Find a TenderOpen for tender Tender notice
Published 24 Sept 2026, 12:15 BST

Official UK procurement notice

Grounds Maintenance Contract — UK public procurement notice

Authority: Totnes Town Council (Local council)

ServicesBelow threshold - open competitionBelow thresholdSME suitable
Published estimate£60,000≈ £30k / year · £60,000 inc. VAT
Submission deadline 28 Oct 202617:00 GMT · 34d 1h left
Contract term 2 yrsup to 5 yrs with extensions · starts 1 Apr 2027
Bids per lot · the market 4CPV 7731 · n=35 · competition analysis ↓

What is being bought

Published requirement description

TOTNES TOWN COUNCIL

GROUNDS MAINTENANCE SPECIFICATION 2027/28

The contract is for Grounds Maintenance at Totnes Cemetery and Castle Meadow.

Maintenance shall include the removal from the site of all cuttings which are to be disposed of legally.

Hedge and shrub cutting must comply with seasonal restrictions relating to bird nesting.

Grass cutting will include maintaining the grass and any other growth around headstones /monuments/

benches / boundaries to the same height as the surrounding grass. Grass to be cut up to boundary fences

or walls.

The Contractor will comply with all relevant Health and Safety legislation in respect of both the

Contractor's employees and the general public. Suitable and sufficient risk assessments on all work

processes must be provided. Machinery and equipment used must be subject to the necessary servicing

and safety inspections.

The Contractor will give consideration to the area of work and noise levels when funerals are in progress

and not start before 0800 hours given the proximity of residential properties.

The Contractor must hold adequate and current Public Liability Insurance.

The Contractor must comply with the Council's policy banning any use of Glyphosate on Town Council

Read the full description (3,303 more characters)

owned land.

Totnes Cemetery

The Cemetery is shown on the enclosed map A and consists of approximately 7.01 acres.

Grass cutting - 17 cuts per annum, as close to the ground as practicably possible, on the following

frequency - - - - -

1 cut in January or February (prior to wild flower blooming)

1 cut in March (before Easter or Mothering Sunday if Easter is in April)

2 cuts per month April to September

1 cut per month October and November

1 cut in December by the 15th of the month

Grass cutting to take place only on the perimeter of wild areas on the circle (plus paths through the

middle) and on the island containing the Chapel to one mower width.

Raised graves - growth on raised graves to be kept below 30cm as part of the monthly grass cutting

schedule.

Garden of Rest - area to be cut/strimmed and grass blown off the memorial stones/tablets.

Hedge cutting - 1 cut per annum. To be cut on internal sides and tops only.

Shrubs and bushes (see plan provided) - to be trimmed/cut back tight once a year between September

November to form rounded shapes and to remove the year's growth.

Roadside dry stone wall bank - to be kept trimmed and tidy on top and both sides. Any shrubs or brambles

on the bank or overhanging the wall to be kept trimmed and cleared so as not to cause an obstruction to

the public footpath.

Pathways - to be kept clear of any up growing and overhanging vegetation. Weeds to be strimmed. All

debris to be blown off paths.

Itemised quote requested for annual maintenance of the Wild Areas on the circle and the Chapel - to be

cut back annually in late summer, cuttings left for up to two weeks for seed to drop and then cleared.

Winter leaves and debris from trees to be cleared before Easter and before Christmas.

Castle Meadow

Castle Meadow is shown on the enclosed map B and the hedge runs along Collins Road and Lower Collins

Road as highlighted in pink.

Hedge cutting - 1 cut per annum. To be cut on both sides and on top. In the area enclosed by allotments

only outside to be cut.

Grass Cutting - 2 cuts per annum of Castle Meadow to be carried out in June and October, with the

exception of the trial meadow area, to be marked by stakes and roped off prior to these cuts.

Term of contract

The initial contract will be for two years from 1st April 2027 to 31st March 2029.

If both parties are satisfied with the conduct of the contract during the first two years', the contract will

continue into subsequent years with a review after five years.

The Contractor is expected to provide and pay for their own tools, machinery, equipment, materials,

transport and support staff.

Either party shall have the right at any time to terminate this contract by giving not less than 3 months'

notice in writing to the other party.

