DFP - Stormont Estate Grounds Maintenance

Tender description

Stormont Estate is one of the larger areas of suburban woodland and parkland in Northern Ireland. It is also the centre of government in the province and as such, the grounds within the Estate have been carefully managed and monitored for over seventy five years. One of the most important aspects of the grounds within Stormont Estate is its contribution to the conservation of local wildlife. To this end, the ecological status of the Estate has been monitored in the past, most recently in 1996 and updated in 2007 This monitoring has informed the management within the Estate and has sent a signal that the government takes its local environmental obligations seriously. Since 1930, Stormont Estate has developed into a major wooded park on the urban fringe of East Belfast. It contains 60 hectares of managed, mainly deciduous woods as well as public accessible parkland, amenity gardens, sports grounds, agricultural land and a children’s play ground It also houses a large office estate, veterinary labs, a castle and the Northern Ireland Parliament Buildings. Stormont Estate generally falls to the remit of the Department of Finance and Personnel. Properties Division a Division within DFP have developed a number of objectives in managing the Estate.  To maintain and develop existing facilities, to ensure an attractive and aesthetically pleasing environment for the benefit of all users of the Estate.  To provide public access to, and enjoyment of the parkland area of the Estate.  To provide a protected woodland environment with minimal intrusion, to protect and expand the habitats for plant and animal life within the Estate.  To continue to improve the environmental value of the Estate by supplementary tree planting, particularly of native species and specimen trees where appropriate. Since its inception a succession of Ministers, Civil Servants, Arboriculture and Forestry Consultants have influenced the development of the Stormont Estate. These i