The new hub arrangement will wrap up 30 previous arrangements and frameworks covering a wide range of services from small-scale civil engineering and maintenance projects to main river maintenance and pest control.

The Environment Agency has split the new works programme into four separate Environment Agency operational areas.

Of these, the North Hub framework is expected to deliver the highest spend of £70m over four years. It covers four sub regions: North East, Cumbria and Lancashire, Yorkshire and Greater Manchester, Merseyside and Cheshire.

Another framework covering the Central regional Hub is expected to account for a £69m spend over the period across Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire, East Midlands, West Midlands and East Anglia.

The SW Hub, which covers Wessex, and Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, is expected to be worth around £16m to selected firms.

The larger South Eastern hub covering Southern and Thames EA regions has not yet been advertised.

Prequalification documents need to be returned by 18 August with more information available from Neil Rowland, Commercial Manager – FCRM Framework Transformation Group at the Bristol office of the Environment Agency.

The national Water and Environment Management framework, which lies outside the scope of this operational will expire in July 2019.

The Environment Agency is presently working up plans for the replacement of this panel of firms.