Award

Upland Breeding Bird Surveys - South Pennine Moors SSSI

NATURAL ENGLAND

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

Award

05 May 2026 at 10:50

Summary of the contracting process

The procurement process for the "Upland Breeding Bird Surveys - South Pennine Moors SSSI" was initiated by Natural England, a body governed by public law under the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. The procurement aimed to award a contract for survey services focusing on breeding bird assemblages in upland moorland and grassland with water bodies. Located in the South Pennine Moors, West Yorkshire, the process falls under the industry category of environmental protection services. The contract was successfully awarded on 22 April 2026 to The Environment Partnership (TEP) Limited, concluding the tender process which was conducted under a limited procurement method without prior publication of a call for competition. The procurement was a call-off under the 'SSSI Monitoring and Evaluation' framework, with services contracted at a value of £125,019.43.

This tender presents substantial growth opportunities for businesses specialising in environmental survey and evaluation services. Companies with experience in ecological assessments and a background in working with government frameworks would be well-positioned to compete. The nature of the services required, including assessing breeding bird aggregations and condition monitoring of moorland habitats, necessitates expertise in both fieldwork and data analysis, suggesting ideal participation from firms adept in these areas. The award criteria prioritized technical quality at 60%, complemented by price at 40%, indicating a preference for businesses offering high-quality services with competitive pricing. Although the competitive bidding process involved limited prior publication, the use of the framework contract allowed multiple suppliers to participate, highlighting the importance of pre-qualified suppliers in the environmental sector.

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Notice Title

Upland Breeding Bird Surveys - South Pennine Moors SSSI

Notice Description

Call-off under SSSI Monitoring and Evaluation Framework, to determine and describe and quality of:<br/>* Assemblages of breeding birds - Upland moorland and grassland with water bodies <br/>* Aggregation of breeding birds - Golden Plover<br/>* Aggregation of breeding birds - Curlew<br/>* Aggregation of breeding birds - Merlin<br/>* Aggregation of breeding birds - Twite<br/>* at the following sites:<br/>* South Pennine Moors SSSI

Lot Information

Lot 1

The purpose of this contract is to:

* Determine and describe the location(s) and quality of:

* Assemblages of breeding birds - Upland moorland and grassland with water bodies

* Aggregation of breeding birds - Golden Plover

* Aggregation of breeding birds - Curlew

* Aggregation of breeding birds - Merlin

* Aggregation of breeding birds - Twite

* at the following sites:
* South Pennine Moors SSSI

* Make an overall condition assessment of the feature using standardised survey methods.
* Record details of any 'pressures' observed at the site which may impact on the condition of the monitored feature(s)
* Suggest where current management is working and, where it is not, why that might that be.
* Make comments on the monitoring specification

South Pennine Moors SSSI - Background Information

South Pennine Moors SSSI is outstandingly important for its extensive upland habitats and their associated species. The site is the largest area of unenclosed moorland within West Yorkshire and contains the most diverse and extensive examples of upland plant communities in the county. Extensive areas of blanket bog occur on the upland plateaux and are punctuated by species rich acidic flushes and mires. There are also wet and dry heaths and acid grasslands. Three habitat types which occur on the site are rare enough within Europe to be listed on Annex 1 of the EC habitats and Species Directive (92/43) EEC. These communities are typical of and represent the full range of upland vegetation classes found in the South Pennines.

The moorlands support nationally important numbers of golden plover Pluvialis apricaria, curlew Numenius arquata, merlin Falco columbarius and twite Carduelis flavirostris. These species and the rest of the moorland breeding bird assemblage require the mosaic of habitats and large area of the moors for their survival. The blanket bogs are the main breeding grounds for the golden plover and dunlin Calidris alpina. The South Pennine Moors hold 1.3% of the British breeding population of golden plovers. The very large number of meadow pipits Anthus pratensis nesting on the bogs are a major food source for the merlin. The deeper cover provided by the heather provides nest sites for a range of other species. The merlin population of the South Pennine Moors is particularly important. 4.7% of the British population nests on these moors. Golden plover are also known to nest on recently burnt areas of heather. Curlews favour the wet acid grasslands and semi-improved areas on the edge of the moors to breed. A significant number (0.8%) of the British curlew population breed on the South Pennine Moors sharing this habitat with lapwing Vanellus vanellus and in the wettest areas snipe Gallinago gallinago and redshank Tringa totanus. Twite Carduelis flavirostris on the South Pennine Moors represent 1% of the British breeding population. Twite use virtually all the moorland habitats at different stages of their lifecycle. They prefer heather for nesting but also use bracken, boulder screes, grass tussocks and dry stone walls. Feeding on small seeds they utilise grassy areas throughout the moorlands, weedy areas on the moorland edge, semi-improved pastures and even areas of burnt Molinia grassland

The South Pennine Moors SSSI is made up of 165 management units with the interest features of the site occurring across multiple units.

Procurement Information

This is a call-off under framework contract 'SSSI Monitoring and Evaluation', Lot 1. All four Lot 1 Suppliers requested to quote, only two submitted bids.

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-069125
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/040932-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
Award Notice
Procurement Type
Framework
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Limited
Procurement Method Details
Award procedure without prior publication of a call for competition
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
SME

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

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


CPV Codes

79311000 - Survey services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
£125,019 £100K-£500K

Notice Dates

Publication Date
5 May 20261 weeks ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
21 Apr 20263 weeks ago
Contract Period
Not specified - Not specified
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Cancelled
Awards Status
Active
Contracts Status
Active

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
NATURAL ENGLAND
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
LONDON
Postcode
SW1P 4DF
Post Town
South West London
Country
England

Major Region (ITL 1)
TLI London
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLI3 Inner London - West
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLI35 Westminster and City of London
Delivery Location
Not specified

Local Authority
Westminster
Electoral Ward
St James's
Westminster Constituency
Cities of London and Westminster

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

THE ENVIRONMENT PARTNERSHIP (TEP

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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