---
title: "Deed of Variation of John O'Conner Grounds Maintenance Contract"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-06cc0b"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-06cc0b"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06cc0b.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06cc0b.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "ST ALBANS CITY AND DISTRICT COUNCIL"
published: "2026-07-15"
---

# Deed of Variation of John O'Conner Grounds Maintenance Contract

Buyer: ST ALBANS CITY AND DISTRICT COUNCIL  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-06cc0b

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## Summary

The procurement process described involves St Albans City and District Council, which is extending an existing grounds maintenance contract with John O'Conner (Grounds Maintenance) Ltd. The contract title is "Deed of Variation of John O'Conner Grounds Maintenance Contract," and it belongs to the services category under CPV code 77314000 for grounds maintenance services. The contract is being extended without a new tender, due to extreme urgency and the upcoming Local Government Reorganisation. The location is within the UKH23 region, specifically in St Albans. This process has moved beyond the award stage, as the contract was signed on the 7th of May, 2026, and will remain active until 2031.

This contract extension provides substantial business growth opportunities for large grounds maintenance businesses. Such firms can benefit from the continuity and the long duration of the contract until 2031, as it provides stability and a considerable financial commitment, with a contract value of £4,510,000. The procurement method used was negotiated without the publication of a contract notice, highlighting the importance of quick response to unforeseen contractual needs. Businesses experienced in managing long-term public services contracts, especially those capable of adapting to a possibly expanding geographic scope due to the potential alignment of services across the new unitary authority, would find this contract particularly lucrative.

## Notice

St Albans City and District Council (the Authority) intends to enter into a deed of variation with John O'Conner (Grounds Maintenance) Ltd (the Contractor) in relation to extending the Grounds Maintenance contract with John O'Conner (JOC) until 2031.

### Lot Information

Lot 1

St Albans City and District Council (the Authority) intends to enter into a deed of variation with John O'Conner (Grounds Maintenance) Ltd (the Contractor) in relation to extending the Grounds Maintenance contract with John O'Conner (JOC) until 2031. The Council had regard for the Public Contract Regulations 2015 (PCR) and the provisions within Regulation 72. The Council relied on Regulation 72 of the 2015 Public Contract Regulations before making the decision to extend the contract. The reasons why the contract needed to be extended was: * The option to extend the agreement by one year, does not allow for the changes that will be forthcoming as a result of the Local Government Reorganisation. A one-year extension will mean that the contract would end in March 2029, within the first year of the new unitary organisation. The new unitary will need to procure the contract and they would not have the time available to undertake this work within their first year. A typical contract of this scale requires an 18 month to 2-year procurement timeframe. The Officers and Councillors of the new unitary would also wish to ensure any new contract is in line with the geography and strategy of the new authority. * If we began a procurement exercise in summer 2026, the procurement would be caught up in the transition work required by LGR and the government statutory changes order, making this impractical with the risk that the contract would expire just prior to the new unitary being established.

### Procurement Information

If we began a procurement exercise in summer 2026, the procurement would be caught up in the transition work required by LGR and the government statutory changes order, making this impractical with the risk that the contract expired just prior to the new unitary being established. Agreeing to extend the contract now ensures that the St Albans Officer resource who understand the current contract and the geography of the place are able to complete the work to extend the contract. Having a shorter extension period, could result in a tendering process being required whilst the new council is being created and/or is evaluating its options for service delivery. Shorter extension may not achieve the economy of scale and potential savings for the Council. The Procurement would cost a considerable amount of money and take a significant amount of officer time, with a difficult risk profile for both the client and contractor at this time. This is not a good time to procure given the uncertainty of LGR. It is important to enable service continuity, flexibility and alignment of contracts across the County. It is the best use of time and resource to undertake any tendering process once St Albans District Council is part of the new larger unitary council, rather than in the run up to Local Government Reorganisation (LGR), or when the new council is in its infancy. Extending to 2031 beyond the current maximum extension of 2029, ensures a consistent service whilst allowing the new council to look at all the Public Realm services across the new geographical area, to achieve efficiencies and get best value for money by aligning these services at that time.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/066822-2026 |
| Notice type | Award Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Limited |
| Procurement method details | Negotiated without publication of a contract notice |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | Large |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 15 Jul 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 6 May 2026 |
| Contract period | Not specified |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | £4,510,000 |

## Status

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

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | ST ALBANS CITY AND DISTRICT COUNCIL |
| Locality | ST ALBANS |
| Post town | St Albans |
| Postcode | AL1 3JE |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLH East (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLH2 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire |
| ITL 3 | TLH27 South West Hertfordshire |
| Local authority | St Albans |
| Electoral ward | St Peters |
| Westminster constituency | St Albans |
| Delivery location | TLH23 Hertfordshire CC |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | JOHN O'CONNER (GROUNDS MAINTENANCE |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 77 - Agricultural, forestry, horticultural, aquacultural and apicultural services

### Codes

- 77314000 - Grounds maintenance services

## Release History

- 15 Jul 2026 at 13:41 - Award - Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/066822-2026

## Notice URLs

- https://www.stalbans.gov.uk/

## 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-06cc0b. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06cc0b.json.