MD26098 - Plan Mid Devon Green Infrastructure Strategy

1. Aims and objectives of the tender exercise To appoint a suitably qualified consultant through a fair, transparent and proportionate competitive process to prepare the Plan Mid Devon Green Infrastructure Strategy. The commission will provide a robust and proportionate Local Plan evidence base that establishes the existing green infrastructure baseline; assesses the likely individual and cumulative impacts of planned growth; identifies mitigation, enhancement and investment priorities; and translates the findings into practical policy, site-allocation, infrastructure-delivery and development-management recommendations. The procurement also seeks value for money, timely delivery, transparent methodology and assumptions, high-quality editable GIS/data outputs, knowledge transfer to Council officers, and outputs that remain usable following Local Government Reorganisation. 2. Description of the requirement and background to the procurement Mid Devon District Council is preparing Plan Mid Devon, a new Local Plan for the proposed period 2026-2046. The emerging evidence identifies a local housing need of approximately 570 dwellings per annum, existing commitments of approximately 6,646 dwellings and a need for around 6,000 additional allocations, subject to the continuing evolution of the evidence base. The scale and distribution of growth requires up-to-date evidence showing how green and blue infrastructure, ecological networks, biodiversity, access to nature, active travel, landscape, water and flood-risk functions can be protected, connected, enhanced and delivered. The Council therefore requires a comprehensive Green Infrastructure Strategy to support spatial strategy decisions, site assessment and allocations, Sustainability Appraisal/Habitats Regulations Assessment where relevant, the Infrastructure Delivery Plan and future development-management decisions. The work must align with the Devon Local Nature Recovery Strategy and relevant national and local policy and evidence. It must also be structured so that parish-, settlement- and district-level findings and datasets can be used by the proposed Exeter and Devon successor authorities following Local Government Reorganisation, currently expected to take effect from 1 April 2028. 3. What is being purchased and why The Council is purchasing specialist professional planning, green-infrastructure, environmental and GIS consultancy services. The principal outputs are an inception note and method statement; data audit and gap analysis; baseline assessment and mapping; growth scenario and site assessment; draft and final Green Infrastructure Strategy; delivery plan/IDP schedule; policy and site-allocation recommendations; executive summary; editable GIS and mapping package with metadata; and briefing material if required. The work is being purchased externally because it requires specialist multidisciplinary expertise and sufficient capacity in green infrastructure planning, ecology/nature recovery, GIS and spatial analysis, climate resilience, infrastructure delivery, planning policy and proportionate stakeholder engagement. External procurement also provides independent, auditable evidence suitable for Local Plan purposes. 4. Procurement route, value and timetable The RFQ proposes a single-stage competitive procedure under the regulated below-threshold provisions of the Procurement Act 2023. Award will be based on 70% quality and 30% price, with published pass/fail participation requirements and quality criteria. The specification states a maximum budget of £35,000 including VAT. An earlier general RFQ paragraph refers to an anticipated budget in the region of £30,000 including VAT; Procurement should reconcile these figures before publication so that the tender contains one unambiguous budget statement. The intended contract period is November 2026 to June 2027, with internal approvals scheduled for the week commencing 26 October 2026 and intended contract award on 13 November 2026. 5. Decision-making and approvals The RFQ states that contract award is subject to the Council's formal approval process and that no contract will be entered into until all necessary approvals are obtained. The procurement value is well below £1 million, so Corporate SLT and Cabinet approval is not indicated by the RFQ. Procurement and the budget holder should confirm the applicable delegated decision and financial approval route, the authorised officer, and whether any formal decision record is required before the tender is issued and before award. 6. Risk assessment and mitigations A project-specific Risk and Opportunity Register has been completed. The main risks concern supplier capacity and competition; scope clarity; budget pressure; programme slippage; data gaps and licensing; stakeholder/Council availability; Local Government Reorganisation; confidentiality and data protection; quality assurance and audit trail; conflicts of interest and fair treatment; and environmental impacts from delivery. Mitigations include the detailed specification and deliverables; transparent evaluation criteria; portal-based clarifications; conflict declarations; an early inception meeting and data audit; agreed milestones and interim outputs; regular progress/risk reporting; transparent assumptions and audit trail; Council review and supplier QA; secure data handling; transferable GIS/data formats; and LGR-ready reporting at parish, settlement and district level. 7. Impact assessment The procurement is for a professional evidence-base service and is not expected to create material direct adverse equality impacts. The Strategy is intended to support positive outcomes including access to nature, health and wellbeing, active travel, climate resilience, biodiversity and more sustainable growth. Potential impacts include unequal participation in engagement, inaccessible outputs, privacy risks associated with stakeholder contact details/comments, and the possibility that GI recommendations could create tensions between recreation, access, biodiversity, heritage and landscape objectives. These will be mitigated through Council-led proportionate engagement, accessible materials, data minimisation and privacy screening, transparent assessment of trade-offs, and site-specific mitigation and stewardship recommendations. Procurement should confirm whether a separate Equality Impact Assessment or Data Protection Impact Assessment/privacy screening is required under Council procedures before engagement commences. 8. Sustainability Impact Matrix and Social Value Act considerations A Sustainability Impact Matrix has been completed. The procurement supports environmental objectives by commissioning evidence and recommendations for nature recovery, biodiversity net gain, green and blue infrastructure networks, climate resilience, natural flood management, access to nature and sustainable growth. Direct contract-delivery impacts are expected to be limited but will be reduced through remote meetings where appropriate, efficient combined site visits, digital-first outputs, controlled data storage and reuse of existing evidence. Social value is proportionate to the contract value and subject matter. Relevant opportunities include knowledge transfer to Council officers; accessible evidence and mapping; support for healthier and more inclusive places; engagement with town/parish councils and relevant community/environmental groups; openness to capable SMEs and specialist consultancies; reusable datasets and methods; and identification of deliverable GI projects and funding mechanisms. These benefits should be secured through the core specification and contract management rather than disproportionate standalone requirements. 9. Procurement Key Themes Checklist The completed checklist records how the procurement addresses climate and ecological objectives, local economy and SME access, social value, digital delivery, contract management, value for money, commercial options, risk management, partnership working, workforce skills, transparency, data protection, legal compliance, modern slavery and Local Government Reorganisation. Items still requiring confirmation are the procurement reference, delegated approval route, authorised officer/contract manager, evaluation-panel equality training status, whether Information Governance input is required, and any final Procurement or Legal compliance review. 11. Recommended approach and outstanding confirmations Proceed with the single-stage competitive RFQ, subject to Procurement confirming the delegated approval route and procurement reference; reconciling the £30,000 and £35,000 budget statements in the RFQ; confirming the authorised officer, contract manager and evaluation panel; completing individual conflict declarations; confirming any equality/privacy/Information Governance requirements; and completing the final procurement and legal compliance check before issue.