---
title: "Nature Based Solutions in the Wensum and the Bure"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-03fc6e"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-03fc6e"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-03fc6e.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-03fc6e.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Tender"
buyer: "DEFRA NETWORK ETENDERING PORTAL"
published: "2023-09-13"
---

# Nature Based Solutions in the Wensum and the Bure

Buyer: DEFRA NETWORK ETENDERING PORTAL  
Current stage: Tender  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-03fc6e

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## Summary

The buying organisation, Defra Network eTendering Portal, has issued a tender titled "Nature Based Solutions in the Wensum and the Bure" for research and development consultancy services in the services industry category. The procurement process is currently at the tender stage with a contract value of 0.1 GBP. The tender deadline for submissions is 9th October 2023, and performance under the contract is expected to start on 20th October 2023, ending on 31st March 2025. The contracting authority is actively searching for additional funds to extend the project until March 2028, providing a long-term opportunity for business growth.

This research and development consultancy services tender by the Environment Agency and Water Resources East offers opportunities for businesses with expertise in environmental research and consultancy. The tender aims to support the creation of a national evidence base for chalk catchments, enhancing water availability and quality. Businesses specialised in nature-based solutions, climate change mitigation, and environmental monitoring are well-suited to compete. The procurement method being used is a competitive procedure with negotiation, allowing for engagement and potential collaborations to deliver innovative solutions.

## Notice

Overview of Requirement
The Environment Agency (EA) wish to support the creation of a national evidence base for chalk catchments, for use in Water Industry National Environment Programme (WINEP) and other water resource considerations. The EA and Water Resources East (WRE) also wish to explore whether Nature-based Solutions (NbS) can be used to increase water availability, to improve groundwater recharge and support low flows in rivers. 
Modelling and mapping have already taken place in the chalk river catchments of the Test, Cam, Wensum, and Bure to identify the types of locations which best enable recharge. More specifically in the Wensum, modelling showed that interventions such as soil improvements and run-off attenuation features at scale could improve low flows from 5% - 15% in the catchment. A project is now being developed to evaluate these outputs in the Wensum catchment, via a comprehensive monitoring programme, which may run for several years. 

Project Drivers
The outputs from this work will help the Environment Agency and Water Resource East to deliver other pieces of work, which include:
Plan, projects, and strategies
* Linking to the WRE's Norfolk Water Strategy Programme on nature-based solutions, which is a collaboration with The Nature Conservancy, the Norfolk councils, and Anglian Water,
* Aligning to the objectives of the Defra 25 Year Environment Plan - Primarily 'Clean and plentiful water' and mitigation of the impacts of climate change, 'Thriving plants and wildlife' and 'Reducing risks of harm from environmental hazards' (floods and drought),
* Catchment licensing strategies by 2027 and Commitments in River Basin Management Plans (RBMPs) to support implementation of the Water Environment (Water Framework Directive) (England and Wales) Regulations 2017,
* Contributing towards catchment measures as part of the Water Industry National Environment Programme (WINEP),
* Evidence to support the new Environmental Land Management Schemes (ELMS),
* Evidence to support the production of Local Nature Recovery Strategies,
* Support the National FCRM Strategy.
* Contributing towards achievement of the CaBA Chalk Stream Strategy, and the Environment Agency's chalk streams programme.

Environmental outcomes
* Providing groundwater that is more resilient to the impacts of climate change, droughts and mitigating the impacts of abstraction,
* Assess water quality benefits including increased baseflow values (valuable from a water quality discharge perspective) and reduced sediment deposition,
* Potential biodiversity benefits arising from the temporary storage of water in the landscape.

Scope 
The EA/WRE wish to commission the following pieces of work. The EA and WRE are also happy with the use of sub-contractors to support this work as this project does include a wide skillset and background knowledge. We are currently programming this work to complete in March 2026 but are actively searching for additional funds to continue through to March 2028.

The overall long-term (FY2023 - 2026) objectives of this monitoring equipment are to assess runoff attenuation features (RAFs) for:
A. Changes in seepage, groundwater recharge and evaporation processes to support water resources throughout the monitoring period, 
B. The identification of any changes in surface water flow regimes from sub-headwater catchments to support water resources throughout the monitoring period.

