CONTRACT NOTICE – NATIONAL

1 Authority Details

1.1

Authority Name and Address

1.2

Address from which documentation may be obtained

1.3

Completed documents must be returned to:

As in 1.1

2 Contract Details

2.1

Title

Production of Conservation Management Plans

2.2

Description of the goods or services required

Production of Conservation Management Plans for Cosmeston Country Park and Porthkerry Park.

In order to assist the Vale of Glamorgan Council and the staff based at the Country Parks it is proposed that a detailed 15-year conservation management plan is drawn up for each park that helps to determine the future management, resilience and monitoring of the habitats and species which are present or which could or should be found at the parks. At Cosmeston the plan will include neighbouring Vale of Glamorgan Council land due to be added to the Country Park at the cessation of a tenancy. The Medieval Village will be excluded from the proposed management plan.

In drawing up the plans the successful consultant will be expected to work very closely with the staff at the parks who have considerable knowledge of the wildlife in the parks and the need to understand the interactions between visitors and wildlife.

A draft management plan for each site will be subject to a public consultation following approval by the officers of the Vale of Glamorgan Council and the Vale Nature Partnership.

Therefore, we wish to engage an external provider/expert to undertake the following:

1. Produce an agreed 15 year management plan for each site that considers the following objectives:

i. To maintain and enhance biodiversity

ii. To maintain and enhance the amenity value of the Park

iii. To create more species diverse habitats and species resilience.

iv. To determine the management regimes needed to maintain the

diversity of habitats.

v. Identify the presence of Invasive Non Native Species and their

eradication, if at all possible.

2. A data search from SEWBReC with a 1.5km buffer around the site will be provided to the successful consultancy.

3. Develop an annual work programme that can be carried out by staff,

Volunteers, contractors and others as required.

4. Estimate the costs of implementing the management plan – overall costs for the whole time period and annual costs.

5. Develop monitoring protocols that can indicate successful habitat and species management and determine the carrying capacity for the population densities for translocated species.

Particular issues to be addressed as part of this plan.

1) The reintroduction of grazing and/or hay cropping on sites which are heavily used by dog walkers.

2) Opposition to fencing by recreational users – seen as a restriction of access especially at Cosmeston.

3) Equipment access to management of meadows and grassland areas for conservation in some parts of the park.

4) Opportunities from proposed increases in the area of the parks but with no budget allocation.

5) Woodland management, tree planting and natural regeneration

6) Hedgerow management – reliance on contractors

7) Lack of public understanding of the management objectives

NOTE: To register your interest in this notice and obtain any additional information please visit the Sell2Wales Web Site at https://www.sell2wales.gov.wales/Search/Search_Switch.aspx?ID=142131.

The buyer has indicated that it will accept electronic responses to this notice via the Postbox facility. A user guide is available at https://www.sell2wales.gov.wales/sitehelp/help_guides.aspx.

Suppliers are advised to allow adequate time for uploading documents and to dispatch the electronic response well in advance of the closing time to avoid any last minute problems.

2.3

Notice Coding and Classification

2.4

Total quantity or scope of tender

The estimated value of this contract is between £9,000 and £12,500 with a maximum ceiling of £15,000.

3 Conditions for Participation

3.1

Minimum standards and qualification required

Bidders will submit one A4 page summary along with their detailed proposal, which will include a pricing schedule and programme, detailing and timetabling each project stage.

Quotations must be completed in English and prices must be in sterling and exclude VAT.

Quotations must contain the company name, contact details and price and cost breakdowns, along with the details of any other company, consultant or subcontractor and their price and cost breakdowns.

The proposal should demonstrate a proven track record on work of a similar nature especially in dealing with delivering conservation within a heavily used site.

For the team undertaking the project a CV should be provided for each member of the team and the extent of their involvement in delivery.

Submission should include at least two examples where contact can be made with third parties as reference points.

Quotations must be open for acceptance for a period of 90 days from the closing date for receipt of Quotations.

