Find a TenderOpen for tender Tender notice
Published 20 Oct 2026, 15:16 BST

Official UK procurement notice

Grounds Maintenance Contract 2027-2031

Authority: Penrith Town Council (Local council)

ServicesBelow threshold - open competitionBelow thresholdReserved: K02000001SME suitable
Published estimate£25,000≈ £6k / year · £30,000 inc. VAT
Submission deadline 3 Dec 202612:00 GMT · 43d 1h left
Clarification cut-off 20 Nov 202615:00 GMT · questions to the authority
Contract term 4 yrsends 28 Feb 2031 · extension options published · starts 1 Mar 2027

What is being bought

Published requirement description

Penrith Town Council are seeking tenders from qualified and experienced contractors to undertake grass cutting, hedge cutting, strimming, litter collection, weed spraying, minor tree works (termed Grounds Maintenance) services within the Penrith Parish.

CPV: Grounds maintenance services

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · value published
Lot #1 4 yrsSMEPublished value£25,000
Contract period: 1 Mar 2027 – 28 Feb 2031 (4 yrs)Value: £25,000 exc. VAT · £30,000 inc. VAT
Delivery: North WestEligibility: SME eligibleTurnover guideline: ~£12,491/yr≈ 2× annual value
Extensions: The Council may at any time add or remove fixtures and fittings (play equipment, seats etc.) at the sites during the period of the contract and no application from the contractor to adjust the contract price will be considered, unless it is considered that the changes will make a substantial change to the contract specification or have an effect on the time to carry out the schedule of works.

Who is likely to bid for this lot ↓

What it takes to win
i

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 more
How bids are scored

Lot awarding rule: Price 60% Quality & Experience 25% Compliance 10% Locality 5%

No conditions of participation were published on the notice; check the tender documents.

What this means for your bid
  • Turnover usually expected at this size: about £12,491 (twice the annual value).

Turnover is an indicative market norm (≈2× annual value), not a published condition.

Competition analysis · published record, not a forecast of who will bid

Planting and maintenance services of green areas (CPV 7731) in North West England, and who usually turns up

Penrith Town Council has too little published record in this market to describe on its own. Published market evidence for the same work stands beside whatever it has. Frameworks and DPS are kept out: they attract a different number of bids. Whole-market view: Planting and maintenance services of green areas (CPV 7731) →

1

How the contest usually goes

Winner shares use published awards; bid and price charts use contested lots.

Question for the bid
This buyerPenrith Town Council · all categories
What to do with it
How often do SMEs win?
i

How often small and medium firms win.

Share of awards where the winner’s size is known.

The counts under this question show how many awards have a known supplier size.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: 1 of 1 known-size awards · market: CPV 7731 · North West England, n=6
1 of 167%

Small firms have won here. Neither number says whether you qualify; it describes who has been winning.

How often do local suppliers win?
i

How often local firms win similar work.

Winners with a registered address in the delivery region, out of awards with a known address.

Here, local means registered in North West England.

A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: 0 of 1 known-location awards · market: CPV 7731 · North West England, n=17
0 of 165%

Most of this buyer’s recorded winners are registered outside North West England.

How long to a decision?
i

How long buyers here take to decide after bids close.

Middle value in days from the deadline to the first award notice, on competitions that published both dates.

Only decided tenders count, so slow ones still waiting are not in.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: no decision dates published · market: CPV 7731 · North West England, n=6
—36 days

Half of these awards were announced within 36 days of the bid deadline.

How often single-bid or direct?
i

How often work is awarded with no recorded rival.

Direct awards and tenders where every published lot count shows one bid.

The market share is a minimum: some awards have no bid count.

Thin markets produce this too; it is not proof of a tailored specification.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: exactly 0 of 1 procurements with awards had no recorded rival · market: CPV 7731 · North West England, n=16
0 of 125%

Missing bid counts may hide more single-bid awards. This share is a minimum.

How many bids did past lots attract?

i

How many bids past lots received.

Each colour is a bid-count range. Only competed lots with a published count are included.

Past bids do not predict this tender.

Last 36 months.

This buyer1 lot with bid counts · all categories · too few to chart
The market11 lots with bid counts · CPV 7731 · North West England
0% had one bid
Market · select a colour for counts
1 bid0%
Market: 0 of 11 lots with published bid counts.
2–336%
Market: 4 of 11 lots with published bid counts.
4–636%
Market: 4 of 11 lots with published bid counts.
7+27%
Market: 3 of 11 lots with published bid counts.

How did awards compare with estimates?

i

Where winning prices landed against estimates.

Each colour shows awards below, close to or above the published estimate, one lot at a time.

Past prices are a guide, not a bid price.

Last 36 months.

This buyerNo estimate-and-award pairs published
The market5 lots with estimate and award · CPV 7731 · North West England
40% below estimate
Market · select a colour for counts
Below estimate40%
Market: 2 of 5 lots with an estimate and award.
Within ±2%40%
Market: 2 of 5 lots with an estimate and award.
Above estimate20%
Market: 1 of 5 lots with an estimate and award.
2

Assess each lot
i

What past awards tell you about each lot.

See the forecast, this buyer’s earlier suppliers and firms with relevant wins.

No supplier is confirmed as a bidder.

Open a lot for its forecast, this buyer’s previous supplier and possible competitors, from published award history, not a bid list

Lot #1CPV 773148 monthsSME suitablePublished estimate£25k
Expected competition
i

How many bids this lot may attract.

The forecast uses similar past competitions. The bar shows either that forecast or past bid counts; the line below says which.

Each lot shows its own forecast based on its own category; forecasts for different lots of the same notice are not comparative.

A forecast, not a list of bidders.

