---
title: "Identifying Downland Research Contract"
ocid: "ocds-b5fd17-ad8967e5-821e-4261-ab25-c81382db06fe"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-b5fd17-ad8967e5-821e-4261-ab25-c81382db06fe"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-ad8967e5-821e-4261-ab25-c81382db06fe.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-ad8967e5-821e-4261-ab25-c81382db06fe.json"
source: "Contracts Finder"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "NATURAL ENGLAND"
published: "2023-11-20"
---

# Identifying Downland Research Contract

Buyer: NATURAL ENGLAND  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-b5fd17-ad8967e5-821e-4261-ab25-c81382db06fe

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## Summary

The Natural England organisation has issued a tender titled "Identifying Downland Research Contract" in the services industry category. The procurement stage is currently active, with the tender closing on August 3, 2023, and the contract period running from September 1, 2023, to March 31, 2024. The tender aims to commission a research project related to downland mapping in England, with a contract value of £50,000 GBP.

This tender presents an opportunity for businesses involved in research and development services or related consultancy, as well as recreational, cultural, and sporting services to compete. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and voluntary, community, and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations are suitable to participate. The tender method is an open procedure below the threshold, allowing various businesses to engage in the competitive bidding process for this research project.

## Notice

Following a statutory process of consultation and appeal, the Countryside Agency (CA) issued in 2004 and 2005 eight conclusive maps of open country (land consisting wholly or predominantly of mountain, moor, heath or down) and registered common land (RCL) in England, which became the basis of the open access rights that the public now enjoys over the mapped areas, subject to the limitations set out by the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 (CROW). Natural England (NE) has a duty under CROW section 10 to review these maps and ensure they correctly reflect the land types in question today. While the parts of the CROW maps relating to RCL and to areas of mountain, moor and heath have in general been regarded as reasonably accurate and fit for purpose, there have been repeated criticisms from some stakeholders that the maps failed to capture most of the downland landform, and that as a result in the areas in question they are fragmented, inconsistent and of little use for public access purposes. NE now wishes to take a fresh and evidence-based look at what down-like land should rightly appear on the maps, and whether any particular types of down-like land should be excluded from them, and if so why. NE has therefore concluded that some new fact-based investigation is required to provide it with a firmer footing for agreeing a working definition of "down" to guide NE's review of the existing conclusive maps in relation to their downland component. Accordingly, NE now wishes to commission a new piece of objective research to: A. take a fresh, independent, evidence-based look at the concept of downland and its relevance to different parts of England; B. propose in the light of that evaluation exercise how NE should define downland for the purposes of its review of the statutory maps; C. propose how existing evidence or datasets could be used to support the efficient and cost-effective capture of qualifying land on the reviewed maps, in line with the proposed definition; and D. identify any related practical issues or difficulties that may arise in mapping such land, and make workable recommendations for addressing these. Additional information: To apply for this opportunity you must submit your quotation meeting the requirements detailed in the Request for Quotation (RFQ) attached. Your response must be sent to ben.nichols@naturalengland.org.uk by 6pm on Wednesday 03 August 2023 If you have any clarification questions linked to this opportunity or the procurement process please submit these via email to ben.nichols@naturalengland.org.uk. Please note that, unless commercially sensitive, both the question and the response will be circulated to all tenderers.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Contracts Finder |
| Latest notice | https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/eedf8064-f660-4d32-9300-2617803be019 |
| Notice type | Award Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Open |
| Procurement method details | Open procedure (below threshold) |
| Tender suitability | SME, VCSE |
| Awardee scale | SME |
| All stages | Tender, Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 20 Nov 2023 |
| Submission deadline | 3 Aug 2023 |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 3 Sep 2023 |
| Contract period | 3 Sep 2023 - 31 Mar 2024 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | £50,000 |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | £37,577 |
| 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 | WORCESTER |
| Post town | Worcester |
| Postcode | WR5 2NP |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLG West Midlands (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLG1 Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire |
| ITL 3 | TLG12 Worcestershire CC |
| Local authority | Worcester |
| Electoral ward | Nunnery |
| Westminster constituency | Worcester |
| Delivery location | TLC North East (England), TLD North West (England), TLF East Midlands (England), TLG West Midlands (England), TLH East (England), TLJ South East (England), TLK South West (England) |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | THE GEODATA INSTITUTE |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 73 - Research and development services and related consultancy services
- 92 - Recreational, cultural and sporting services

### Codes

- 73000000 - Research and development services and related consultancy services
- 92000000 - Recreational, cultural and sporting services

## Release History

- 20 Nov 2023 at 14:22 - Award - Award Notice - https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/eedf8064-f660-4d32-9300-2617803be019
- 1 Aug 2023 at 10:45 - TenderAmendment - Tender Notice - https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/ac791efc-dc47-4fc7-82db-ae2419b02f01
- 27 Jul 2023 at 10:30 - TenderAmendment - Tender Notice - https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/ac791efc-dc47-4fc7-82db-ae2419b02f01
- 4 Jul 2023 at 08:26 - TenderAmendment - Tender Notice - https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/ac791efc-dc47-4fc7-82db-ae2419b02f01
- 3 Jul 2023 at 15:41 - TenderAmendment - Tender Notice - https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/ac791efc-dc47-4fc7-82db-ae2419b02f01
- 3 Jul 2023 at 15:39 - Tender - Tender Notice - https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/ac791efc-dc47-4fc7-82db-ae2419b02f01

## Documents

- https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/eedf8064-f660-4d32-9300-2617803be019
  20th November 2023 - Awarded contract notice on Contracts Finder
- https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/ac791efc-dc47-4fc7-82db-ae2419b02f01
  1st August 2023 - Opportunity notice on Contracts Finder
- https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/Attachment/e950b65b-615f-4918-991d-97da500e66ca
  RFQ
- https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/Attachment/2bc675c1-a0f1-4fd0-bbb3-61aa8df87f04
- https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/Attachment/efb623eb-75bb-4a80-8dd9-604c016d30e0
  T&C's
- https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/Attachment/be46b223-2073-454c-b3c1-00ca07fb4410
  IDENTIFICATION OF DOWNLAND: RESEARCH BRIEF
- https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/Attachment/8f770baf-2ca7-45ac-afcc-b0e74f157c59
- https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/Attachment/01dd8bd4-5029-41f5-a62e-4c77544cb2b7
- https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/SupplierAttachment/52135e9f-340f-4859-9f07-6c7ca4e5ce8e

## 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-ad8967e5-821e-4261-ab25-c81382db06fe. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-ad8967e5-821e-4261-ab25-c81382db06fe.json.