Local Plan Evidence Framework

Official notice

Authority: Tunbridge Wells Borough Council (Local council)

Framework agreement8 lotsServicesOpen procedureAbove thresholdSME suitableVCSE suitableMax 3 lots per supplier

Sectors: Cleaning & Environmental Services (90) Delivery: South East (UKJ4)

Framework ceiling (notional)£5,000,000total for 8 lots · framework ceiling, not attributable revenue

Submissions closed 7 Aug 2026awarded 24 Sept 2026

Awarded to Iceni Projects Ltd +26 more8 awards

Framework period 4 yrs 1 moends 31 Oct 2030 · starts 1 Oct 2026

What is being bought8 lots · detail below

Published requirement description

Local Authorities are required to produce a wide range of evidence base to support the development of their local plans. Including a commitment to starting a Local Plan review within six months of adoption of the plan.

In order to assist with the development of the evidence and ensure a compliant Procurement Process has been undertaken, the partner authorities have committed to the procurement of an open framework, to cover multiple disciplines in a lotted structure.

This Framework will also be available for use by the following organisations: Maidstone Borough Council, Tonbridge and Malling Borough and Sevenoaks District Council.

LOT 1: HOUSING

LOT 2: BUILT AND NATURAL ENVIRONMENT

LOT 3: LANDSCAPE AND BIODIVERSITY

LOT 4: EMPLOYMENT AND COMMERCIAL

LOT 5: TRANSPORT AND PARKING

LOT 6: SUSTAINABILITY

LOT 7: SPORTS AND RECREATION

LOT 8: VIABILITY

Consultants may be awarded a maximum of three individual lots. Where a consultant is successful in more than three lots, only the three highest‐ranked will be awarded, and any additional lots will be excluded.

The Council will appoint a maximum of five consultants per lot.

CPV: Environmental issues consultancy services · Environmental planning · Urban environmental development planning

How this framework works

From the published notice

Type: Open framework
Call-offs: call-offs may be awarded directly or by further competition
Bids received: 12 bids on the busiest of 8 lots · 27 suppliers appointed
Framework period: 4 yrs 1 mo from 1 Oct 2026
Supplier levy on call-offs (max %): No fees are to be charged to suppliers

Who may buy through it

This Framework will also be available for use by the following organisations: Maidstone Borough Council, Tonbridge and Malling Borough and Sevenoaks District Council.

Published description of the framework

How the Closed framework will work:

This Invitation to Tender (ITT) sets out the background to the work that is required and the process by which interested consultants can put forward a tender submission to be included within certain Lots of the procurement framework. It will be a ‘Closed Framework’ meaning that the consultants, if successful, will be included on the framework for a period of 4 years (Tunbridge Wells Borough Council reserves the right to remove a consultant from the Framework due to poor performance or misconduct).

Once a consultant is added to the framework, they will then be able to put a tender submission forward for any of the evidence base documents that are advertised through a ‘mini competition’ within their specified ‘Lot’, which will be considered by the commissioning council.

The Councils will be able to direct award additional, supplementary, or continuation work to appointed consultants once an initial contract has been procured via ‘mini competition’.

No guarantees of work are provided to any appointed contractor under this framework.

This Framework will also be available for use by the following organisations: Maidstone Borough Council, Tonbridge and Malling Borough and Sevenoaks District Council.

Lots and requirements (8)Procurement structure

8 lots · all with a published value · win at most 3 of them · same evaluation weights on every lot

Every one of these 8 lots carries the same published figure, £625,000: it is the framework's maximum for the whole notice, not each lot's own budget, and no share per lot is published. The cards below say ceiling above rather than repeat it.

Lot #1HOUSINGAwarded 4 yrs 1 moSMEVCSEceiling above