Ecological Consultancy Framework: Evidence Gathering and Analysis for the Bird Aware Solent Mitigation Strategy

Tender description

Portsmouth City Council ('the Authority'), acting on behalf of Bird Aware Solent, is seeking tenders from suitably qualified and experienced providers to complete two monitoring commissions to inform Bird Aware Solent's strategy to mitigate the impact of human activity and development on coastal birdlife. The two commissions are: o Commission A - Assessment of disturbance levels at rangered sites o Commission B - Data collection and analysis of vehicle numbers in coastal car parks and numbers of people/activities on the shore The combined value of these two commissions is estimated to be ?25,000. The contract will commence on 1st October 2018 and will be for an initial fixed term of one year but may be extended up to a maximum of 10 years, in increments to be agreed, to allow for future repetition of the monitoring components. The contracts may also be extended to terms of activity scope. Providers may submit a response to either or both of the commissions. If submitting a response to both commissions, providers may also submit a combined offer at their discretion. Data will be collected over the 2018/19 winter season and will be collected in accordance with an already developed methodology. The successful provider(s) will be required to provide data collection and data analysis and commentary presented in an accessible report, with the final reports to be submitted by 19th July 2019. In addition to the two commissions referred to above, the Authority will require the completion of several monitoring commissions and accompanying reports every winter season over the next 10 years. The aggregate value of these commissions, plus the initial two is estimated to be approximately ?40,000 per annum. The scope of future monitoring components are likely to include but may not be limited to the following activities: o Automated counters o Car park counts and vantage point watches o Data recording by rangers o Disturbance levels at rangered sites o Visitor interviews in the SPA o Bird numbers and distribution o Housing o Creation and enhancement of Suitable Alternative Natural Greenspace (SANG) o Ranger time and deployment o Access Management Assessments Further to the above activities, further related services may also be required which could include the following: o Data analysis and modelling o Conservation management services o Mitigation services o Visitor strategies o Ecological Impact Assessments o Developing new and existing monitoring and data collection methodologies Further to the above, the full range of services which providers are able to undertake, which may develop over the course of the contracting arrangements, may also be commissioned. At present the Authority can provide no forecast of likely demand for further services and is including these options to provide for future flexibility only. The a...