Pre-tender

National Focal Centre (NFC) to Model and Map Air Pollution Impacts on UK habitat

Details

Buyer: Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA)
Topic: Environmental monitoring other than for construction
Published: 17 September 2026
Submission: 2 October 2026in 6 days
Source: uk:find_a_tender

Tender description

Defra is seeking to contract with supplier(s) possessing the scientific, technical and analytical expertise required to maintain and develop the UK National Focal Centre (NFC). The successful supplier(s) will deliver annual UK-wide modelling and mapping of pollutant deposition (ammonia, oxides of nitrogen and sulphur dioxide) and assess against critical loads for acidity and nitrogen. They will also map ammonia concentrations and assess against critical levels. The assessments will be reported for the UK as a whole and broken down by country. In addition, the data will be reported for specific habitat types, Special Areas for Conservation (SACs), Special Protection Areas (SPAs) and Areas/Sites of Special Scientific Interest (A/SSSIs). The modelled outputs will support annual reporting, evidence generation, biodiversity protection, environmental policy development and the UK's domestic and international reporting obligations. We are envisaging that the new contract will start on the 01 June 27 with a one (1) month handover, from 01 June to 30 June, with full responsibility being transferred to the successful contractor on 01 July 2027. These handover periods are to allow the new Contractor time to get ready to take over the full operation of the contract requirement. We estimate the contract value to be between the range of £680,000 - £720,000.

Timeline

Completed: Pre-tender published17 September 2026
Current notice

About the buyer

The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) is a ministerial department that also buys through agencies such as the Environment Agency, the Rural Payments Agency and the Animal and Plant Health Agency. Suppliers register on the DEFRA eCommercial website, Atamis, to compete for contract opportunities across the department. Larger opportunities are advertised through the Find a Tender service under the Procurement Act 2023, in force since February 2025. DEFRA also procures goods and services through the Crown Commercial Service. Existing contracts and frameworks set up under the previous procurement regulations remain valid until they expire.

Procurement spend from central entities makes up 66% of overall UK public spend.

Over the past 5 years, most of DEFRA's contract awards have been in research and development, construction work and business services.

Relevant CPV codes

90711500 · Environmental monitoring other than for construction
90731400 · Air pollution monitoring or measurement services

Decision makers

Connect with the people behind this procurement.

Job title	Phone number	Work email
Head of Procurement	+44 •••• ••••••	••••••••@department-for-environment-food-rural-affairs-defra.gov
Commercial Director	+44 •••• ••••••	••••••••@department-for-environment-food-rural-affairs-defra.gov
Procurement Manager	+44 •••• ••••••	••••••••@department-for-environment-food-rural-affairs-defra.gov
Category Lead	+44 •••• ••••••	••••••••@department-for-environment-food-rural-affairs-defra.gov
Senior Buyer	+44 •••• ••••••	••••••••@department-for-environment-food-rural-affairs-defra.gov
Contracts Manager	+44 •••• ••••••	••••••••@department-for-environment-food-rural-affairs-defra.gov