✓Tender information last checkedLast checked 16 Oct 2026, 15:17.
Opportunity overview
Ards and North Down Borough Council has a statutory responsibility to provide sufficient burial provision to meet the present and future needs of the Borough. The Council is progressing a Cemetery Provision project to secure long-term burial capacity through the extension of an existing provision, and the development of a new cemetery site capable of serving the Borough’s needs for the next 30+ years.
Council is progressing the acquisition of a new cemetery site of approximately 24 acres. This site will need to be developed from RIBA Stage 0.
The Cemetery Provision project also includes an extension to an existing Council cemetery of 0.95 hectares, for which planning approval is currently being sought. The ICT may be required to provide detailed design input for this site and support the development of any future extension proposals arising during the appointment.
The scope of the ICT is not finalised at this stage and is subject to change at the Council’s discretion.
Anticipated Project Deliverables
For the new site;
• RIBA Stages 0-7 including;
• Planning approval and statutory consents for the proposed new cemetery development.
• Design and development of a new cemetery facility to meet the Borough's future burial needs for the next 30+ years.
• Construction and commissioning of a fully operational cemetery, including associated infrastructure and facilities.
• Operational handover of the completed facility to the Council.
For the existing site;
• Detailed design input into extension of an existing cemetery site.
• Potential design and development of future extension of an existing cemetery site.
The purpose of this preliminary market engagement is to seek feedback and insights from experienced suppliers to help shape the scope for the appointment of a multi-disciplinary Consultancy Team.
Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a TenderOpen source ↗
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.
The Council's intention is to commence a competitive tender process under the Procurement Act 2023 through eTendersNI. Interested suppliers will not be advantaged or prejudiced by participation or non-participation in the pre-market engagement. Participation or non-participation in this PME exercise will not prevent any supplier from participating in any future procurement process. For the avoidance of doubt, this is the scoping phase of the project and is not part of a formal procurement process. In accordance with section 82 of the Procurement Act 2023, the Council will take all reasonable steps to ensure that no conflict of interest puts any supplier at an unfair advantage or disadvantage in relation to this procurement. To ensure a level playing field for all parties and without breaching commercial confidentiality, all relevant information shared or gathered during this engagement will be made available to all potential suppliers as part of the forthcoming competitive tender process. This market engagement process does not commit the Council to any course of action and is not a formal part of the tender process that will follow.
Suppliers who wish to participate in the market engagement exercise should complete the PME questionnaire which can be downloaded from the CfT documents area of Resource ID 6790076 on eTendersNI (https://etendersni.gov.uk). The questionnaire must be completed and returned via the CfT's Messaging area on eTendersNI in accordance with the instructions detailed in the PME Questionnaire document. There are no formal tender documents to be completed other than the questionnaire. **Please Note: All completed questionnaires must be submitted via the CfT's (Resource ID 6790076) messaging area on eTendersNI (https://etendersni.gov.uk)**
Due
6 Nov 2026, 23:59
Status
scheduled
Documents
Entry 1
Id
097981-2026
Document Type
marketEngagementNotice
Notice Type
UK2
Description
Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
1 published notice version reviewed by ProcuraAxis.
1 VERSION
1
097981-2026Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender ·
PROCURAAXIS ANALYSIS
ProcuraAxis Analysis
Our approved analysis of the opportunity appears below the official tender information.
ANALYSIS PREVIEW
Opportunity intelligence at a glance
Early-stage preliminary market engagement for a planned appointment of a multi-disciplinary consultancy team to help shape a cemetery provision project for Ards and North Down Borough Council. The potential project covers a new approximately 24-acre cemetery site and an extension to an existing cemetery; the consultancy scope is expressly not finalised.
Who this may suit
Potential fit for experienced multi-disciplinary cemetery, design, project-management and planning-consent consultancies. This is not an open tender: the notice seeks market feedback and insights.
Key points identified
Supplier typeExperienced suppliers able to provide feedback and insights on a potential multi-disciplinary consultancy appointmentEvidence: "seek feedback and insights from experienced suppliers to help shape the scope for the appointment of a multi-disciplinary Consultancy Team"
Scope statusNot finalised and subject to change at the Council's discretionEvidence: "The scope of the ICT is not finalised at this stage and is subject to change at the Council’s discretion."
New-site project scopePotential RIBA Stages 0-7 for a new cemetery siteEvidence: "For the new site; • RIBA Stages 0-7 including"
93% approved-analysis confidence5 supplier criteria identified4 risks or unknowns
ProcuraAxis structures information found in published procurement records, checks the result for consistency and publishes only approved analysis. Confidence describes the completeness and consistency of the available source information; it is not a guarantee of eligibility or contract award.
