Official UK procurement notice
Flag Fen Western Causeway Archaeological Investigation
Authority: Peterborough City Council (Local council)
Sectors: Construction & Civil Engineering (45)Architecture & Engineering (71) Delivery: East of England (UKH11)
Published estimate£696,500≈ £270k / year · £835,800 inc. VAT
Submissions closed 3 Aug 2026awarded 14 Aug 2026
Awarded to Cambridge Archaeological Unit, Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge
Contract term 2 yrs 7 moends 10 Apr 2029 · starts 1 Sept 2026
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionFlag Fen, near Peterborough, is a nationally significant wooden Bronze Age post alignment and timber platform with associated artefacts and palaeoenvironmental remains. The archaeology is preserved within an embayment of low-lying wetland known as the Flag Fen basin. It is designated as a scheduled monument, along with adjacent dry-land Bronze Age remains at Northey.
The Council sought a competent contractor experienced in wetland archaeology to deliver the following:
- To characterise the remains of the westernmost area of the post alignment through archaeological excavation.
- To record and sample the horizontal and vertical wooden remains for technological assessments and species identification.
- To obtain samples from deposits associated with the post alignment to characterise their potential for informing on the use of the structure.
- To obtain samples for palaeoenvironmental analysis.
This Council is entering into one (1) contract for a period of 136 weeks with the Successful tenderer.
- No preliminary market engagement: Providers with relevant expertise in wetland archaeology were approached to provide estimated cost for the project. The purpose of this exercise was solely to establish an approximate contract value to support a grant funding application that was required at short notice. A Preliminary Market Engagement Notice was not published at that stage because the Council anticipated undertaking a more comprehensive market engagement exercise once the outcome of the funding application was known and the project scope could be confirmed. However, due to delays in the funding approval process, the condition of the site has deteriorated, creating an urgent need to progress the procurement in order to prevent further damage and weathering. As a result, the Council has not undertaken further market engagement and has proceeded directly to procurement, as delaying the process to conduct additional engagement would risk of further deterioration and could compromise the viability of the project.
CPV: Archaeological services · Excavation work at archaeological sites
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1AwardedPublished value£696,500
What it takes to wini
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
Evaluation split and conditions of participation as published; the tender pack may add morei
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
How bids were scored
Published award criteria (2)
- Price
- Quality
What this means for your bid
- Price carries 30 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 3 points. The method statement decides this lot, not the discount.
Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Procedure method
- Open procedure
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Awarded
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 22 Jul 2026, 23:41 BST
- Last source update
- 14 Aug 2026, 17:59 BST
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 14 Aug 2026
- Authority reference
DN782937- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-069387- Accelerated
- State of urgency
- Latest notice
- Contract award notice (UK6)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06d150Find a Tender
How it was run
Official noticeRun through: ProContract (Due North) · Who buys & how to bid on ProContract
Access & registration note: Free · short registration with manual review; public opportunity list
- Submission deadline
- 3 Aug 2026, 12:00 BST
- Clarification deadline
- 29 Jul 2026, 16:00 BST
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
Detailed submission instructions & authority contactsFrom official release
Timeline
22 Jul 2026 → 1 Sept 2026 · 7 dates- Tender notice published91 days ago22 Jul 2026, 23:41 BST
- Clarification questions by85 days ago29 Jul 2026, 16:00 BST
- Submission deadline80 days ago3 Aug 2026, 12:00 BST
- Assessment summaries sent69 days ago14 Aug 2026, 00:00 BST
- Latest notice published69 days ago14 Aug 2026, 17:59 BST
- Award decision expected by68 days ago14 Aug 2026, 23:59 BST
- Contract starts51 days ago1 Sept 2026, 00:00 BST
Notice history
4 events · 2 releases on Find a Tender · since 22 Jul 2026- Tender notice published22 Jul 2026, 23:41 BSTUK4
- Contract award notice published14 Aug 2026, 17:59 BSTUK6
- Status changed to complete14 Aug 2026, 17:59 BST
- Contract signature expected26 Aug 2026, 23:59 BSTscheduled
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecastAwards 1
Awarded value £696,4971 award exc. VAT
Bids received 11 from SMEs
| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cambridge Archaeological Unit, Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge1 Sept 2026 – 10 Apr 2029 | £696,497 | 14 Aug 2026 | Awarded |
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1final-stage tenders | 1 | 0 | — |
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Bidders & participating suppliers
1 commercial party on the noticeOfficial documents & specifications (3)
Official links; attachments are not copiedTender pack and attachments
Notices published for this procedure
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender