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North Northamptonshire Council Gawthrops Woodland Community Tree Planting and Maintenance Scheme

North Northamptonshire Council

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

Planning

09 Sep 2026 at 13:06

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Summary of the contracting process

North Northamptonshire Council is planning a community woodland creation and maintenance service at a former council-owned horse paddock off Deeble Road, Kettering. The 2.45-hectare site will contain a new woodland covering 1.96 hectares, with integral open space and 3,134 trees planted at 2.5-metre spacing. The appointed delivery partner would recruit and train local volunteers, map planting locations and pathways in line with the grant agreement, plant the trees, and provide tools and equipment. The service would also cover mulching, spring and summer watering, maintenance and aftercare. Planting will involve volunteers from Kettering and the wider North Northamptonshire area, with around 150 or more people expected to take part. This is an environmental and land-management service opportunity for delivery in Kettering.

This procurement is at the planning stage and the Council is carrying out preliminary market engagement, rather than inviting formal tenders. It is seeking feedback on market appetite, supplier capability and capacity to help shape the project and any future procurement. The engagement exercise is scheduled to close on 23 September 2026 at 23:59, with responses requested in English. The planned contract is a single lot, expected to run from 2 November 2026 to 31 October 2028, covering the two-year planting, maintenance and aftercare programme. The opportunity is below the relevant threshold. The lot is identified as suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises and voluntary, community or social enterprises. Participation in this engagement will not determine eligibility for any later procurement.

The work is likely to suit a contractor or partnership experienced in woodland creation, tree planting, green-space maintenance and community project delivery. Suppliers should be prepared to organise and train a large volunteer workforce, coordinate a two-year planting schedule and deliver planting at roughly 2,000 tree whips per season. Practical capacity will be needed to plan planting layouts and pathways, supply and manage tools and equipment, and carry out mulching, watering and ongoing maintenance. Organisations with strong local community links in Kettering or wider North Northamptonshire may be well placed to recruit volunteers and support participation. The Council is using this stage to understand supplier capability and capacity, so interested businesses can help inform the eventual project design before any formal procurement is considered.

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Notice Information

Notice Title

North Northamptonshire Council Gawthrops Woodland Community Tree Planting and Maintenance Scheme

Notice Description

North Northamptonshire Council (hereafter known as "the Council") are looking to carry out Preliminary Market Engagement (hereafter referred to as "Pre-Market Engagement") in relation to the capability and capacity of a potential supplier providing the services detailed below. A Council owned former horse paddock on the outskirts of Kettering, Northamptonshire has been re-scheduled for woodland plantation. The 2.45ha site has secured a grant from the Forestry Commission to plant a new woodland of 3134 trees. The land is situated off Deeble Road, Kettering (Grid Reference: SP 883 709). The proposed net area of woodland creation is 1.96ha with 20% proposed integral open space incorporated into the design. Trees will be planted with 2.5m spacing, totalling 1600 stems per hectare. The new woodland has been designated a community woodland and will be planted by volunteers drawn from Kettering and the wider North Northamptonshire area. It is estimated that approximately 150 + volunteers will need to be recruited to undertake the two-year planting schedule. The Council is seeking a delivery partner to manage the physical planting, maintenance and aftercare of the new woodland. This will include: (i) the recruitment and training of volunteers drawn from the local area (ii) mapping out and planning tree planting locations, incorporating pathways as outlined in grant agreement map (iii) planting of trees at a rate close to 2000 whips per planting season and providing all necessary tools and equipment (iv) managing the mulching of the whips and delivering a spring/summer watering and maintenance cycle for two years. The purpose of this Pre-Market Engagement is to understand market appetite and to engage with appropriate contractors to support the development of this project.

Planning Information

The Council will consider any feedback received to help inform the Council's options and further decision making. Any potential Supplier which does not respond to this Pre-Market Engagement exercise within the stipulated timescales will not exclude themselves from any potential Procurement process for this project. For the avoidance of doubt, this stage of the project is not part of a formal procurement process, and the Council is not committing, at this stage, to carrying out such a process. Participation or non-participation in the Pre-Market Engagement exercise shall not prevent any provider participating in a potential future procurement, nor is it intended that any information supplied as part of the Pre-Market Engagement exercise shall place any provider at an advantage in a potential procurement process. The Council will not reimburse any expenses incurred by any person in the consideration of and/or response to this Pre-Market Engagement exercise. All documents and materials, which comprise the response, must be written in English only. If you are interested in participating in this Pre-Market Engagement exercise, please contact the Council by email via procurement@northnorthants.gov.uk. and further details will be shared with your organisation.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-06f59c
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/085374-2026
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
SME, VCSE
Awardee Scale
Not specified

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

77 - Agricultural, forestry, horticultural, aquacultural and apicultural services

CPV Codes

77231600 - Afforestation services

77310000 - Planting and maintenance services of green areas

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
9 Sep 20261 weeks ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
2 Nov 2026 - 31 Oct 2028 1-2 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
North Northamptonshire 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
CORBY
Postcode
NN17 1QG
Postcode Area
Northampton
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLF East Midlands (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLF2 Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLF25 North Northamptonshire
Delivery Location
TLF2 Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire
Local Authority
North Northamptonshire
Electoral Ward
Corby West
Westminster Constituency
Corby and East Northamptonshire

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

View full OCDS Record for this contracting process

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