---
title: "ITT - Storage Design and Environmental Requirements Framework for Archaeological Archives in England - UID 369"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-07811f"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-07811f"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-07811f.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-07811f.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Tender"
buyer: "Historic England"
published: "2026-10-05"
---

# ITT - Storage Design and Environmental Requirements Framework for Archaeological Archives in England - UID 369

Buyer: Historic England  
Current stage: Tender  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-07811f

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## Summary

Historic England is seeking research and consultancy services to develop evidence-based storage design and environmental requirements for a proposed National Collection of Archaeological Archives in England. The work will define a suitable national repository model for whole archaeological archives that cannot be deposited regionally, addressing preservation, access and sustainability. It will examine storage environments, spatial organisation, sustainability and repository design, building on an existing options report and work on the operating model. Findings are intended to inform later infrastructure planning, including the business case, cost modelling, building design and site selection. The commissioning organisation is Historic England, the central government body responsible for the work. The proposed repository and its requirements relate to England; no specific delivery site is identified.

Historic England invited offers through an open competition. The tender period was set to close on 2 November 2026 at 09:30, with enquiries due by 23 October 2026 at 17:00. The contract was scheduled to run from 30 November 2026 to 19 March 2027, with an option to extend by three months, to a latest date of 19 June 2027. The stated procurement value is £24,000 excluding VAT and £28,000 including VAT. There is one lot. Evaluation is weighted 65% for quality and 35% for price. The contracting process has reached the tender stage, at which the buyer invited offers.

This opportunity suits research consultancies and specialists able to turn evidence into practical requirements for archaeological archive storage and repository planning. Relevant expertise includes environmental conditions for long-term preservation, spatial planning, sustainable storage, repository design and the needs of whole archaeological collections. Suppliers with experience in archaeological archives, museums, heritage preservation or comparable collection-storage projects are well placed to understand the operational and conservation challenges. The work also calls for clear analysis that can inform infrastructure decisions, including business-case development, cost modelling, building design and site selection. The strong quality weighting makes the quality of the proposed approach and relevant expertise particularly important alongside price. The resulting work is a defined consultancy assignment rather than construction or operation of the proposed national store.

## Notice

This a visionary project to define the ideal physical infrastructure for a National Collection of Archaeological Archives (NCAA) in England. It addresses the growing crisis in archaeological archive storage due to museum capacity limits and aims to establish a state-of-the-art national store that ensures preservation, accessibility, and sustainability for whole archaeological archives of England where regional deposition is not possible. The aim of this project is to define a best evidence-based storage system for a national store of archaeological archives. The baseline model for such a store has already been outlined in the Options for Sustainable Archaeological Archives Report and is described below. The Operating Model has also been explored. In addition to establishing a vision for a national archaeological archive repository, this project will provide an evidence base for future infrastructure planning, including storage environments, spatial organisation, sustainability, and repository design requirements. The findings will support complementary work on business case development, cost modelling, building design, and site selection.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/093994-2026 |
| Notice type | UK4 - Tender Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Open |
| Procurement method details | Below threshold - open competition |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | Not specified |
| All stages | Tender |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 5 Oct 2026 |
| Submission deadline | 2 Nov 2026 |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | Not specified |
| Contract period | 30 Nov 2026 - 19 Mar 2027 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | £24,000 |
| Lots value | £24,000 |
| 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 | Historic England |
| Locality | SWINDON |
| Postcode area | Swindon |
| Postcode | SN2 2EH |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLK South West (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLK7 Gloucestershire and Wiltshire |
| ITL 3 | TLK71 Swindon |
| Local authority | Swindon |
| Electoral ward | Mannington and Western |
| Westminster constituency | Swindon South |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 73 - Research and development services and related consultancy services
- 92 - Recreational, cultural and sporting services

### Codes

- 73110000 - Research services
- 73200000 - Research and development consultancy services
- 73210000 - Research consultancy services
- 92522200 - Preservation services of historical buildings

## Release History

- 5 Oct 2026 at 16:45 - Tender - UK4 - Tender Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/093994-2026

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/093994-2026
  5th October 2026 - Tender notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- https://supplier.in-tend.co.uk/historicengland/home
- 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-07811f. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-07811f.json.