---
title: "Specialist Planning Recruitment Services"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-0775a2"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-0775a2"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0775a2.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0775a2.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "South Holland District Council"
published: "2026-09-29"
---

# Specialist Planning Recruitment Services

Buyer: South Holland District Council  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-0775a2

[View canonical contract page](https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-0775a2)  
[Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0775a2.json)

## Summary

South Holland District Council engaged specialist recruitment services to support its Planning Service by continuing the placement of an existing consultant. The requirement covers planning-sector recruitment expertise and continuity in managing the Council’s recruitment programme, including knowledge of relevant roles, candidates and compliance needs. The work supports planning operations and the handling of live planning applications. The buying organisation is South Holland District Council, based in Spalding, and the service is for its Planning Service in the United Kingdom. The contract is for recruitment services (CPV 79600000).

The procurement is complete and the contract has been awarded to Stonehouse Recruitment Group Limited. The Council used a direct award, justified by technical reasons and the need to retain the existing consultant to maintain continuity and avoid disruption. The stated arrangement is one contract. It was signed on 22 September 2026, with a contract period from 31 October 2026 to 29 October 2027 and a possible five-month extension to 31 March 2028. The gross contract value is £170,940. The award rationale highlights the consultant’s specialist knowledge of roles, candidate pipeline, compliance requirements and the Council’s planning systems, alongside responsibility for a substantial live caseload. The notice records one lot, suitable for SMEs.

For recruitment firms competing for a similar requirement from South Holland District Council, credibility depends on demonstrable specialist recruitment capability for planning services and the ability to maintain continuity in an established programme. This award shows the value the Council places on retaining knowledge of planning roles, the candidate pipeline, compliance requirements and its planning systems. A supplier would need to manage a substantial live caseload without disrupting recruitment activity or delaying planning application decisions. Relevant experience supporting a public-sector planning service, effective candidate sourcing and robust compliance processes would therefore be important. The procurement was directly awarded on technical grounds to continue an existing consultant’s engagement, so a future competitor would need to show how it could preserve service continuity and avoid duplication, inefficiency and performance impacts during any transition.

## Notice

Provision of specialist recruitment services to support the Council's Planning Service through the continued engagement of an existing consultant.

### Procurement Information

This Transparency Notice is issued in accordance with Section 44 of the Procurement Act 2023 and Regulation 26 of the Procurement Regulations 2024, which require publication of a transparency notice prior to making a direct award. The Council intends to enter into a direct award for the continued provision of specialist recruitment services with Stonehouse Recruitment Ltd, retaining the same consultant currently engaged on assignment The direct award is made under the permitted justification in Schedule 5 (technical reasons), as the continuation of the existing consultant is necessary to maintain service continuity and avoid disruption to the current recruitment programme. The consultant has specialist knowledge of the roles, candidate pipeline and compliance requirements. Furthermore, they have developed excellent working knowledge of the Council's Planning Systems and is carrying a large caseload of live applications, which would mean that letting the consultant leave and replacing them at this stage would result in significant duplication of work, delays in the determination of planning applications, and service inefficiency. The result would be a drop in the Council's nationally monitored KPI Planning performance, an adverse reputational impact upon the Planning Service and Council, and the possibility of planning fee refunds in accordance with the Planning Guarantee. The proposed direct award will extend the current arrangement for a further 12 months with the option to extend for a further 5 months to ensure continuity of service and allow the Council time to plan and implement any future procurement strategy in accordance with the Procurement Act 2023. NOTE: there is only one contract for this contract details notice

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/091720-2026 |
| Notice type | UK7 - Contract Details Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Direct |
| Procurement method details | Direct award |
| Tender suitability | SME |
| Awardee scale | SME |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 29 Sep 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | Not specified |
| Contract period | Not specified |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | £170,940 |
| Contracts value | £170,940 |

## Status

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

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | South Holland District Council |
| Locality | SPALDING |
| Postcode area | Peterborough |
| Postcode | PE11 2XE |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLF East Midlands (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLF3 Lincolnshire |
| ITL 3 | TLF30 Lincolnshire CC |
| Local authority | South Holland |
| Electoral ward | Spalding St John's |
| Westminster constituency | South Holland and The Deepings |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | STONEHOUSE RECRUITMENT GROUP LIMITED |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 79 - Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security

### Codes

- 79600000 - Recruitment services

## Release History

- 29 Sep 2026 at 10:55 - Award - UK7 - Contract Details Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/091720-2026
- 18 Sep 2026 at 15:06 - Award - UK5 - Transparency Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/088779-2026

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/091720-2026
  29th September 2026 - Contract details notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/088779-2026
  18th September 2026 - Transparency notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- https://stonehouserecruitmentgroup.com/
- 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-0775a2. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0775a2.json.