---
title: "RDE726 Assessing the value of long-established permanent grassland for soil"
ocid: "ocds-b5fd17-9a921ce6-e035-4106-9820-f885779ff34e"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-b5fd17-9a921ce6-e035-4106-9820-f885779ff34e"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-9a921ce6-e035-4106-9820-f885779ff34e.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-9a921ce6-e035-4106-9820-f885779ff34e.json"
source: "Contracts Finder"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "NATURAL ENGLAND"
published: "2024-12-06"
---

# RDE726 Assessing the value of long-established permanent grassland for soil

Buyer: NATURAL ENGLAND  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-b5fd17-9a921ce6-e035-4106-9820-f885779ff34e

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## Summary

Natural England has awarded a contract to RSK ADAS Limited for the project titled "RDE726 Assessing the value of long-established permanent grassland for soil". This procurement falls under the category of research and development consultancy services (CPV 73200000) and covers various locations including the British Overseas Territories, Channel Islands, Europe, Isle of Man, Rest of the World, and the United Kingdom. The project is currently in the Award stage, with the contract period starting on 2nd November 2024 and ending on 28th March 2025. The total contract value is £35,862.50 GBP and the procurement method used was selective, specifically a call-off from a framework agreement.

This tender represents a significant opportunity for businesses involved in research and development consultancy, particularly those specialising in environmental and soil sciences. With the focus on assessing the impacts of cultivation on grassland soil carbon and biodiversity, the project offers scope for companies that have expertise in ecological assessments, soil analysis, and sustainable land management practices. Given the wide geographical scope and the specific technical requirements, this contract is best suited for large-scale organisations with the capacity to deliver detailed scientific research and comprehensive environmental consultancy services.

## Notice

The EIA regulations for uncultivated and seminatural grassland were enacted in England in the early 2000s with the aim of preventing cultivation of large areas of species rich, seminatural grasslands, or grasslands with important historic environment features, and they apply to any land management that increases the productivity of the land. Because cultivation typically leads to the rapid degradation of organic matter in the soil, and release of its nutrients, this is likely to temporarily increase productivity in almost all cases of old grassland being cultivated, but many grasslands were screened out due to their composition being more representative of more improved grassland. Recently the regulations have been updated to include consideration of the impacts of cultivation on grassland soil carbon and soil biodiversity. Once established following cultivation, grassland soils accumulate carbon relatively rapidly and evenly over time, until they begin to reach an equilibrium point, estimated to occur around 80-100 years after establishment. When such soils are cultivated, they rapidly lose much of the accumulated soil carbon, returning them to a state more similar to an arable field. During grassland establishment, the soil communities will undergo a succession, changing from early communities that are similar to those found in arable soils (usually very species poor, low in biomass and dominated by ruderal species) to a more diverse range of more stress tolerant species.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Contracts Finder |
| Latest notice | https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/2ada15ca-5dc7-4e17-86a8-19db47c2323f |
| Notice type | Award Notice |
| Procurement type | Framework |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Selective |
| Procurement method details | Call-off from a framework agreement |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | Large |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 6 Dec 2024 |
| Submission deadline | 25 Oct 2024 |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 27 Nov 2024 |
| Contract period | 2 Nov 2024 - 28 Mar 2025 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | £35,862 |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | £35,862 |
| Contracts value | Not specified |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Not specified |
| Awards status | Active |
| Contracts status | Not specified |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | NATURAL ENGLAND |
| Locality | LONDON |
| Post town | South West London |
| Postcode | SW1P 3JR |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLI London |
| ITL 2 | TLI3 Inner London - West |
| ITL 3 | TLI35 Westminster and City of London |
| Local authority | Westminster |
| Electoral ward | St James's |
| Westminster constituency | Cities of London and Westminster |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | RSK ADAS |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 73 - Research and development services and related consultancy services

### Codes

- 73200000 - Research and development consultancy services

## Release History

- 6 Dec 2024 at 15:04 - Award - Award Notice - https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/2ada15ca-5dc7-4e17-86a8-19db47c2323f

## Documents

- https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/2ada15ca-5dc7-4e17-86a8-19db47c2323f
  6th December 2024 - Awarded contract notice on Contracts Finder

## Provenance

This Markdown file is an alternate public rendering of the D3 Tenders contract record. The canonical page is https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-b5fd17-9a921ce6-e035-4106-9820-f885779ff34e. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-9a921ce6-e035-4106-9820-f885779ff34e.json.