Planning

Delamere Forest Concession Opportunity

FORESTRY ENGLAND

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

Planning

18 Jul 2025 at 09:05

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Summary of the contracting process

Forestry England is in the planning stage for a procurement process titled "Delamere Forest Concession Opportunity", focusing on developing a future concession installation at Delamere Forest. This initiative is categorised under recreational, cultural, and sporting services. Located within the UKD6 region, Delamere Forest, the largest woodland in Cheshire, offers strategic opportunities to cater to its approximately 750,000 annual visitors. The current procurement stage involves market engagement, with interested parties invited to express their interest and provide feedback by 21st August 2025. The procurement type is a service concession with a substantial budget of £5.5 million gross, and the contract is anticipated to commence on 15th March 2026, concluding on 15th March 2036.

This tender presents significant opportunities for businesses in the recreational, hospitality, and tourism sectors, especially those providing services aligned with the outdoor and nature-oriented themes. Businesses specialising in innovative recreation services or attractions can position themselves to leverage the forest's existing infrastructure and high visitor traffic. By participating in the market engagement process, businesses can influence final tender specifics to align with market capabilities, potentially gaining a competitive edge. This presents a robust opportunity for businesses to expand into a high-profile, government-supported venture, with potential year-round demand and visibility.

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Notice Information

Notice Title

Delamere Forest Concession Opportunity

Notice Description

Forestry England have a potential future opportunity at Delamere Forest for the provision of a concession installation. Forestry England are currently researching potential commercial uses for the current bike hire building on site. We are seeking interest and feedback from the wider market as to potential appropriate activities/services that would be a cohesive fit with the forestry environment and our visitor profile at the Delamere site. Delamere Forest is the largest woodland in Cheshire, covering an area of 972 hectares. A mixture of woodland, internationally important meres and mosses, as well as Old Pale Heights - the highest point in the Cheshire Plain - and several Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). Delamere has excellent transport links and lies between the Manchester, Liverpool and Chester conurbations. Welcoming approximately 750,000 visitors each year, Delamere is a popular destination for outdoor activities like walking, running, cycling and horse riding. There are also a number of annual sports events, as well as Forestry England's annual music series, Forest Live. As one of Forestry England's flagship sites, the visitor facilities are centred around the state-of-the-art Visitor Centre, which was built in 2020. Facilities include a number of carparks, a cafe, education, Go Ape, waymarked trails and several long-distance Public Rights of Way that cut through the forest. There's also a Forest Holidays location within Delamere, consisting of 62 luxury cabins and a retreat. Forestry England are currently scoping our requirements to ensure that any future tender documentation accurately reflects the offerings of the market. We invite companies from the market to register their interest in this future requirement and provide feedback on potential clarifications and the feasibility of our emerging plans. We also invite suppliers to provide suggestions on potential concessions that they believe would be a suitable fit for the Delamere forest site. To view this notice, please click here: https://forestryengland.delta-esourcing.com/delta/viewNotice.html?noticeId=964022069

Planning Information

We invite companies from the market to register their interest in this future requirement and provide feedback on potential clarifications and the feasibility of our emerging plans. We also invite suppliers to provide suggestions on potential concessions that they believe would be a suitable fit for the Delamere forest site. While we expect any new opportunity to be open during our peak visitor times (i.e., weekends and school holidays) any opportunity to attract new visitors or outside our peak times will be considered. Please register your interest with commercial.services@forestryengland.uk by close of business Thursday 21st August 2025.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-0561e3
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/041192-2025
Current Stage
Planning
All Stages
Planning

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Not Specified
Procurement Method Details
Not specified
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
Not specified

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

92 - Recreational, cultural and sporting services

CPV Codes

92000000 - Recreational, cultural and sporting services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£4,583,333 £1M-£10M
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
18 Jul 20257 months ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
21 Aug 2025Expired
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
15 Mar 2026 - 15 Mar 2036 Over 5 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Planning
Lots Status
Planning
Awards Status
Not Specified
Contracts Status
Not Specified

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
FORESTRY ENGLAND
Contact Name
Emily Coffin
Contact Email
commercial.services@forestryengland.uk
Contact Phone
Not specified

Buyer Location

Locality
BRISTOL
Postcode
BS16 1EJ
Post Town
Bristol
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLK South West (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLK5 West of England
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLK52 Bath & North East Somerset and South Gloucestershire
Delivery Location
TLD6 Cheshire
Local Authority
South Gloucestershire
Electoral Ward
Stoke Park & Cheswick
Westminster Constituency
Filton and Bradley Stoke

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

View full OCDS Record for this contracting process

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The Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) is a framework designed to increase transparency and access to public procurement data in the public sector. It is widely used by governments and organisations worldwide to report on procurement processes and contracts. 

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