---
title: "Bridging the Gap project"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-066ef8"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-066ef8"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-066ef8.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-066ef8.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "ENVIRONMENT AGENCY"
published: "2026-03-19"
---

# Bridging the Gap project

Buyer: ENVIRONMENT AGENCY  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-066ef8

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## Summary

The Environment Agency, operating under the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), has progressed to the award stage in its procurement process for the "Bridging the Gap" project. This initiative, categorised under environmental services and endangered species protection, aims to eradicate invasive American mink to support water voles' recovery across England. The procurement method was direct, conducted below threshold without competition. The project spans from 19th March 2026 to 31st March 2028 and has been awarded to Waterlife Recovery Trust, located in Horsham, United Kingdom. The contract, valued at £100,000, with a gross amount of £120,000, was signed on 19th March 2026, marking the beginning of an extensive conservation effort.

This tender represents a significant opportunity for Waterlife Recovery Trust to further establish its authoritative position in environmental conservation related to species recovery. Businesses specialising in ecological services, particularly those with expertise in invasive species management, can observe the successful practices of Waterlife Recovery Trust to implement similar projects. Organisations focusing on developing smart monitoring technology, creating partnerships, and training volunteer networks would find alignment with the goals set forth by this initiative. By demonstrating capability in strategic coordination and ecological impact, such entities can expand their operations and contribute significantly to similar environmental preservation efforts.

## Notice

Water voles are an IUCN Red List Species, their threat status for the most part, is a result of predation my American mink, an invasive non-native species. The control and eradication of mink through effective regional partnerships t has been identified by Natural England through their Threatened Species Recovery Action (TSRA) project as the priority action to recover the species. This project is looking to shift the dial for recovery of water voles. It aims to fill the missing part of a puzzle to create a mink free corridor from the Thames Estuary in the south-east of England across to the Bristol Chanel on the west coast. This will create a mink free corridor across the country, enabling the recovery of water voles while also enabling the strategic control of mink into the South West of England. Mink eradication across this corridor, and England as a whole, is being led by Waterlife Recovery Trust (WRT). This charity has been in place since 2022, building on the very successful work to remove mink from East Anglia from 2019 onwards. The organisation's goal and sole purpose is to achieve the eradication of mink across Great Britain, using strict working protocols, strong scientific evidence and building partnerships in the areas that they operate in. WRT is uniquely placed to undertake county-scale mink eradication because it has already demonstrated that landscape-scale eradication is achievable, not just theoretical. Building on the success of Waterlife Recovery East, the Trust is the only organisation that has developed a proven, humane, and systematic trapping model using smart monitoring technology, supported by strong scientific oversight. It combines professional coordination with a large, well-trained volunteer network and works in partnership with landowners, conservation bodies, and local stakeholders. Crucially, it has delivered measurable ecological recovery across large areas and has an operational framework ready to scale, making it far more capable than other organisations starting from scratch. The objectives of the Project are to work in collaboration with Waterlife Recovery Trust to: (a) Establish a broad corridor of water vole friendly habitat from the Bristol Channel to the Thames by means of eradicating invasive American mink (hereafter 'mink'). (b) Establish a suitable project group to oversee the project for its duration (c) Ensure comprehensive smart mink trap coverage (d) Establish professional coordination of the trap network to ensure high standards of Health and Safety, animal welfare and operational efficacy.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/025198-2026 |
| Notice type | UK7 - Contract Details Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Direct |
| Procurement method details | Below threshold - without competition |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | Large |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 19 Mar 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 19 Mar 2026 |
| Contract period | 19 Mar 2026 - 31 Mar 2028 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | £100,000 |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Complete |
| Awards status | Active |
| Contracts status | Active |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | ENVIRONMENT AGENCY |
| Additional buyers | DEPARTMENT FOR ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS |
| Locality | LONDON |
| Post town | South West London |
| Postcode | SW1P 4DF |
| 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 | WATERLIFE RECOVERY TRUST |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 90 - Sewage, refuse, cleaning and environmental services

### Codes

- 90700000 - Environmental services
- 90721700 - Endangered species protection services

## Release History

- 19 Mar 2026 at 13:48 - Award - UK7 - Contract Details Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/025198-2026

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/025198-2026
  19th March 2026 - Contract details notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- https://defra-family.force.com/s/Welcome
- 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-066ef8. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-066ef8.json.