TenderlineUK
Procurement Intelligence
Search
Find a TenderAwardedContract details notice
Published 8 May 2025, 09:38 BST

Official UK procurement notice

Highway Verges & Visibility Cutting Services

Official notice

Authority: Braintree District Council (Local council)·On behalf of: Essex County Council

ServicesOpen procedureAbove thresholdSME suitableVCSE suitable
Sectors: Construction & Civil Engineering (45)Agricultural, forestry, horticultural, aquacultural and apicultural services (77) Delivery: East of England (UKH3)
Published estimate£600,000≈ £300k / year · £720,000 inc. VAT · 1 value update11.3% below published estimate
Submissions closed 28 Jul 2025awarded 22 Sept 2025
Awarded to Skippers Ground Maintenance
Contract term 2 yrsends 30 Sept 2027 · up to 30 Sept 2029 with extensions · starts 1 Oct 2025

What is being bought

Published requirement description

Essex County Council, through the Essex Procurement Partnership, is procuring Highway Verges & Visibility Cutting Services on behalf of Braintree District Council.

1 Introduction

1.1 Braintree District Council ("the Council") maintains highway verges in its district on behalf of Essex County Council (ECC) who are the statutory Highways Authority.

2 Background

2.1 A trial was completed in 2024 where highway verges in the district were not cut during Spring in order to access the proliferation of biodiversity.

2.2 The trial has ended, and the decision has been taken by ECC to revert back to two cuts per annum, spring and autumn.

2.3 The Council now wish to procure a contract to deliver this service in accordance with this specification including ad hoc safety cuts.

  • The authority expects to re-tender this requirement around 1 Mar 2029, 23:59 GMT.

CPV: Horticultural services · Verge maintenance work

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · value published
Lot #1AwardedRenewal 2 yrsSMEVCSEPublished value£600,000
Contract period: 1 Oct 2025 – 30 Sept 2027 (2 yrs) · up to 30 Sept 2029 with extensionsValue: £600,000 exc. VAT · £720,000 inc. VAT
Delivery: East of EnglandEligibility: SME eligibleVCSE eligible
Extensions: 40 ad hoc safety cuts are priced per annum, however up to 100 ad hoc safety cuts can be used if required. · Option to extend for a further 2 years in 1 year increments. At the sole discretion of the Authority, in agreement with the supplier.
45233229 Verge maintenance work77300000 Horticultural services

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: 35%Price: 60%Social value: 5%
Published sub-criteria (5)
  • Service Delivery Approach: 20%
  • Mobilisation & Service Readiness: 5%
  • Contract Approach: 10%
  • Price: 60%
  • Social Value: 5%
Published award criteria (5)
  • Price
  • Service Delivery Approach
  • Mobilisation & Service Readiness
  • Contract Approach
  • Social Value
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.

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
Yes (GPA)
Recurring procurement
Yes · next expected 1 Mar 2029
First published
8 May 2025, 09:38 BST
Last source update
6 Jan 2026, 09:38 GMT
Award evaluation window
Submission end – 25 Aug 2025
Authority reference
EPP0217
FTS notice number
2025/S 000-036139
Latest notice
Contract details notice (UK7)
Classification (CPV)
Horticultural servicesVerge maintenance work
Delivery area
East of England (UKH3)
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-050e59 Find a Tender

How it was run

Official notice
Run through: ProContract (Due North) · Who buys & how to bid on ProContract
Supplier login requiredElectronic submission allowedLanguage: EN
Access & registration note: Free · short registration with manual review; public opportunity list
Submission deadline
28 Jul 2025, 12:00 BST
Clarification deadline
21 Jul 2025, 23:59 BST
Submission channel
Official e-sourcing portal
Electronic submission
Allowed
Accepted languages
en
Detailed submission instructions & authority contactsFrom official release

procontract.due-north.com/Advert ↗

Please use the link provided. It is free to register for and bid on this requirement.

Only electronic submissions will be accepted.

Any clarifications must be submitted via the messaging function on Pro Contract.

If you are having issues registering with Pro Contract please contact their support desk.

