---
title: "OEP108-02 Unblocking nature restoration in England"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-0780bb"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-0780bb"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0780bb.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0780bb.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "Office for Environmental Protection"
published: "2026-10-05"
---

# OEP108-02 Unblocking nature restoration in England

Buyer: Office for Environmental Protection  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-0780bb

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## Summary

The Office for Environmental Protection commissioned research and evidence-gathering to identify, classify and prioritise the most significant actual and perceived barriers to restoring nature in England, along with factors that could help overcome them. The aim is a practical, prioritised list of major blockers, not an exhaustive inventory or full evaluation of every issue raised. The work is intended to screen and prioritise potential barriers, test the strongest or most consequential examples, and focus analysis on issues where action could make a meaningful difference to delivery. This is environmental management research for a national nature-restoration purpose, with the work covering England.

The procurement is complete and the contract has been awarded to Apex Science and Conservation LLP. The Office for Environmental Protection used a below-threshold limited competition. The work was procured as one lot. The contract was signed on 24 September 2026 and runs from 24 September 2026 to 12 March 2027. Its value is £42,250 including VAT. The requirement was for a focused evidence base and prioritised assessment, using clear screening criteria to bound the work and examining the most material barriers and associated enablers. The published award information identifies the selected supplier but does not state a separate evaluation formula or weighted criteria.

This award shows demand from the Office for Environmental Protection for focused environmental research that turns evidence into practical priorities for nature restoration in England. A credible competitor for a future requirement of this kind would need to design and deliver targeted evidence-gathering, assess both actual and perceived obstacles, and identify the conditions that could enable progress. The work calls for sound screening and prioritisation methods that keep the scope manageable, distinguish material issues from a broad inventory, and support testing of the strongest examples. Suppliers would need to connect analysis to delivery, showing how addressing selected barriers could make a meaningful difference to restoration outcomes. The selected supplier is a small business, demonstrating that a specialist SME secured this contract through a limited competition.

## Notice

The Supplier should set out in the proposal how they will design and deliver focused evidence-gathering and research to identify, classify and prioritise the most material actual and perceived blockers to nature restoration in England, together with associated enablers. The work should be designed to generate a practical "hitlist" of major blockers rather than an exhaustive inventory or full evaluation of everything stakeholders may raise. It should therefore explain how the Supplier will use clear screening and prioritisation criteria to bound the effort, test the strongest or most consequential examples, and concentrate analysis on issues where addressing the blocker could make a meaningful difference to delivery.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/093802-2026 |
| Notice type | UK7 - Contract Details Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Limited |
| Procurement method details | Below threshold - limited competition |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | SME |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 5 Oct 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | Not specified |
| Contract period | 24 Sep 2026 - 12 Mar 2027 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | £42,250 |

## Status

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

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | Office for Environmental Protection |
| Locality | WORCESTER |
| Postcode area | Worcester |
| Postcode | WR5 2QT |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLG West Midlands (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLG1 Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire |
| ITL 3 | TLG12 Worcestershire CC |
| Local authority | Worcester |
| Electoral ward | Nunnery |
| Westminster constituency | Worcester |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | APEX SCIENCE AND CONSERVATION LLP |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 90 - Sewage, refuse, cleaning and environmental services

### Codes

- 90710000 - Environmental management

## Release History

- 5 Oct 2026 at 12:55 - Award - UK7 - Contract Details Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/093802-2026

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/093802-2026
  5th October 2026 - Contract details notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- https://apex-science.co.uk/
- https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents
- https://www.theoep.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-0780bb. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0780bb.json.