--- title: "CN250567 - Urban Grass, Shrubs & Hedges - Market Engagement" ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-05e777" canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-05e777" markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-05e777.md" json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-05e777.json" source: "Find A Tender Service" current_stage: "Planning" buyer: "KENT COUNTY COUNCIL" published: "2025-11-27" --- # CN250567 - Urban Grass, Shrubs & Hedges - Market Engagement Buyer: KENT COUNTY COUNCIL Current stage: Planning OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-05e777 [View canonical contract page](https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-05e777) [Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-05e777.json) ## Summary Kent County Council is currently in the planning stage for the procurement of a major service contract titled "CN250567 - Urban Grass, Shrubs & Hedges - Market Engagement". The process involves a preliminary market engagement intended to inform their commercial strategy. This process is focusing on services related to landscape gardening and horticultural maintenance in the Maidstone area, falling under the industry categories of landscape gardening, real estate services, construction, and other associated services. A market engagement questionnaire must be completed by 15th December 2025, and the new contract is scheduled to commence on 1st March 2027, ending in 2032, with potential extensions up to 2035. The gross estimated contract value is £6,000,000 GBP. This tender offers significant opportunities for growth, especially for businesses specialising in landscape gardening, construction, and real estate services. Companies engaged in urban horticultural maintenance, such as grass cutting, shrub and hedge maintenance, as well as conservation verge and wildflower management, may find this contract particularly relevant. The engagement process allows interested businesses to help shape the service model, with potential for ongoing activities and ad-hoc works, providing long-term business opportunities for firms capable of complying with the outlined requirements and contributing to local infrastructure improvements. Being a substantial contract offered by a prominent local authority, it is well-suited for experienced contractors looking to expand their portfolio in the sub-central government sector. ## Notice Kent County Council (KCC) is conducting Market Engagement with contractors to develop our Commercial Strategy for the procurement of the Urban Grass, Shrubs & Hedges contract. The current contract is due to expire on 28th February 2027. The main service areas comprise of urban grass, shrub and hedge cutting - to contribute to visual amenity and keep roads and pavements clear of vegetation for safe passage of highway users. The main activities currently provided under this contract consist of the following (the Council reserves the right to amend activities at procurement stage): *Six programmed urban grass cutting visits *One shrub bed maintenance visit *One hedge maintenance visit *Conservation verge and wildflower programmed maintenance visits *Other programmed activities *Ad-hoc works In order to obtain a greater understanding of the current market, the Council is undertaking Market Engagement. Please note, completing this request for Market Engagement is not a prerequisite to be able to tender for this opportunity at a later date. The new contract is due to start 1st March 2027. For more information about this opportunity, please visit the Delta eSourcing portal at: https://www.kentbusinessportal.org.uk/tenders/UK-UK-Maidstone:-Landscape-gardening-services./37N23JB6B2 To respond to this opportunity, please click here: https://www.kentbusinessportal.org.uk/respond/37N23JB6B2 ### Planning Information Please register on the Kent Business Portal to access the Market Engagement Questionnaire. Contract value and contractual term are estimated at this point and will be confirmed in any subsequent tender notices. Please complete the associated Market Engagement Questionnaire, referring to the attached Sample Scope, Sample Heat Maps and Sample Pricing Schedule documents. ## Key Details | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication source | Find A Tender Service | | Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/077681-2025 | | Notice type | UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice | | Procurement type | Standard | | Procurement category | Services | | Procurement method | Not Specified | | Procurement method details | Not specified | | Tender suitability | Not specified | | Awardee scale | Not specified | | All stages | Planning | ## Dates | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication date | 27 Nov 2025 | | Submission deadline | Not specified | | Future notice date | 15 Dec 2025 | | Award date | Not specified | | Contract period | 1 Mar 2027 - 29 Feb 2032 | | Recurrence | Not specified | ## Values | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender value | £5,000,000 | | Lots value | Not specified | | Awards value | Not specified | | Contracts value | Not specified | ## Status | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender status | Planning | | Lots status | Planning | | Awards status | Not specified | | Contracts status | Not specified | ## Buyer | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Main buyer | KENT COUNTY COUNCIL | | Locality | MAIDSTONE | | Post town | Rochester | | Postcode | ME14 1XQ | | Country | England | | ITL 1 | TLJ South East (England) | | ITL 2 | TLJ4 Kent | | ITL 3 | TLJ45 Mid Kent | | Local authority | Maidstone | | Electoral ward | Penenden Heath | | Westminster constituency | Maidstone and Malling | | Delivery location | TLJ4 Kent | ## CPV Codes ### Divisions - 45 - Construction work - 70 - Real estate services - 71 - Architectural, construction, engineering and inspection services - 77 - Agricultural, forestry, horticultural, aquacultural and apicultural services ### Codes - 45000000 - Construction work - 70000000 - Real estate services - 71421000 - Landscape gardening services - 77000000 - Agricultural, forestry, horticultural, aquacultural and apicultural services ## Release History - 27 Nov 2025 at 13:14 - PlanningUpdate - UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/077681-2025 - 24 Nov 2025 at 15:19 - PlanningUpdate - UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/076569-2025 - 24 Nov 2025 at 14:05 - Planning - UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/076499-2025 ## Documents - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/077681-2025 27th November 2025 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/076569-2025 24th November 2025 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/076499-2025 24th November 2025 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender ## Notice URLs - https://www.kentbusinessportal.org.uk/respond/37N23JB6B2 - https://www.kentbusinessportal.org.uk/tenders/UK-UK-Maidstone:-Landscape-gardening-services./37N23JB6B2 - https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents ## 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-05e777. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-05e777.json.