Timeline

8 May 2025 → 6 Jan 2026 · 10 dates
  1. Planning notice published
    8 May 2025, 09:38 BST
  2. Market engagement
    22 May 2025, 23:59 BST

    Essex County Council, through the Essex Procurement Partnership, is carrying out Preliminary Market Engagement on behalf of Braintree District Council for the upcoming procurement of its Highway Verges & Visibility Maintenance contract. This service is delivered on behalf of Essex County Council, who are the statutory highway authority. Your feedback will be invaluable in helping us ensure the contract is structured in a way that delivers value for money, promotes sustainability, and supports innovation. Below are key areas of interest. Please provide responses where applicable. You are not required to answer every question - focus on areas relevant to your expertise or service offering.

    To take part in this event please follow this link:

    procontract.due-north.com/Advert ↗

    We recognise that not all questions may be applicable to your organisation, so each question is optional. The more information the better (within reason) - we would prefer a partial response to only the questions applicable to your organisation, rather than no response.

    Your response to this question is the uploaded market response pack.

    Please submit any questions through the ProContract messaging functionality.

  3. Tender notice published
    30 Jun 2025, 14:19 BST
  4. Clarification questions by
    21 Jul 2025, 23:59 BST
  5. Submission deadline
    28 Jul 2025, 12:00 BST
  6. Award decision expected by
    25 Aug 2025, 23:59 BST
  7. Assessment summaries sent393 days ago
    22 Sept 2025, 00:00 BST
  8. Contract starts384 days ago
    1 Oct 2025, 00:00 BST
  9. Standstill ends383 days ago
    1 Oct 2025, 23:59 BST
  10. Latest notice published287 days ago
    6 Jan 2026, 09:38 GMT

Notice history

10 events · 4 releases on Find a Tender · since 8 May 2025
  1. Preliminary market engagement notice published
    8 May 2025, 09:38 BST
    UK2
  2. Tender notice published
    30 Jun 2025, 14:19 BST
    UK4
  3. Published value updated to £600,000
    30 Jun 2025, 14:19 BST
    was £750,000
  4. Status changed to active
    30 Jun 2025, 14:19 BST
  5. Procurement method changed
    30 Jun 2025, 14:19 BST
  6. Deadline published: 28 Jul 2025, 12:00 BST
    30 Jun 2025, 14:19 BST
  7. Contract award notice published
    22 Sept 2025, 16:25 BST
    UK6
  8. Status changed to complete
    22 Sept 2025, 16:25 BST
  9. Contract signature expected
    6 Oct 2025, 23:59 BST
    scheduled
  10. Contract details notice published
    6 Jan 2026, 09:38 GMT
    UK7
Routine re-releases (4)
  • 2025-05: 1 release · 8 May 2025

Commercial outcome & contract awards

Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast
Awards 1
Awarded value £532,1571 award exc. VAT
Bids received 66 from SMEs
Contracts signed 1latest 20 Oct 2025
Awarded toValueDateStatus
Skippers Ground MaintenanceSME6 Oct 2025 – 5 Oct 2027 · up to 5 Oct 2029Extensions: Options to extend for a further 2 years beyond the initial term in 1 year increments based on satisfactory performance & mutual agreement by both parties. · Options: The number of ad hoc cuts can vary depending on the requirement. 40 ad hoc cuts were evaluated, however the Contracting Authority may utilise up to 100 ad hoc cuts per year.£532,15722 Sept 2025Awarded

Contracts

  • Contract 1 · Skippers Ground MaintenanceSME

    Signed
    20 Oct 2025
    Value
    £532,157
    Period
    20 Oct 2025 – 19 Oct 2027 · up to 19 Oct 2029 with extensions
    Status
    active
    Extensions
    Option to extend for a further two (2) years in one (1) year increments.

    No agreed KPIs: below £5m threshold

Bid statistics published by the authority

BidsSMEVCSEValid bid range
6final-stage tenders60—

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

2 public bodies on the notice

Braintree District Council

Contracting authorityPublic authority - sub-central government GB-PPON: PGBP-7262-MJTR Causeway House, Braintree, East of England, CM7 9HBContact email

Other public bodies

  • Essex County CouncilProcuring entityProcuring requirement on behalf of BDCGB-PPON: PWVM-4844-NRQH Chelmsford, East of EnglandContact email

Bidders & participating suppliers

1 commercial party on the notice

Official documents & specifications (5)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Tender pack and attachments

  • Bidding documents and specifications tenderBidding documents and specificationsPlease use the link provided. It is free to register for and bid on this requirement. Only electronic submissions will be accepted. Any clarifications must be submitted via the messaging function on Pro Contract. If you are having issues registering with Pro Contract please con…

Notices published for this procedure