Contract monitoring

The contractor will be required to co-operate in meeting with the Town Council's appointed officer to

review progress with the contract, and to promptly address any failure in service identified at those

meetings. Contract monitoring meetings will be held as required either on site at Totnes Cemetery or in

the Town Council offices.

Pricing and payment

The agreed cost of the contract, together with VAT (if applicable), will be paid in equal monthly payments

in arrears by the 30th day of the month immediately following the month in which the Services have been

performed.

CPV: Grounds maintenance services

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · value published
Lot #1Lot 1Renewal 2 yrsSMEPublished value£60,000
Contract period: 1 Apr 2027 — 31 Mar 2029 (2 yrs) · up to 5 yrs with extensionsEligibility: SME eligibleDelivery: North East, North West, Yorkshire & Humber, East Midlands, West Midlands, East of England, London, South East, South WestTurnover guideline: ~£59,918/yr≈ 2× annual value
Value
£60,000 exc. VAT · £60,000 inc. VAT
Extensions
If both parties are satisfied with the conduct of the contract during the first two years', the contract will continue into subsequent years with a review after five years.
77314000 Grounds maintenance services

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

Quotes will be assessed against the following criteria: • Cost • Business Resilience (for example, number of employees, equipment) • Flexibility (for example there will be occasions where planned cemetery maintenance needs to be delayed when there is a burial) • References

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

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

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

Totnes Town Council has too little published record in this market to describe on its own; the North East England market 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

Left: this authority. Right: the market where the work is delivered. Bids and award-vs-estimate pairs are per lot, from contested contracts only — direct awards (including PA 2023 transparency notices) report one bid by definition and are left out. On Procurement Act 2023 notices the count is the tenders assessed at the final stage, not every submission received; pairs compare like with like (VAT-exclusive, or VAT-inclusive on both sides). Empty means nothing was published, not filled in from elsewhere.

This authority

Totnes Town Council

no contract notices in Planting and maintenance services of green areas (CPV 7731) in 36 months

Totnes Town Council has published no bid reports, no comparable estimate → award pairs and no award dates that this analysis can use — in Planting and maintenance services of green areas (CPV 7731) (36 months) or across all categories (24 months).

The market · delivery region

North East England · Planting and maintenance services of green areas (CPV 7731)

contract notices delivered in North East England in 36 months: 53 in CPV 7731 (48 competed, 1 route not published) · 115 in division 77 (100 competed, 9 route not published)

Bids per lot
i

How many companies usually bid for work like this.

Middle value of published bid counts, one per lot, for this buyer or this region in the same sector.

Based on this region’s tenders in this sector (CPV 7731), last 36 months: 35 lots. 17 lots are from Procurement Act 2023 notices (bids assessed, middle 8) and 18 from older notices (bids received, middle 3).

Nothing is filled in from UK-wide numbers. An empty tile means nothing usable was published.

4CPV 7731 · 36m · n=35 lots
Single-bid lots
i

How often only one company bid.

Share of lots that received exactly one bid, on the same competitions as the bids figure.

Based on this region’s tenders in this sector (CPV 7731), last 36 months: 35 lots.

High means a thin market or an incumbent that is hard to beat.

6%CPV 7731 · 36m · n=35 lots
Award vs estimate
i

Do awards for work like this land above or below the estimate.

Estimate against award per lot, for this buyer or this region in the same sector.

Based on this region’s tenders in this sector (CPV 7731), last 36 months: 15 pairs.

A past pattern, not a price to bid.

11% belowCPV 7731 · 36m · n=15 pairs
Deadline → award date
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.

Based on this region’s tenders in this sector (CPV 7731), last 36 months: 10 notices.

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

Last 36 months.

24dCPV 7731 · 36m · n=10 notices
SME bidders
i

How much of this market goes to small and medium firms.

SME bidders where buyers published the split, otherwise SME winners.

Based on this region’s tenders in this sector (CPV 7731), last 36 months: 28 lots.

Last 36 months.

92%CPV 7731 · 36m · n=28 lots
Winners based in the region
i

How much work like this goes to companies based in the delivery region.

Awards in this category delivered here where the winner’s registered address is in the region.

Based on this region’s tenders in this sector (CPV 7731), last 36 months: 49 awards.

