---
title: "SSSI Improvements - Chobham Common"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-078b9d"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-078b9d"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-078b9d.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-078b9d.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "National Highways"
published: "2026-10-20"
---

# SSSI Improvements - Chobham Common

Buyer: National Highways  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-078b9d

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## Summary

National Highways Limited commissioned environmental improvement work at Chobham Common Site of Special Scientific Interest in Surrey. The project aims to improve heathland habitat, reduce wildfire risk and build resilience to flooding. It covers pruning woodland trees and removing fallen deadwood across 37.96 hectares to limit fire spread; establishing grazing across 84 hectares in the southern part of the common to improve habitat and reduce vegetation-related fire risk; and a feasibility study into restoring the site’s natural water function, using paleo-ecology. The work includes woodland and forestry management, tree maintenance and habitat management. Delivery is at Chobham Common, with grazing infrastructure improvements forming part of the wider site management work.

The procurement is complete and was awarded to Surrey Wildlife Trust. National Highways used a direct award, citing the Trust’s established role as land manager and the need to integrate work with existing conservation management and statutory approvals. The stated rationale was that an alternative supplier could not deliver independently without the Trust’s agreement and involvement. The award value is £231,000 excluding VAT (£277,200 including VAT). The contract period runs from 30 October 2026 to 30 September 2027; the planned signature date is 30 October 2026. The single lot was considered suitable for SMEs and voluntary, community or social enterprises. The requirement was for services, assessed in the context of the direct-award rationale rather than a stated competitive evaluation.

For comparable work at Chobham Common, a credible supplier would need practical capability in woodland management, tree pruning and deadwood removal, alongside experience reducing wildfire risk in sensitive heathland. The requirement also demonstrates the importance of coordinating grazing systems and infrastructure with habitat objectives and wider site management. Suppliers would need to understand how grazing can improve heathland condition while reducing vegetation that contributes to fire risk. The flood-management element calls for capability in assessing hydrological restoration, including use of paleo-ecology. Experience working on a Site of Special Scientific Interest, meeting conservation objectives and securing or working within statutory approvals would be particularly relevant. National Highways’ rationale placed substantial weight on the existing land manager’s site knowledge and integration with ongoing conservation responsibilities, so evidence of trusted site-level partnerships and delivery alongside land managers would strengthen a competitor’s case.

## Notice

The project proposes three interventions to enhance the SSSI Chobham Common heathland habitat; * Wildfire resilience woodland work - enhancement of 37.96 hectares of SSSI through pruning existing woodland trees to prevent fire spread through woodland understories and prevent fire spreading up into the tree canopy and removal of fallen deadwood to reduce fire risk. * Site wide grazing system - facilitate grazing across 84ha of the southern half of Chobham Common. Increased grazing would create better quality heathland habitat and reduce wildfire risk from a reduction in vegetation caused by grazing animals and subsequent reduced risk to the road network. * Natural Flood Management - conduct a feasibility study into restoring the hydrological function on the site using paleo-ecology to increase site resilience to flooding and wildfire.

### Procurement Information

Surrey Wildlife Trust (SWT) is the established land manager for Chobham Common SSSI and is responsible for the site's ongoing conservation and management. The proposed works, including wildfire resilience measures, grazing infrastructure improvements, and natural flood management, must be integrated with existing site management activities and delivered in accordance with conservation objectives and statutory approvals that SWT already manages. A competitive procurement exercise would not provide additional value to National Highways, as no alternative supplier could independently deliver the works without SWT's agreement and involvement. A Direct Award therefore represents the most efficient and lowest-risk approach, enabling timely delivery of environmental improvements that support National Highways statutory duty under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 whilst providing confidence of successful delivery through an experienced partner with extensive site knowledge.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/098885-2026 |
| Notice type | UK5 - Transparency Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Direct |
| Procurement method details | Direct award |
| Tender suitability | SME, VCSE |
| Awardee scale | SME |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 20 Oct 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | Not specified |
| Contract period | 30 Oct 2026 - 30 Sep 2027 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | £231,000 |
| Contracts value | Not specified |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Complete |
| Awards status | Pending |
| Contracts status | Not specified |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | National Highways |
| Locality | BIRMINGHAM |
| Postcode area | Birmingham |
| Postcode | B4 6GA |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLG West Midlands (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLG3 West Midlands |
| ITL 3 | TLG31 Birmingham |
| Local authority | Birmingham |
| Electoral ward | Ladywood |
| Westminster constituency | Birmingham Ladywood |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | Surrey Wildlife Trust |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 77 - Agricultural, forestry, horticultural, aquacultural and apicultural services

### Codes

- 77211200 - Transport of logs within the forest
- 77211300 - Tree-clearing services
- 77211400 - Tree-cutting services
- 77211500 - Tree-maintenance services
- 77231000 - Forestry management services
- 77231100 - Forest resources management services

## Release History

- 20 Oct 2026 at 11:20 - Award - UK5 - Transparency Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/098885-2026

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/098885-2026
  20th October 2026 - Transparency notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- https://nationalhighways.co.uk
- 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-078b9d. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-078b9d.json.