---
title: "ES RDE 079 - Using partnership working to scope a lowcost, permanent estuarine t"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-0786f4"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-0786f4"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0786f4.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0786f4.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "Natural England"
published: "2026-10-13"
---

# ES RDE 079 - Using partnership working to scope a lowcost, permanent estuarine t

Buyer: Natural England  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-0786f4

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## Summary

Natural England commissioned research and development services to assess a low-cost, permanent acoustic telemetry array for estuarine and inshore monitoring. The work builds on South Coast telemetry projects and aims to improve long-term evidence for managing protected sites, including data on the movements and habitat use of mobile species. The supplier is to test a cost-effective, semi-autonomous array run through partnership working, and develop a regional coastal group to maintain equipment and manage data. The project also explores using existing platforms to shape a model in which funding is central and delivery is regional across the UK. The buying organisation is Natural England, and the selected supplier is the University of Plymouth.

The procurement is complete and the contract is active. Natural England used a selective, non-competitive direct award under a framework, below the applicable threshold. The University of Plymouth was awarded the contract. It was signed on 20 August 2026, with a contract period from 26 August 2026 to 31 March 2027. The contract is valued at £26,207.50 excluding VAT and £31,449 including VAT. The requirement was handled as one lot. The award record classifies the work as research and development services; no separate evaluation criteria are recorded.

For suppliers considering comparable future work for Natural England, this award indicates demand for applied environmental research that turns telemetry evidence into practical monitoring approaches for protected-site management. Credible providers would need expertise in acoustic telemetry and estuarine or inshore ecology, and the ability to assess species movement and habitat use over long periods. The project also calls for practical experience designing low-cost, semi-autonomous monitoring arrays, working with regional partners, and planning for equipment maintenance and data management. Experience coordinating a coastal partnership and using existing monitoring platforms would be relevant, as would the capacity to develop a workable model linking central funding with regional delivery. The award went to a university, through a framework route; suppliers aiming to compete in similar work should be able to demonstrate strong research capability and partnership delivery.

## Notice

Natural England Self-Service Direct Award. NE's collaboration on South Coast telemetry projects has rapidly delivered high-quality evidence for protected-site management and multi-species, ecosystem-based recommendations. Having demonstrated the value of acoustic telemetry, this project aims to embed it into long-term monitoring. A permanent array would cut start-up costs and provide high-quality, long-duration data on movements and habitat use of mobile species. This work package will strengthen estuarine and inshore coverage by testing a cost-effective, semi-autonomous, partnership-run array. The project will also create a coastal collective of regional partners to maintain equipment and manage data, using existing platforms and exploring a centrally funded, regionally delivered UK model.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/096741-2026 |
| Notice type | UK7 - Contract Details Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Selective |
| Procurement method details | Below threshold - award under framework |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | Large |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 13 Oct 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | Not specified |
| Contract period | 26 Aug 2026 - 31 Mar 2027 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | £26,207 |

## Status

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

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | Natural England |
| Locality | LONDON |
| Postcode area | South West London |
| Postcode | SW1P 4DF |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLI London |
| ITL 2 | TLI3 Inner London - West |
| ITL 3 | TLI35 Westminster and City of London |
| Local authority | Westminster |
| Electoral ward | St James's |
| Westminster constituency | Cities of London and Westminster |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | University of Plymouth |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 73 - Research and development services and related consultancy services

### Codes

- 73000000 - Research and development services and related consultancy services

## Release History

- 13 Oct 2026 at 17:33 - Award - UK7 - Contract Details Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/096741-2026

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/096741-2026
  13th October 2026 - Contract details notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- https://defra-family.force.com/s/Welcome
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/api/1.0/ocdsReleasePackages/ocds-h6vhtk-04ef64
- 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-0786f4. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0786f4.json.