Norfolk’s priorities around the scheme, especially any specific cohort characteristics and transition pathways.
  • Prepare focused questions on areas such as compatibility with existing supported living models, expectations around night cover and integration with local health teams.
  • Note any signals about pricing, payment mechanisms or performance measures that will shape your decision to bid or not bid.

How this fits into the wider LD/PD supported living pipeline

This North Walsham scheme is part of a wider pattern. Across England, many LD and autism supported living contracts and frameworks are approaching natural review points between 2026 and 2028. Councils and ICBs are using a mix of:

  • Site-specific tenders for new developments like this one
  • Reprocurements of older frameworks first let between 2014 and 2019
  • Targeted schemes aimed at reducing residential placements and long-stay hospital use

For providers, the effect is a clustering of opportunities: multiple local authorities are testing the market at roughly the same time. In practical terms, this means:

  • Bid capacity and senior leadership time will be under pressure if you try to pursue every opportunity.
  • You will need to prioritise schemes where you have a geographic presence, a strong track record and a realistic route to safe mobilisation.
  • Commissioners will be comparing provider narratives across tenders; consistency of quality, governance and workforce messaging will matter.

Norfolk’s North Walsham scheme is therefore both a specific opportunity and a signal of the wider direction of travel: long-term, specialist supported living with strong expectations around outcomes, community integration and provider resilience. Providers who do the groundwork now will be better placed not just for this tender, but for the wider 2026–2028 LD/PD supported living pipeline.

To see how Norfolk’s scheme sits within the wider 2026–2028 LD/PD recommissioning landscape, the national Supported Living Tender Pipeline provides a consolidated view of all upcoming frameworks and schemes.

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Written by Impact Guru, editorial oversight by Mike Harrison, Founder of Impact Guru Ltd — bringing extensive experience in health and social care tenders, commissioning and strategy.

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