---
title: "ES RDE 097 - Operationalising the UK Saltmarsh code - year 1"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-0788da"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-0788da"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0788da.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0788da.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "Environment Agency"
published: "2026-10-15"
---

# ES RDE 097 - Operationalising the UK Saltmarsh code - year 1

Buyer: Environment Agency  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-0788da

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## Summary

The Environment Agency commissioned research and development services to prepare the UK Saltmarsh Code for operational use. The year-one work is a transition phase before piloting, focused on finalising the code’s future governance arrangements and technical delivery. The requirement is for specialist research and related consultancy rather than physical saltmarsh restoration works. The Environment Agency is the buyer, and the work concerns the UK-wide code; no delivery site is identified. The contract is intended to help establish the arrangements and technical basis needed before the code is piloted.

The procurement is complete and the contract is active. The Environment Agency made a non-competitive direct award under a framework, using a selective procedure below the relevant threshold. UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology was selected for the single lot. The contract was signed on 2 October 2026 and runs from 7 October 2026 to 31 March 2027. Its value is £58,796 excluding VAT (£70,555.20 including VAT). The stated purpose is year-one preparation for a planned 2027 pilot, with governance and technical delivery to be finalised. No award evaluation criteria or supplier eligibility requirements are set out in the procurement details.

For future work on this requirement, credible suppliers will need expertise spanning saltmarsh science, applied research and consultancy, together with the ability to help turn a UK-wide environmental code into workable governance and technical arrangements. The award shows demand for a combined policy-and-delivery capability: understanding the ecological subject matter alone may not be enough if a supplier cannot also support the code’s operational design. Relevant experience with environmental standards, code development, governance models and technical implementation would help demonstrate fit. The selected organisation is a large research body, indicating that the buyer has engaged a supplier with substantial research capacity. Suppliers should be prepared to work within a framework-based procurement route; this award was made without a competitive call-off.

## Notice

Environment Agency Self-Service Direct Award. We are currently in a transition year before the saltmarsh code can be piloted in 2027. This year, the future governance structure and technical delivery of the saltmarsh code need to be finalised.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/097628-2026 |
| 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 | 15 Oct 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | Not specified |
| Contract period | 7 Oct 2026 - 31 Mar 2027 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | £58,796 |

## Status

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

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | Environment Agency |
| 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 | UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 73 - Research and development services and related consultancy services

### Codes

- 73000000 - Research and development services and related consultancy services

## Release History

- 15 Oct 2026 at 16:16 - Award - UK7 - Contract Details Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/097628-2026

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/097628-2026
  15th 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-0788da. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0788da.json.