Registered address, so a national firm with a local branch counts as outside.

Last 36 months.

92%CPV 7731 · 36m · n=49 awards
Bids per lot robust · n=35
i

How the number of bidders is spread across lots.

Each lot with a published bid count is put in a band: one bid, two to three, four to six, seven or more. Real competitions only.

Based on 35 lots on 20 contested notices · CPV 7731, last 36 months.

  • 1 bid 6%
  • 2–3 37%
  • 4–6 20%
  • 7+ 37%

Median 4 · 35 lots on 20 contested notices · CPV 7731.

Winning award vs estimate robust · n=15
i

How often winners come in below, near or above the estimate.

Each lot with both an estimate and an award is placed by how far the award sat from the estimate.

Based on 15 lot pairs · CPV 7731, last 36 months.

A past pattern, not a price to bid.

  • Below estimate 60%
  • Within ±2% 7%
  • Above estimate 33%

15 lot pairs · CPV 7731.

robust · n=15
i

Where this tender’s estimate would land if the usual pattern repeats.

We apply the buyer’s usual movement between estimate and award (or the region’s) to the estimate on this notice.

Based on the North East England market’s usual movement over 15 lots (CPV 7731), applied to the £60,000 estimate on this notice. The range comes from the region’s middle half.

A benchmark, not a price to bid.

Awards in North East England (CPV 7731, n=15 pairs) land a median 11% below: on this notice’s £60,000 that is about £53,640, middle half £45,720£62,520 (quartiles from North East England · CPV 7731). Context for a bid, not a recommended price.
Coverage and what to read with care
  • Each tile explains itself. The on a figure says what it is, how it is counted and which scope this notice’s own record came from (class, division, all categories, or the authority’s 24-month row). The two columns are never blended and nothing is filled from a UK-wide figure; an empty tile means the source published nothing usable. Long form: Methodology.
  • Coverage. Roughly 40 % of notices publish a bid count; about half publish an ITL1 delivery location, so the market column reads the authority’s registered region when the notice has none (labelled). About 30 % of award-vs-estimate pairs are exact matches — the buyer published the award at the estimate. n is on every figure; a thin sample is muted, never hidden.
  • “Match” and “relevance” are model scores from the nightly matcher, not published facts. Find a Tender does not publish who is bidding. Never shown: contact details, payment behaviour, or a recommended price.

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
No (one-off requirement)
First published
24 Sept 2026, 12:15 BST
Last source update
24 Sept 2026, 12:15 BST
Latest notice
Tender notice (UK4)
Classification (CPV)
Grounds maintenance services
Delivery area
North East (UKC)North West (UKD)Yorkshire & Humber (UKE)East Midlands (UKF)West Midlands (UKG)East of England (UKH)London (UKI)South East (UKJ)+1 more
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-077968 Find a Tender

How to participate & submission route

Official notice Submit via portal
Submission portal named on this notice: portal not identified
Electronic submission allowed
Expression of interest (EOI)
Tender submission deadline
28 Oct 2026, 17:00 GMT
Clarification deadline
Submission channel
Official e-sourcing portal
Electronic submission
Allowed
Detailed submission instructions & authority contactsFrom official release
www.totnestowncouncil.gov.uk/your-council/council… Quotes can be returned in hard copy or by email to [email protected]
Published estimate £60,000 excludes VAT (£60,000 including VAT).

Timeline

3 published dates · Europe/London
  1. Tender notice publishedearlier today
    24 Sept 2026, 12:15 BST
  2. Submission deadlinein 34 days
    28 Oct 2026, 17:00 GMT
  3. Contract startsin 188 days
    1 Apr 2027, 00:00 BST

Commercial outcome & contract awards

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

Notice history

1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender
  1. Tender notice published
    24 Sept 2026, 12:15 BSTUK4

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

Totnes Town Council

Contracting authorityPublic authority - sub-central government GB-PPON: PRVG-5965-NCBG The Guildhall, 5 Ramparts Walk, Totnes, South West, TQ9 5QH [email protected]

Official documents & specifications (5)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Tender pack and attachments

Notices published for this procedure

  • Tender notice tenderTender noticeUK4Tender notice on Find a Tender