Published date: 26 July 2021

Last edited date: 3 August 2021

Closed opportunity - This means that the contract is currently closed. The buying department may be considering suppliers that have already applied, or no suitable offers were made.


Closing: 16 August 2021, 9am

Contract summary

Industry

  • Construction work - 45000000

Location of contract

CT5 3BJ

Value of contract

£0

Procurement reference

Blean Woods rewetting

Published date

26 July 2021

Closing date

16 August 2021

Closing time

9am

Contract start date

1 September 2021

Contract end date

28 February 2022

Contract type

Works

Procedure type

Open procedure (below threshold)

Any interested supplier may submit a tender in response to an opportunity notice.

This procedure can be used for procurements below the relevant contract value threshold.

Contract is suitable for SMEs?

Yes

Contract is suitable for VCSEs?

Yes

Description

The RSPB has secured funding through the Green Recovery Challenge Fund to deliver the 'Climate Resilience for Blean Woods and Seasalter Levels' project. The funding is administered by The National Lottery Heritage Fund in partnership with Natural England and the Environment Agency. The overall aim of the works within this document is to enhance the resilience of Blean Woods to projected changes in climate, through reversing the effects of man-made drainage and increasing water retention within the woodland, in addition to improving accessibility. The work will be carried out across one RSPB reserve and two Kent Wildlife Trust (KWT) reserves, which total 1328ha of woodland, 999ha of which is designated as SSSI.

Climate change projections predict increased rainfall in winter, but hotter and drier summers, particularly in the south of England. Drier spring and summers coupled with man-made drainage features in the woodland will result in Blean Woods drying out at an accelerated rate in the spring. The lack of moist soil and standing water will result in fewer invertebrates, less deadwood generation and fewer drinking opportunities - all vital to support a healthy woodland for wildlife. To mitigate against this, we aim to slow the drainage of high rainfall events from Blean Woods to retain that water on site for longer as both standing water and moisture content in soils. The project will create earth and wood dams in primary watercourses to achieve this aim, using site-won materials.

The work will focus on using Natural Flood Management (NFM) principles that have been used for flood management projects - working along key watercourses at all 3 sites to slow the flow using predominantly wood dams and some earth dams. This tender also includes works for 2 exciting sub-projects using the same principles: restoration of the Sarre Penn at RSPB Blean and a raised bog at KWT South Blean. The Sarre Penn is the largest watercourse at RSPB Blean that has been artificially straightened for drainage in certain locations - leaving the historic meanders 'high and dry'. This project will aim to restore these natural meanders to their former glory, as well as slowing the high winter flows of the overall channel. The bog restoration will involve increasing water retention using wood and earth dams, and tree clearance to create a diverse mosaic of wet woodland and ancient bog habitats. In addition to the exciting and unique habitat works, we also have infrastructure improvements to complete that involve trackside ditching, crossing point improvements and the construction of a boardwalk - all to improve the accessibility and overall visitor experience of our sites.


Details of how to apply in Tender document attached

More information

Attachments

Additional text

The tender document is divided into 3 lots due to the different and specialised nature of the project. The lots correspond with the 3 different sites the contractor(s) will be working on.
These lots are then divided into subsections based on the type of work, and contractors are welcome to bid for these individual subsections, or one or more entire lots.

About the buyer

Contact name

Dan Satterthwaite

Address

The Lodge
SANDY
SG192DL
England

Email

central.procurement@rspb.org.uk