Horticultural services

Tender description

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) commemorates 1 700 000 Commonwealth war dead of the 2 World Wars in 23 000 locations across over 150 countries and territories, including he Middle East. Over 65 000 war dead are commemorated in Iraq, 45 000 of which are in Basra. The 2 Basra war cemeteries have suffered extensive damage during the conflicts in Iraq but now present an opportunity for reconstruction. The CWGC are seeking suitably skilled landscape architects or consultancies with knowledge and experience of planting design in the Middle East, and if possible Iraq, to produce a masterplan for the layout and reconstruction of the 2 cemeteries and for possibly re-siting the Basra Memorial. It is intended that the first part of this exercise will be the production of a masterplan for the 2 cemeteries with costs and options for new landscape designs, possibly also considering the options for repairing or even re-siting the Basra Memorial. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) commemorates 1 700 000 Commonwealth war dead of the two World Wars in 23 000 locations across over 150 countries and territories. Its Head Office is in Maidenhead in the UK. This global historic estate consists of cemeteries and memorials maintained to the highest conservation standards. Over 65 000 war dead are commemorated in Iraq, 45 000 of which are in Basra. The CWGC cares for the Basra War Cemetery and the separate Indian Forces Cemetery opposite which between them occupy an area of approximately 4 hectares. The CWGC are also responsible for the Basra Memorial which commemorates members of the Commonwealth forces who died in operations in Mesopotamia in the First World War. The memorial, designed by Edward Warren and unveiled in 1929, was moved 32 km from Basra in 1997. The 2 Basra war cemeteries have suffered extensive damage during the conflicts in Iraq but now present an opportunity for reconstruction. The CWGC wish to engage the services of a suitably skilled landscape architect with knowledge and experience of planting design in the Middle East, and if possible Iraq, to produce a masterplan for the layout and reconstruction of the two cemeteries and for possibly re-siting the Basra Memorial. As with other CWGC cemeteries all over the world, the cemeteries need to be fitting places of commemoration for the war dead. The original layouts and planting designs relied on extensive irrigation and a high labour input. The CWGC wish to consider options for creating new landscape designs for these sites appropriate to the climate and horticulture of this part of the Middle East which also take a more sustainable view — minimising water use whilst still delivering high quality standards of horticulture. It is intended that the first part of this exercise will be the production of a masterplan for the 2 cemeteries with costs and options for new landscape designs, possibly also considering the options for repairing or even re-siting the Basra Memorial as part of this. Please note that this is a market scoping exercise, it is not a request for tenders. If your company can deliver the services required, please submit a brief overview, highlighting your experience in this area, via the CWGCs In-tend portal — https://in-tendhost.co.uk/cwgc/aspx/Home To access the portal, which is free, you must first register your company details. When registering, please complete all the information required. Please note, when entering a contact email address, you are advised to use a generic address with multi access i.e. “sales@xyz.com”, rather than a personal address such as “RKipling@xyz.com”. This way you will still be able to access any communications sent via the if an individual in unavailable. You will also be invited to submit a “Business Classification”. You can submit multiple classifications but in respect of this scoping exercise, please ensure that you select ”8200” “Professional Services”.