Invitation to Tender For New Local Plan Professional Consultancy Services

Maidstone Borough Council
South East
Open procedure
1 October 2026 to 31 December 2029

Consultancy support across 11 lots to produce technical evidence for a new Local Plan, including water cycle, environmental, housing, employment, retail, transport, and viability assessments. Work involves data analysis and reporting to inform planning policy for approximately 21,000 new homes and associated infrastructure. The contract requires specific expertise in planning policy, environmental regulation, and infrastructure assessment to support the council's statutory planning obligations.

Open the official notice

Awarded value: Not published
Published: 30 April 2026
Awarded: 8 September 2026; Lepus Consulting, Iceni Projects, Royal HaskoningDHV and 6 more
Contract length: 39 months; Ends 31 December 2029

What the contract covers

Services contract

Provision of specialist planning consultancy services to deliver technical evidence base studies for local authority development plan preparation.

Prepare a Water Cycle Study to inform the development of a new Local Plan
Prepare relevant studies for the New Local Plan to support the natural environment and climate change matters
Prepare the Environmental Outcome Report (EOR) / Sustainability Appraisal and SEA and separately the Habitats Regulations Assessment (HRA) to inform the development of a new Local Plan
Prepare an Employment Land Study (ELS) to inform the development of a new Local Plan
Prepare a Retail Capacity Study (RCS) to inform the development of a new Local Plan
Prepare a Strategic Housing Market Assessment (SHMA) to inform the development of a new Local Plan

Lot	Estimated value	SMEs
Lot 1	Not stated	Not stated
Lot 2	Not stated	Not stated
Lot 3	Not stated	Not stated
Lot 4	Not stated	Not stated
Lot 5	Not stated	Not stated
Lot 6	Not stated	Not stated
Lot 7	Not stated	Not stated
Lot 8	Not stated	Not stated
Lot 9	Not stated	Not stated
Lot 10	Not stated	Not stated
Lot 11	Not stated	Not stated

Terms and requirements

Contract type: Services contract
Procedure: Open procedure
Initial term: 41 months
Contract dates: 1 October 2026 to 31 December 2029
Certifications asked for: None stated
Lots: 11
Suitable for SMEs: Yes
Category: Services
CPV codes: 79311000, 71241000, 90711000, 90712100

Services in this contract

Local plan evidence base studiesMain service£45k typicalLocal plan evidence studies including water cycle and retail capacity studies
Development viability assessment and review£35k typicalWhole plan viability assessment and CIL charging schedule review lot
Housing and accommodation needs assessments£43k typicalStrategic Housing Market Assessment lot
Open space, play and playing pitch strategies£37k typicalPlaying pitch and sports facilities strategy lot
Strategic environmental assessment and sustainability appraisal£52k typicalSustainability appraisal, SEA and Habitats Regulations Assessment lot
Transport planning, strategy and travel planning£60k typicalLocal transport strategy and parking standards lots

Lifecycle

Published
30 April 2026
Contract awardedto Lepus Consulting, Iceni Projects, Royal HaskoningDHV and 6 more
8 September 2026
Contract starts
1 October 2026
Contract ends
31 December 2029

The buyer

Maidstone Borough Council

Type: Locked
Contracts, 24 months: Locked
Recorded value: Locked
Typical contract: Locked
Development viability assessment contracts, 24 months: Locked

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Contact details

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Address: Locked

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The suppliers

Lepus Consulting

Contracts won, 24 months: Locked
Value won, 24 months: Locked

Iceni Projects

Contracts won, 24 months: Locked
Value won, 24 months: Locked

Royal HaskoningDHV

Contracts won, 24 months: Locked
Value won, 24 months: Locked

and 6 more

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Cite this contract

Link: https://bidskim.com/tender/3458047/invitation-to-tender-for-new-local-plan-professional-consultancy-services
Buyer reference: Not published
Open contracting ID: ocds-h6vhtk-068fad
Last checked: 5 November 2026

Maidstone Borough Council. Invitation to Tender For New Local Plan Professional Consultancy Services. Contract award, 30 April 2026. BidSkim, https://bidskim.com/tender/3458047/invitation-to-tender-for-new-local-plan-professional-consultancy-services (accessed 5 November 2026).