Official UK procurement notice
Environmental Impact of Harvesting Marram
Authority: Historic Environment Scotland
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionResearch examining the environmental impacts of harvesting marram in key coastel areas of the Western Isles
CPV: Research services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedLot #1Historic Environment Scotland (HES) intends to award this contract under the…
Historic Environment Scotland (HES) intends to award this contract under the conditions of regulation 33.4.b(ii) of the Public Contracts (Scotland) regulations.
HES requires a specialist ecological consultant to continue delivery of an existing multi-year research project assessing the environmental and coastal implications of harvesting marram grass in the Western Isles, and determining whether, and how, marram grass can be harvested sustainably for traditional thatching.
The project began in 2022 and is due to conclude in 2030. Four years of the eight-year programme have now been completed, including desktop research, baseline survey work, site selection, permissions, development of the trial methodology and initiation of the first year of cutting trials. The remaining work depends on maintaining consistency in methodology, site knowledge, data interpretation and stakeholder relationships across the full study period.
The intention is to put in place a contract to allow completion of the research.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record · publisher note attached- Procedure method
- Award procedure without prior publication of a call for competition
- Legal basis
- CELEX · 32014L0024 Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (Directive 2014/24/EU)
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Awarded without competition
- Procurement threshold
- Unspecified in notice
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Direct award (no call for competition)
- GPA / WTO covered
- Yes (GPA)
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 30 Sept 2026, 10:02 BST
- Last source update
- 30 Sept 2026, 10:02 BST
- Authority reference
HES/C/4382- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-092180- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-077d22Find a Tender
- Why no open competition
- The procurement falls outside the scope of application of the directive
- Published justification
HES intends to award to the supplier on the basis that competition is absent for technical reasons. Research and data have been gathered over the past 4-5 years by a specialist who is critical in finishing this work based on their research so far.
Publisher note: It should be noted that this VEAT notice is intended to inform the market of the intention to award a contract under Regulation 33.4.b(ii) and whilst the system requires an award date prior to the notice publication for the avoidance of doubt it should be noted that the contract has not been entered into prior to the publication of this notice. NOTE: To register your interest in this notice and obtain any additional information please visit the Public Contracts Scotland Web Site at https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/Search/Search_Switch.aspx?ID=844042. (SC Ref:844042)
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boreas EcologySME | £81,100 † | — | Awarded |
Contracts
Contract 092180-2026-HES/C/4382-1 · Boreas EcologySME
- Signed
- 29 Sept 2026
- Value
- £81,100
- Status
- active
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Dispute resolution & review bodies
- Edinburgh Sheriff CourtReview body
Bidders & participating suppliers
1 commercial party on the notice- Boreas EcologyAwarded supplier
Official documents & specifications
Official links; attachments are not copiedNo document links were published on the notice.