Early-stage preliminary market engagement for a planned appointment of a multi-disciplinary consultancy team to help shape a cemetery provision project for Ards and North Down Borough Council. The potential project covers a new approximately 24-acre cemetery site and an extension to an existing cemetery; the consultancy scope is expressly not finalised.
Who this may suit
Potential fit for experienced multi-disciplinary cemetery, design, project-management and planning-consent consultancies. This is not an open tender: the notice seeks market feedback and insights.
Key deliverables
Potential RIBA Stages 0-7 support for a new cemetery site
Potential planning approval and statutory-consent support
Potential detailed design input for an existing cemetery extension
Potential support for future extension proposals
SUPPLIER REQUIREMENTS
5 criteria identified
Supplier type
94% confidence
Experienced suppliers able to provide feedback and insights on a potential multi-disciplinary consultancy appointment
View supporting evidence
"seek feedback and insights from experienced suppliers to help shape the scope for the appointment of a multi-disciplinary Consultancy Team"
Scope status
99% confidence
Not finalised and subject to change at the Council's discretion
View supporting evidence
"The scope of the ICT is not finalised at this stage and is subject to change at the Council’s discretion."
New-site project scope
94% confidence
Potential RIBA Stages 0-7 for a new cemetery site
View supporting evidence
"For the new site; • RIBA Stages 0-7 including"
Existing-site scope
95% confidence
Potential detailed design input for an existing cemetery extension and possible future extension proposals
View supporting evidence
"Detailed design input into extension of an existing cemetery site" and "Potential design and development of future extension of an existing cemetery site."
Eligibility criteria
98% confidence
Unknown at this preliminary market-engagement stage
View supporting evidence
No eligibility criteria are stated in the supplied notice.
COMMERCIAL AND DELIVERY
Contract intelligence
Commercial
Indicative maximum value
86% confidence
Up to GBP 800,000
View supporting evidence
Source field: value_max = 800000; currency = GBP.
Commercial terms
98% confidence
Unknown
View supporting evidence
No pricing model, contract terms, payment terms or final contract value are stated.
Delivery
Delivery region
95% confidence
UKN09, United Kingdom
View supporting evidence
Location record: "Delivery location"; region "UKN09"; country "United Kingdom".
New cemetery site
96% confidence
Approximately 24 acres; development proposed from RIBA Stage 0
View supporting evidence
"Council is progressing the acquisition of a new cemetery site of approximately 24 acres. This site will need to be developed from RIBA Stage 0."
Existing cemetery extension
96% confidence
0.95 hectares; planning approval is currently being sought
View supporting evidence
"an extension to an existing Council cemetery of 0.95 hectares, for which planning approval is currently being sought."
Timetable
99% confidence
Unknown
View supporting evidence
No tender start, submission deadline, contract start or contract end date is supplied.
display_status: "upcoming"; stage: "planning"; notice_type: "Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender".
Procurement purpose
98% confidence
Market feedback to help shape the prospective consultancy scope
View supporting evidence
"The purpose of this preliminary market engagement is to seek feedback and insights... to help shape the scope"
Procurement method
99% confidence
Unknown
View supporting evidence
procurement_method and procurement_method_details are null.
Submission requirements
99% confidence
Unknown
View supporting evidence
No submission deadline or response instructions are supplied.
RISKS AND UNKNOWNS
Points requiring attention
Early-stage scope risk
99% confidence
The consultancy scope is expressly not finalised and may change at the Council's discretion.
View supporting evidence
"The scope of the ICT is not finalised at this stage and is subject to change at the Council’s discretion."
Procurement-stage risk
99% confidence
This is planned preliminary market engagement, not a confirmed open competition; route, participation process and timetable are unknown.
View supporting evidence
display_status: "upcoming"; notice type: "Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender"; procurement method and submission deadline are not supplied.
Planning dependency
95% confidence
The existing-site extension is subject to a planning process currently being sought.
View supporting evidence
"planning approval is currently being sought."
Value certainty
91% confidence
Only a source maximum value is supplied; its basis and final value are not stated.
View supporting evidence
Source field: value_max = 800000 GBP; no commercial detail is supplied.
ProcuraAxis analysis supplements, but does not replace, the original notice and tender documents. Always verify eligibility, deadlines and commercial terms with the issuing authority.
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