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Published 18 Jul 2025, 13:30 BST

Official UK procurement notice

Grounds Maintenance Contract · UK public procurement notice

Official notice

Authority: Ampthill Town Council (Local council)

Framework agreementServicesOpen procedureAbove thresholdSME suitableVCSE suitable
Sectors: Agricultural, forestry, horticultural, aquacultural and apicultural services (77) Delivery: Delivery location not published
Framework ceiling (notional)£1,400,000framework ceiling, not attributable revenue · 1 value update
Submissions closed 2 Dec 2025
Framework period 5 yrsends 31 Mar 2031 · up to 31 Mar 2033 with extensions · starts 1 Apr 2026

What is being bought

Published requirement description

Ampthill Town Council (The Council) is inviting tender submissions for this service under its public procurement obligations.

The grounds maintenance services will focus primarily on Ampthill Great Park, and include other sites such as: Ampthill Cemetery, 2 allotment sites, 4 areas of public open space, a market area and car park. Full details provided within the specification document and Annex 1.

  • The authority expects to re-tender this requirement around 1 Nov 2031, 23:59 GMT.

CPV: Grounds maintenance services · Parks maintenance services

How this framework works

From the published notice
Framework period
5 yrs · up to 7 yrs from 1 Apr 2026

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · value published
Lot #1Renewal 5 yrsSMEVCSEPublished value£1,400,000
Contract period: 1 Apr 2026 – 31 Mar 2031 (5 yrs) · up to 31 Mar 2033 with extensionsValue: £1,400,000 exc. VAT · £1,680,000 inc. VAT
Eligibility: SME eligibleVCSE eligible
Extensions: Variation of Services: Ampthill Town Council reserves the right to require changes to the services at any time during the contract. This can include adding new services, removing services, increasing or decreasing the scope, or changing the order and locations of work. These changes are called "Variations" and will be communicated in writing. If a Variation affects the price, the adjustment will be calculated and agreed upon between the Council and the Service Provider. If agreement cannot be reached, the matter will go to negotiation or mediation. Materials and Consumables: Any materials required for tasks will be specified by the Park Manager. If the Service Provider purchases materials, the Town Council will reimburse the actual cost (with no markup). Time spent sourcing and ordering materials must be covered within the agreed staffing resource. [Grounds_Ma...C.29.10.25] Additional Work: The specification allows for ad-hoc tasks beyond core duties, such as event support, repairs, and volunteer facilitation. These tasks will be scheduled and agreed upon at monthly meetings, and the Service Provider must accommodate them within the tendered staffing resource. Contract Extension Option: The Council may extend the contract for up to 1 or 2 years beyond the initial 5-year term, subject to satisfactory performance. Payment for the extension period will be negotiated. · Subject to satisfactory performance by the Service Provider during the Initial Term, The Town Council may wish to extend the Agreement once or on multiple occasions for a further period of up to 1 or 2 years. The Town Council may approach the Service Provider if it wishes to do so before the end of the Initial Term. The clauses in the Agreement will apply throughout any such extended period unless otherwise stated to the contrary.
77313000 Parks maintenance services77314000 Grounds maintenance services
Pre-qualification & selection criteria (PQQ)2
  • Economic & financial standing

    Refer to specification document as published.

  • Technical & professional ability

    Refer to specification document as published.

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 were scored
Quality: 40%Price: 60%
Published award criteria (2)
  • Price
  • Quality: Organisation & Management - 7 points Employee Terms & Conditions / Retention - 15 points Transport & Equipment - 11 points Service Delivery - 17 points Mobilisation & Action Plan - 10 points
Conditions of participation2
  • Economic & financial standing

    Refer to specification document as published.

  • Technical & professional ability

    Refer to specification document as published.

What this means for your bid
  • Price carries 60 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 6 points. This one is won on the number: sharpen the price before polishing the prose.
  • “Grounds Maintenance Contract” is a framework: the contest is a place on its panel, not a single contract.

