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Invitation to Tender For New Local Plan Professional Consultancy Services

Maidstone Borough Council

This public procurement record has 2 releases in its history.

Award

08 Sep 2026 at 17:23

UK6 - Contract Award Notice
Tender

30 Apr 2026 at 16:30

UK4 - Tender Notice
Summary of the contracting process

Maidstone Borough Council commissioned professional consultancy services to support its New Local Plan, covering housing, employment, retail, environmental, infrastructure, transport and community needs. The plan is intended to address approximately 21,000 new homes, associated commercial floorspace, infrastructure and services. Eleven workstreams covered water-cycle assessment; natural environment and climate change; environmental regulation; employment land; retail capacity and town-centre hierarchy; strategic housing market assessment; playing-pitch and sports-facilities strategy; parking standards; local transport strategy; settlement hierarchy and community infrastructure; and whole-plan viability with a Community Infrastructure Levy charging-schedule review. The work is for Maidstone and its surrounding planning area. This is a professional services opportunity for planning, environmental, transport, highways, housing, market analysis, infrastructure, viability and related specialist consultancies.

The open procedure is complete and the awards were made on 8 September 2026. Contracts run from 1 October 2026 to 31 December 2029, with signature milestones scheduled for 22 September 2026, except the viability and CIL review, whose signature milestone was scheduled for 8 September 2026. Awards were: Water Cycle Study—Wallingford HydroSolutions, £37,273 gross; Natural Environment and Climate Change—City Science, £159,780; Environmental Regulatory—Lepus Consulting, £101,064; Employment Land Study and Strategic Housing Market Assessment—Iceni Projects, £34,098 and £29,736; Retail Capacity and Town Centres—Lichfields, £43,632; Parking Standards—Stantec UK, £55,620; Local Transport Strategy—Haskoning UK, £90,615; Settlement Hierarchy and Community Infrastructure—Nexus Planning, £31,608; and Whole Plan Viability and CIL Review—Quintic, £26,400. Quality carried 80% and cost 20% on each lot; Lot 7 had no successful award.

This procurement demonstrates sustained demand from Maidstone Borough Council for specialist evidence supporting a large, multi-topic local plan. Credible future competitors would need demonstrable expertise in one or more of the awarded disciplines: water-cycle and environmental assessment, climate change, environmental regulation, employment and retail planning, housing-market analysis, sports and open-space planning, parking and highways engineering, transport strategy, settlement and infrastructure assessment, development viability, or Community Infrastructure Levy review. The results show that both specialist SMEs and larger consultancies were able to compete, with SMEs awarded most workstreams and larger firms appointed for retail, parking and transport assignments. Strong technical quality is central because quality accounted for 80% of evaluation, so suppliers would need clear methodologies, robust planning evidence, relevant local-plan experience and suitably qualified teams, alongside competitive pricing.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

Invitation to Tender For New Local Plan Professional Consultancy Services

Notice Description

Maidstone Borough Council (MBC) is looking to appoint suitably experienced and qualified consultants to carry out a number of professional specialist studies to support its New Local Plan (NLP). For context, the NLP is anticipated to cover the time period 2029/30 to 2044/45. Using the government's Standard Method for calculating housing need, the NLP would need to plan for approximately 21,000 new homes over that time (approximately 1,400 homes per year), plus associated commercial floorspace, infrastructure and services to support the population.

Lot Information

Water Cycle Study Natural Environment and Climate Change Environmental Regulatory Employment Land Study Retail Capacity Study & Town Centres Hierarchy Review Strategic Housing Market Assessment (SHMA) Playing Pitch Strategy & Sports Facilities Strategy Parking Standards Local Transport Strategy Settlement Hierarchy & Community Infrastructure Assessment Whole Plan Viability Assessment & Stage 1 CIL Charging Schedule Review

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-068fad
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/085114-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Tender, Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK6 - Contract Award Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Open
Procurement Method Details
Open procedure
Tender Suitability
SME
Awardee Scale
Large, SME

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

71 - Architectural, construction, engineering and inspection services

79 - Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security

90 - Sewage, refuse, cleaning and environmental services

92 - Recreational, cultural and sporting services

CPV Codes

71241000 - Feasibility study, advisory service, analysis

71311200 - Transport systems consultancy services

71311210 - Highways consultancy services

71311220 - Highways engineering services

71410000 - Urban planning services

79311000 - Survey services

79315000 - Social research services

79330000 - Statistical services

90711000 - Environmental impact assessment other than for construction

90712100 - Urban environmental development planning

90713000 - Environmental issues consultancy services

92610000 - Sports facilities operation services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
£508,189 £500K-£1M
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
8 Sep 20261 months ago
Submission Deadline
4 Jun 2026Expired
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
8 Sep 20261 months ago
Contract Period
1 Oct 2026 - 31 Dec 2029 3-4 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Complete
Awards Status
Active
Contracts Status
Not Specified

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
Maidstone Borough Council
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
MAIDSTONE
Postcode
ME15 6JQ
Postcode Area
Rochester
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLJ South East (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLJ4 Kent
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLJ45 Mid Kent
Delivery Location
Not specified
Local Authority
Maidstone
Electoral Ward
High Street
Westminster Constituency
Maidstone and Malling

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
9
Supplier Names

Wallingford Hydrosolutions Ltd

City Science

LEPUS CONSULTING LTD

Iceni Projects

NATHANIEL LICHFIELD & PARTNERS LIMITED

Stantec UK Ltd

HaskoningDHV UK Ltd

Nexus Planning Limited

Quintic LLP

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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