### Lot Information

Lot 1

Overview of Requirement
The Environment Agency (EA) wish to support the creation of a national evidence base for chalk catchments, for use in Water Industry National Environment Programme (WINEP) and other water resource considerations. The EA and Water Resources East (WRE) also wish to explore whether Nature-based Solutions (NbS) can be used to increase water availability, to improve groundwater recharge and support low flows in rivers. 
Modelling and mapping have already taken place in the chalk river catchments of the Test, Cam, Wensum, and Bure to identify the types of locations which best enable recharge. More specifically in the Wensum, modelling showed that interventions such as soil improvements and run-off attenuation features at scale could improve low flows from 5% - 15% in the catchment. A project is now being developed to evaluate these outputs in the Wensum catchment, via a comprehensive monitoring programme, which may run for several years. 

Project Drivers
The outputs from this work will help the Environment Agency and Water Resource East to deliver other pieces of work, which include:
Plan, projects, and strategies
* Linking to the WRE's Norfolk Water Strategy Programme on nature-based solutions, which is a collaboration with The Nature Conservancy, the Norfolk councils, and Anglian Water,
* Aligning to the objectives of the Defra 25 Year Environment Plan - Primarily 'Clean and plentiful water' and mitigation of the impacts of climate change, 'Thriving plants and wildlife' and 'Reducing risks of harm from environmental hazards' (floods and drought),
* Catchment licensing strategies by 2027 and Commitments in River Basin Management Plans (RBMPs) to support implementation of the Water Environment (Water Framework Directive) (England and Wales) Regulations 2017,
* Contributing towards catchment measures as part of the Water Industry National Environment Programme (WINEP),
* Evidence to support the new Environmental Land Management Schemes (ELMS),
* Evidence to support the production of Local Nature Recovery Strategies,
* Support the National FCRM Strategy.
* Contributing towards achievement of the CaBA Chalk Stream Strategy, and the Environment Agency's chalk streams programme.

Environmental outcomes
* Providing groundwater that is more resilient to the impacts of climate change, droughts and mitigating the impacts of abstraction,
* Assess water quality benefits including increased baseflow values (valuable from a water quality discharge perspective) and reduced sediment deposition,
* Potential biodiversity benefits arising from the temporary storage of water in the landscape.

Scope 
The EA/WRE wish to commission the following pieces of work. The EA and WRE are also happy with the use of sub-contractors to support this work as this project does include a wide skillset and background knowledge. We are currently programming this work to complete in March 2026 but are actively searching for additional funds to continue through to March 2028.

The overall long-term (FY2023 - 2026) objectives of this monitoring equipment are to assess runoff attenuation features (RAFs) for:
A. Changes in seepage, groundwater recharge and evaporation processes to support water resources throughout the monitoring period, 
B. The identification of any changes in surface water flow regimes from sub-headwater catchments to support water resources throughout the monitoring period.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/027104-2023 |
| Notice type | Planning Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Selective |
| Procurement method details | Competitive procedure with negotiation |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | Not specified |
| All stages | Planning, Tender |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 13 Sep 2023 |
| Submission deadline | 9 Oct 2023 |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | Not specified |
| Contract period | 19 Oct 2023 - 31 Mar 2025 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | Not specified |

## Status

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

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | DEFRA NETWORK ETENDERING PORTAL |
| 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 |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 73 - Research and development services and related consultancy services

### Codes

- 73000000 - Research and development services and related consultancy services
- 73200000 - Research and development consultancy services

## Release History

- 13 Sep 2023 at 13:35 - Planning - Planning Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/027104-2023

## Notice URLs

- https://atamis-9529.lightning.force.com/lightning/r/ProSpend__OJEU_Notice__c/a0b8d00000DZYIEAA5/view
- https://defra-family.force.com/s/Welcome
- https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-environment-food-rural-affairs

## 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-h6vhtk-03fc6e. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-03fc6e.json.