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
Closed
Procurement threshold
Above threshold (FTS publication)
Regulatory regime
Standard
Commercial structure
Framework agreement
Who may use this agreement
Not stated in the notice; call-off rights may be limited to the establishing authority
Competition type
Competitive procedure
GPA / WTO covered
Unspecified in notice
Recurring procurement
Yes · next expected 1 Nov 2031
First published
18 Jul 2025, 13:30 BST
Last source update
19 Nov 2025, 14:41 GMT
Award evaluation window
Submission end – 19 Dec 2025
Authority reference
ATC-GroundsMaint.2026-2031
FTS notice number
2025/S 000-070606
Latest notice
Tender notice (UK4)
Classification (CPV)
Grounds maintenance servicesParks maintenance services
Delivery area
Not published
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-05621f Find a Tender

How it was run

Official notice
Run through: portal not identified
Electronic submission allowedLanguage: EN
Appointment period ends
2 Dec 2025, 12:00 GMT
Clarification deadline
18 Nov 2025, 16:00 GMT
Submission channel
Official e-sourcing portal
Electronic submission
Allowed
Accepted languages
en
Detailed submission instructions & authority contactsFrom official release

www.ampthill-tc.gov.uk/news ↗

Tender returns: [email protected]

Timeline

18 Jul 2025 → 1 Apr 2026 · 8 dates
  1. Planning notice published
    18 Jul 2025, 13:30 BST
  2. Market engagement
    12 Sept 2025, 23:59 BST

    Ampthill Town Council is looking to engage with contractors during the PME period to gather market insight to help the Council shape its procurement strategy and develop the final specification for this contract. A contractor's questionnaire has been developed for contractors to provide the Council with insights into different ways and methods in which this contract could be delivered.

    The contractors questionnaire can be requested by emailing [email protected] quoting the reference number for this PME in the email subject bar: 'ATC-GroundsMaint.01/25-26 -Questionnaire Request':

    The questionnaire should be returned to the same email address [email protected] stating 'ATC-GroundsMaint.01/25-26 -Questionnaire RETURN' in the email subject bar NO LATER THAN MONDAY 18th AUGUST 2025 - NOON.

    Contractors who submit a response to the questionnaire will be contacted no later than Friday 22nd August 2025 to confirm details of a guided site visit of the contract areas. The site visits will take place during w/c. 1st September 2025 (actual date/s to be confirmed). A Q&A/feasibility session will be facilitated on the same day as the site visits at our offices in Ampthill Great Park.

    Contractors who miss the questionnaire submission deadline of 18th August 2025 may not be invited to attend the guided site visits but can still return a completed questionnaire to the stated email address before the PME deadline date of 12th September 2025.

    This process is not part of a competitive tender process and will not be used to assess contractor suitability or to shortlist suppliers. Participation is voluntary and responses will not be scored or evaluated. Contractors who do not participate in this PME process are in no way prohibited from submitting a tender in accordance with the tender notice once it is published.

    It is anticipated that the tender notice will be published by 3rd November 2025, and that this will provide the final contract specification/s and advise of the date by which tenders must be received.

  3. Tender notice published357 days ago
    3 Nov 2025, 16:42 GMT
  4. Clarification questions by342 days ago
    18 Nov 2025, 16:00 GMT
  5. Latest notice published342 days ago
    19 Nov 2025, 14:41 GMT
  6. Admission / appointment period ends329 days ago · period end, not a bid countdown
    2 Dec 2025, 12:00 GMT
  7. Award decision expected by311 days ago
    19 Dec 2025, 23:59 GMT
  8. Contract starts209 days ago
    1 Apr 2026, 00:00 BST

Notice history

8 events · 4 releases on Find a Tender · since 18 Jul 2025
  1. Preliminary market engagement notice published
    18 Jul 2025, 13:30 BST
    UK2
  2. Preliminary market engagement notice published
    29 Jul 2025, 17:43 BST
    UK2
  3. Tender notice published
    3 Nov 2025, 16:42 GMT
    UK4
  4. Published value published: £1,400,000
    3 Nov 2025, 16:42 GMT
  5. Status changed to active
    3 Nov 2025, 16:42 GMT
  6. Procurement method changed
    3 Nov 2025, 16:42 GMT
  7. Deadline published: 2 Dec 2025, 12:00 GMT
    3 Nov 2025, 16:42 GMT
  8. Tender notice published
    19 Nov 2025, 14:41 GMT
    UK4
Published amendments (1)

TUPE REGULATIONS - ADDENDUM - Tender Specification Para. 1.3 The Town Council has been advised, as of 18th November 2025, that the current service provider does NOT intend to seek a transfer of either a single individual or group of employees under TUPE regulations.

Routine re-releases (4)
  • 2025-07: 1 release · 18 Jul 2025

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

Ampthill Town Council

Contracting authorityPublic authority - sub-central government GB-PPON: PXCW-2389-TCGJ Park Lodge, Ampthill Great Park, Woburn Street, AMPTHILL, Bedford, East of England, MK45 2HXContact name, email, phone

Official documents & specifications (6)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Tender pack and attachments

Notices published for this procedure