---
title: "CP2821-26 Study of Carbon Sequestration and Soil Health Impacts within Highway Earthworks"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-077fd9"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-077fd9"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-077fd9.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-077fd9.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Tender"
buyer: "Devon County Council"
published: "2026-10-02"
---

# CP2821-26 Study of Carbon Sequestration and Soil Health Impacts within Highway Earthworks

Buyer: Devon County Council  
Current stage: Tender  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-077fd9

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## Summary

Devon County Council is seeking research services to study how highway construction affects soil carbon and soil health, and whether biochar, enhanced mineral weathering and mycorrhizal fungi can improve carbon sequestration and long-term storage. The work supports the A382 Link Road development near Newton Abbot, Devon, and its aim to reduce or remove carbon emissions from highway construction. The research is intended to assess the effects of construction activities on soil carbon and the potential for these additions to traditional earthworks to improve highway verges and associated landscape areas. The buying authority is Devon County Council, and the work is for the A382 scheme in Devon.

The buyer invited offers through a below-threshold open competition. This is a single-lot services requirement, with award assessed on price and quality; the detailed quality and selection requirements are set out in the tender documentation. The enquiry deadline was 23 October 2026, and the bid deadline was 30 October 2026 at 12:00 noon. The planned contract period runs from 20 November 2026 to 1 June 2029. The stated budget range is £150,000 to £170,000; the estimated contract value is £170,000 excluding VAT. Electronic submission is permitted through the South West procurement portal.

This opportunity suits research organisations, environmental consultancies and specialist firms with expertise in soil science, carbon measurement, highway or civil engineering earthworks, and applied environmental research. Relevant capability includes assessing how construction affects soil carbon and health, and designing or evaluating interventions using biochar, enhanced mineral weathering and mycorrhizal fungi. Suppliers should be able to investigate carbon sequestration and long-term storage in highway verges and landscape areas, and communicate evidence that can inform practical construction methods. The requirement is marked as suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises, so specialist smaller teams may be well placed to compete, particularly where they can demonstrate suitable technical expertise and deliver a multi-year study.

## Notice

Devon County Council (DCC), is delivering the A382 Link Road Development near Newton Abbot, Devon. In addition to the main scheme, additional funding has been made available through the ADEPT Live Labs 2: Decarbonising Local Roads programme to fund carbon reduction measures on the project. The scheme seeks not only to improve highway safety, network resilience and traffic flow, but also to demonstrate innovative approaches to reducing and removing carbon emissions from highway construction activities. As part of the project's carbon-negative aspirations, DCC wishes to investigate the impact of construction activities on soil carbon levels and the potential benefits of incorporating biochar, enhanced mineral weathering and mycorrhizal fungi into traditional highway earthworks operations. Emerging research suggests that these products may increase carbon sequestration rates, improve soil health and increase long-term carbon storage within highway verges and associated landscape areas. The budget available is between PS150,000 and PS170,000 further details on the cost strategy are given in the documentation.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/093401-2026 |
| Notice type | UK4 - Tender Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Open |
| Procurement method details | Below threshold - open competition |
| Tender suitability | SME |
| Awardee scale | Not specified |
| All stages | Tender |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 2 Oct 2026 |
| Submission deadline | 30 Oct 2026 |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | Not specified |
| Contract period | 20 Nov 2026 - 1 Jun 2029 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | £170,000 |
| Lots value | £170,000 |
| 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 | Devon County Council |
| Locality | EXETER |
| Postcode area | Exeter |
| Postcode | EX2 4QD |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLK South West (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLK4 Devon |
| ITL 3 | TLK43 Devon CC |
| Local authority | Exeter |
| Electoral ward | Newtown and St Leonard's |
| Westminster constituency | Exeter |
| Delivery location | TLK43 Devon CC |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 73 - Research and development services and related consultancy services

### Codes

- 73110000 - Research services

## Release History

- 2 Oct 2026 at 14:19 - Tender - UK4 - Tender Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/093401-2026

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/093401-2026
  2nd October 2026 - Tender notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- https://www.devon.gov.uk
- https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents
- https://www.supplyingthesouthwest.org.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-077fd9. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-077fd9.json.