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PROCUREMENT OPPORTUNITY

Provision of Senior Projects Officer (Major Sites Planning Consultancy Services)

North Hertfordshire District Council · Transparency notice on Find a Tender

Tender information last checkedLast checked 30 Sept 2026, 14:40.

Opportunity overview

North Hertfordshire District Council intends to directly award a public contract for the provision of specialist planning consultancy services in the role of Senior Projects Officer (Major Sites). The services relate to supporting the progression and processing of a series of complex, strategic development management activities and Planning Performance Agreements (PPAs) associated with the Baldock and East of Luton development sites, as allocated in the adopted North Hertfordshire Local Plan. The scope includes, but is not limited to: - Progression and coordination of strategic development management applications - Support to Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) scoping and associated statutory processes - Attendance at Design Review Panels, site visits and multi-disciplinary workshops - Liaison with developers, statutory consultees and internal Council stakeholders - Provision of continuity of embedded project knowledge across live planning applications and the transition from masterplanning into outline planning submissions The services are funded through Planning Performance Agreements with developers.

Awarded to

Amounts belong to published awards or contracts. Where several suppliers share one value, it is labelled as shared and is not a supplier-specific allocation.

THE OYSTER PARTNERSHIP LIMITED

Matched by number
Published award value
£300k
Awarded
17 Dec 2025
Award ID
1
Status
pending
Identifier
GB-COH 05020374
Location
London, UKI32, W1T 3NW, United Kingdom

Classification

No classification was supplied.

Lots

  • Lot 1Value not stated

Documents and notices

Published notice details

Additional information from the published procurement release. Fields appear only when supplied by the source; check the original notice and tender documents before acting.

Scope, procedure and submissions

Id
NHDC0178817
Status
complete
Published risks
The principal risks to satisfactory contract performance relate to the continuation of Planning Performance Agreement (PPA) funding by third-party developers, which is non-binding and subject to ongoing agreement. There is also a risk that changes to the timing or scope of planning applications, or external policy or regulatory changes affecting the planning system, could alter the workload profile or sequencing of services. These risks are mitigated through ongoing engagement with developers, contractual provisions allowing termination on short notice should funding cease, and active project management within the Council's Major Sites team.
Procurement Method
direct
Procurement Method Details
Direct award
Why this procedure was chosen
North Hertfordshire District Council intends to make a direct award in accordance with Contract Procurement Rules 20.6(e) and Schedule 5, paragraph 6 of the Procurement Act 2023. Due to an absence of competition for objective technical reasons, the services required can only be effectively provided by the incumbent supplier. The consultant supplied by Oyster Partnership Ltd has been embedded in the Baldock and East of Luton strategic planning projects for over 12 months and possesses detailed, project-specific technical knowledge that cannot be replicated without significant duplication of work, delay, and material risk to delivery. The services relate to live development management applications, Environmental Impact Assessment scoping opinions, Design Review Panels, and Planning Performance Agreements associated with strategic housing allocations in the adopted North Hertfordshire Local Plan. Replacing the supplier at this stage would result in unacceptable operational disruption, increased risk of non-determination and appeal, loss of applicant confidence and funding, and harm to the Council's ability to discharge its statutory planning functions. A review of alternative suppliers has confirmed that no reasonable or technically equivalent alternative is available without disproportionate duplication of previous work and consequential operational risk. Competition is therefore absent for objective technical reasons within the meaning of Schedule 5, paragraph 6. Any change of supplier would undermine continuity of the existing services and embedded technical knowledge and would create disproportionate technical difficulties in operation and delivery, further evidencing the absence of reasonable alternatives.

Legal basis

Id
2023/54
Scheme
UKPGA

Procedure reasons

Entry 1
Id
singleSuppliersTechnicalReasons

Lots and requirements

Entry 1
Id
1
Status
complete

Suitability

Sme
Yes

Published documents

Entry 1
Id
conflictOfInterest
Description
Not published
Document Type
conflictOfInterest

Buyer, suppliers and contacts

Organisation 1
Id
GB-PPON-PDWC-9574-WBPY
Name
North Hertfordshire District Council

Roles

buyer

Address

Region
UKH23
Country
GB
Locality
Letchworth Garden City
Postal Code
SG6 3JF
Country Name
United Kingdom
Street Address
Council Offices, Gernon Road

Details

Classifications

Entry 1
Id
publicAuthoritySubCentralGovernment
Scheme
UK_CA_TYPE
Description
Public authority - sub-central government

Identifier

Id
PDWC-9574-WBPY
Scheme
GB-PPON

Contact

Organisation 2
Id
GB-COH-05020374
Name
THE OYSTER PARTNERSHIP LIMITED

Roles

supplier

Address

Region
UKI32
Country
GB
Locality
London
Postal Code
W1T 3NW
Country Name
United Kingdom
Street Address
19-20 Berners Street, Bischheim House

Details

Vcse
No
Scale
sme
Sheltered Workshop
No
Public Service Mission Organization
No

Identifier

Id
05020374
Scheme
GB-COH

Contact

Award information

Award 1
Id
1
Date
17 Dec 2025, 00:00
Title
Senior Projects Officer (Major Sites) - Planning Consultancy Services
Status
pending
Above Threshold
Yes
Main Procurement Category
services

Items

Item 1
Id
1
Related Lot
1

Delivery locations

Entry 1
Region
UKH2
Country
GB
Country Name
United Kingdom
Entry 2
Region
UKH2
Country
GB
Country Name
United Kingdom

Additional Classifications

Entry 1
Id
71410000
Scheme
CPV
Description
Urban planning services

Value

Amount
300,000
Currency
GBP
Including VAT
360,000

Documents

Entry 1
Id
085196-2025
Format
text/html
Notice Type
UK5
Description
Transparency notice on Find a Tender
Document Type
awardNotice
Published
22 Dec 2025, 00:39
Entry 2
Id
085197-2025
Format
text/html
Notice Type
UK6
Description
Contract award notice on Find a Tender
Document Type
awardNotice
Published
22 Dec 2025, 01:12

Suppliers

Supplier 1
Id
GB-COH-05020374
Name
THE OYSTER PARTNERSHIP LIMITED

Milestones

Entry 1
Id
1
Type
futureSignatureDate
Status
scheduled
Due
7 Jan 2026, 23:59

Related lots

1

Contract period

Ends
6 Jan 2027, 23:59
Starts
7 Jan 2026, 00:00

Standstill Period

Ends
6 Jan 2026, 23:59

Recorded locations

  • Buyer location · Letchworth Garden City · UKH23 · SG6 3JF · United Kingdom

Notice and amendment history

1 published notice version reviewed by ProcuraAxis.

1 VERSION
  1. ocds-h6vhtk-05fb0d-2025-12-22T01:12:05ZTransparency notice on Find a Tender ·