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Specialist Planning Recruitment Services

South Holland District Council

This public procurement record has 2 releases in its history.

Award

29 Sep 2026 at 10:55

UK7 - Contract Details Notice
Award

18 Sep 2026 at 15:06

UK5 - Transparency Notice
Summary of the contracting process

South Holland District Council engaged specialist recruitment services to support its Planning Service by continuing the placement of an existing consultant. The requirement covers planning-sector recruitment expertise and continuity in managing the Council’s recruitment programme, including knowledge of relevant roles, candidates and compliance needs. The work supports planning operations and the handling of live planning applications. The buying organisation is South Holland District Council, based in Spalding, and the service is for its Planning Service in the United Kingdom. The contract is for recruitment services (CPV 79600000).

The procurement is complete and the contract has been awarded to Stonehouse Recruitment Group Limited. The Council used a direct award, justified by technical reasons and the need to retain the existing consultant to maintain continuity and avoid disruption. The stated arrangement is one contract. It was signed on 22 September 2026, with a contract period from 31 October 2026 to 29 October 2027 and a possible five-month extension to 31 March 2028. The gross contract value is £170,940. The award rationale highlights the consultant’s specialist knowledge of roles, candidate pipeline, compliance requirements and the Council’s planning systems, alongside responsibility for a substantial live caseload. The notice records one lot, suitable for SMEs.

For recruitment firms competing for a similar requirement from South Holland District Council, credibility depends on demonstrable specialist recruitment capability for planning services and the ability to maintain continuity in an established programme. This award shows the value the Council places on retaining knowledge of planning roles, the candidate pipeline, compliance requirements and its planning systems. A supplier would need to manage a substantial live caseload without disrupting recruitment activity or delaying planning application decisions. Relevant experience supporting a public-sector planning service, effective candidate sourcing and robust compliance processes would therefore be important. The procurement was directly awarded on technical grounds to continue an existing consultant’s engagement, so a future competitor would need to show how it could preserve service continuity and avoid duplication, inefficiency and performance impacts during any transition.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

Specialist Planning Recruitment Services

Notice Description

Provision of specialist recruitment services to support the Council's Planning Service through the continued engagement of an existing consultant.

Procurement Information

This Transparency Notice is issued in accordance with Section 44 of the Procurement Act 2023 and Regulation 26 of the Procurement Regulations 2024, which require publication of a transparency notice prior to making a direct award. The Council intends to enter into a direct award for the continued provision of specialist recruitment services with Stonehouse Recruitment Ltd, retaining the same consultant currently engaged on assignment The direct award is made under the permitted justification in Schedule 5 (technical reasons), as the continuation of the existing consultant is necessary to maintain service continuity and avoid disruption to the current recruitment programme. The consultant has specialist knowledge of the roles, candidate pipeline and compliance requirements. Furthermore, they have developed excellent working knowledge of the Council's Planning Systems and is carrying a large caseload of live applications, which would mean that letting the consultant leave and replacing them at this stage would result in significant duplication of work, delays in the determination of planning applications, and service inefficiency. The result would be a drop in the Council's nationally monitored KPI Planning performance, an adverse reputational impact upon the Planning Service and Council, and the possibility of planning fee refunds in accordance with the Planning Guarantee. The proposed direct award will extend the current arrangement for a further 12 months with the option to extend for a further 5 months to ensure continuity of service and allow the Council time to plan and implement any future procurement strategy in accordance with the Procurement Act 2023. NOTE: there is only one contract for this contract details notice

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-0775a2
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/091720-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK7 - Contract Details Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Direct
Procurement Method Details
Direct award
Tender Suitability
SME
Awardee Scale
SME

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

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

CPV Codes

79600000 - Recruitment services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
£170,940 £100K-£500K
Contracts Value
£170,940 £100K-£500K

Notice Dates

Publication Date
29 Sep 20261 weeks ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
Not specified - Not specified
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

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

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
South Holland District 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
SPALDING
Postcode
PE11 2XE
Postcode Area
Peterborough
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLF East Midlands (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLF3 Lincolnshire
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLF30 Lincolnshire CC
Delivery Location
Not specified
Local Authority
South Holland
Electoral Ward
Spalding St John's
Westminster Constituency
South Holland and The Deepings

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

STONEHOUSE RECRUITMENT GROUP LIMITED

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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