Quotations should allow for an initial start-up meeting, monthly updates, an interim meeting to discuss the draft Management Plan prior to public consultation and a final closing off meeting to agree the final management plan.

The public consultation will be managed by VOGC.

Close working with the Ranger Teams will also require on site meetings and a familiarisation with the sites.

Assessment

Submissions will be assessed on the following criteria:

Criteria Percentage

Skill set of team 30

Examples of delivering similar work in similar settings to a deadline

30

Cost 30

Knowledge of the area 10

4 Administrative Information

4.1

Type of Procedure

Single stage

4.2

Reference number attributed to the notice by the contracting authority

N/a

4.3

Time Limits

4.5

Language or languages in which tenders or requests to participate can be drawn up

4.6

Tender Submission Postbox

5 Other Information

5.1

Additional Information

Background

Cosmeston Country Park was established in 1978 by the former South Glamorgan County Council and the Vale of Glamorgan Borough Council. The site had been used extensively for a long time for quarrying and then as a landfill site for two of the quarries, the other two were flooded and remain to this day. The two councils undertook a programme of land restoration and provision of facilities which continues to this day under the auspices of the Vale of Glamorgan Council (VOGC).

Porthkerry Country park was formerly a Country manor run by the Romilly family as a ‘model’ farm using the most modern farming techniques of the time such as crop rotation. The family built cottages for estate workers and foresters, established stables and a sawmill together with extensive mill leats and drained woods and fields.

Porthkerry Park was purchased from the Romilly estates in 1929 by Barry Urban District Council, after which it was used as a large public open park and then even played a role in the build up to the invasion of Normandy in World War II.

The Vale Local Nature Partnership (VLNP), hosted by the Vale of Glamorgan Council, is the recipient of annual funding awards from the Welsh Government to deliver an agreed programme of activities under the Local Places for Nature funding stream.

In the Vale, this funding is divided between a central programme called ‘Connecting Nature Neighbours’ and a Community Grants Scheme. Whilst the latter operates across the whole of the Vale, ‘Connecting Nature Neighbours’ is targeted at Llantwit Major, Barry, Cowbridge and Penarth in order to take access to quality greenspace, economic and social deprivation indicators into account.

Cosmeston Country Park is an important facility in Penarth and more widely in south-east Wales and Local Places for Nature has previously supported a number of initiatives to reintroduce grazing, restore ponds, plant hedgerows and manage the orchard. It covers an area of hectares.

The park contains a Site of Special Scientific Interest notified for Starry Stonewort, Nitellopsis obtusa, one of only two known sites in Wales.

It is also designated as a Local Nature Reserve.

The Park has seen the successful reintroduction of Water Voles in 2017 which have started to colonise areas off site including down to Cog Moors. It has also been a successful repository for the translocation of slow worms from developments within the Barry Docks area.

More information about the park is available at https://www.valeofglamorgan.gov.uk/en/enjoying/Coast-and-Countryside/cosmeston-lakes-country-park/Cosmeston-Lakes-Country-Park.aspx

Porthkerry Country Park is a very popular facility for Barry and has also been supported by Local Places for Nature in also facilitating the return of grazing animals, intriducing a stop log weir to manage water on the rewilded former pitch and put golf course and supporting the Porthkerry Wildlife Group.

The Park was home to Wales’s first ever Local Nature Reserve and contains a Site of Special Scientific Interest in Cliff Wood and Golden Stairs which are home to a population of Purple Gromwell, Lithospernum purpureocaeruleum, a limestone loving plant of cliffs and woods.

The former pitch and put golf course has successfully been rewilded and is now home to a diverse range of species including grass snakes and the Wasp Spider. Porthkerry covers hectares.

More information about the park is available at - https://www.valeofglamorgan.gov.uk/en/enjoying/Coast-and-Countryside/Porthkerry-Country-Park/porthkerry-country-park.aspx

(WA Ref:142131)

5.2

Additional Documentation

5.3

Publication date of this notice