6expected bids2% single-bid risk
forecast from 21 past contests
Forecast chances for this lot
1 bid2%
Chance this lot gets 1 bid: 2%. This is a forecast.
2–320%
Chance this lot gets 2–3: 20%. This is a forecast.
4–621%
Chance this lot gets 4–6: 21%. This is a forecast.
7+56%
Chance this lot gets 7+: 56%. This is a forecast.
Commercial price forecast
i

Where the award price may land.

The forecast uses similar awards and the buyer’s estimate. The band covers the middle half of likely prices.

Based on 9 comparable awards. Each lot reflects its own category; forecasts for different lots of the same notice are not comparative.

A statistical guide from past awards, not a price to bid.

£22k11% below estimate
9 comparable awards
Forecast compared with the buyer’s estimate
Middle 50%£20k–£25k
Half of likely prices fall between £20,299 and £25,000.
Estimate£25k
The buyer published an estimate of £25,000 for this lot.
A 14% chance the award lands exactly on the estimate.

Who has supplied this buyer on similar work?
i

Who has done similar work for this buyer.

Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.

A past supplier may not bid again.

No earlier contract of this buyer matches this lot on the published record.

Who could compete for this lot?
i

Who could compete for this lot?

Firms with relevant past wins. On a framework, we show firms on that agreement.

None is confirmed as a bidder.

SupplierWon in this categoryLive contractsAward vs estimate
1 win in North West England2 panel places
£33m22 awards in 36m · last 1 months ago8 live · £2.4m
i

Public contracts this supplier still holds.

Its awards whose published end date is still in the future, with their values. Many contracts publish no end date, so this is a floor, not the whole book.

Unexpired says nothing about spare capacity.

5% below n=8
3 wins in North West England10 panel places
£65m38 awards in 36m · last 3 months ago18 live · £49m
i

Public contracts this supplier still holds.

Its awards whose published end date is still in the future, with their values. Many contracts publish no end date, so this is a floor, not the whole book.

Unexpired says nothing about spare capacity.

at estimate n=14
1 win in North West England8 panel places
£11m36 awards in 36m · last 3 months ago11 live · £3.6m
i

Public contracts this supplier still holds.

Its awards whose published end date is still in the future, with their values. Many contracts publish no end date, so this is a floor, not the whole book.

Unexpired says nothing about spare capacity.

at estimate n=12
1 win in North West England2 panel places
£45m19 awards in 36m · last 8 months ago3 live · £1.4m
i

Public contracts this supplier still holds.

Its awards whose published end date is still in the future, with their values. Many contracts publish no end date, so this is a floor, not the whole book.

Unexpired says nothing about spare capacity.

at estimate n=6
1 win in North West England1 panel places
£2.2m7 awards in 36m · last 8 months ago1 live · £1.3m
i

Public contracts this supplier still holds.

Its awards whose published end date is still in the future, with their values. Many contracts publish no end date, so this is a floor, not the whole book.

Unexpired says nothing about spare capacity.

12% below n=3
About this data
  • Source. Official UK public procurement notices (Find a Tender), reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. New notices arrive through the day; the figures are rebuilt nightly.
  • Two views, kept apart. The authority’s own track record and the wider market for the same kind of work sit side by side and are never mixed. Where the local picture is too thin, a figure widens to a broader market and says which one it used.
  • Forecasts are labelled. The price forecast and its range, possible competitors and the earlier-work matches are our estimates from past awards: not published facts, not win chances and not price advice. Official notices do not say who is bidding.
  • Every figure shows what it rests on. Not every notice publishes a bid count, a value or a delivery region, so each figure carries the number of records behind it, and one built on few records is marked as such. The on a figure explains it; the counting rules are in the methodology. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.

Procedure terms & legal framework

From the official record
Procedure method
Below threshold - open competition
Legal basis
UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
Procurement category
Services
Notice status
Open for tender
Procurement threshold
Below threshold
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
20 Oct 2026, 15:16 BST
Last source update
20 Oct 2026, 15:16 BST
FTS notice number
2026/S 000-099114
Latest notice
Tender notice (UK4)
Classification (CPV)
Grounds maintenance services
Delivery area
North West (UKD12)
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-078c15 Find a Tender
Contract terms
Reserved participation area
K02000001

How to participate & submission route

Official notice
Requests to participate (first stage)
—
Tender submission deadline
3 Dec 2026, 12:00 GMT
Clarification deadline
20 Nov 2026, 15:00 GMT
Electronic submission
Not allowed
Detailed submission instructions & authority contactsFrom official release

Grounds Maintenance Contract

Town Clerk

Penrith Town Council

Unit 1, Church House

19-24 Friargate

Penrith

Cumbria

CA11 7XR

Published estimate £25,000 excludes VAT (£30,000 including VAT).

Timeline

20 Oct 2026 → 1 Mar 2027 · 4 dates
  1. Tender notice published1 day ago
    20 Oct 2026, 15:16 BST
  2. Today
    21 Oct 2026
  3. Clarification questions byin 30 days
    20 Nov 2026, 15:00 GMT
  4. Submission deadlinein 43 days
    3 Dec 2026, 12:00 GMT
  5. Contract startsin 131 days
    1 Mar 2027

Notice history

1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender
  1. Tender notice published
    20 Oct 2026, 15:16 BST
    UK4

Commercial outcome & contract awards

Nothing awarded yet
Awards (0)
No award published
Contracts (0)
No contract published
Bid statistics
No aggregate bid statistics published

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

Penrith Town Council

Contracting authorityPublic authority - sub-central government GB-PPON: PGDL-6896-XCDQ Unit 1, Church House, 19-24, Friargate, PENRITH, North West, CA11 7XRContact email, phone

Official documents & specifications (2)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Tender pack and attachments

Notices published for this procedure

  • Tender notice tenderTender noticeUK4Tender notice on Find a Tender