Track the business activity and commercial plans of South Downs National Park Authority — identify tender and future spending opportunities before they reach the market, follow cabinet and committee decisions, and understand the council’s priorities, with intelligence extracted from 25 analysed meetings. South Downs National Park Authority manages the South Downs National Park stretching across Hampshire and Sussex in southern England. It oversees planning and conservation across 1,600 square kilometres of chalk downland, heathland and river valleys.
Meetings analysed25
Procurement opportunities41
Pressures tracked16
Estimated pipeline value£75m
Active procurement topics
Over the last 12 months, the most frequently discussed commercial topics in this council's meetings have been IT & Digital (9 mentions, rising), Professional Services (9 mentions, rising), Corporate & Business Support (6 mentions, rising) and Housing (5 mentions, rising).
Commercial signals extracted from recent South Downs National Park Authority meetings — approvals, budget decisions and early procurement discussions, before a tender is published.
The authority approved a principle loan of £300,000 to Petersfield Community Land Trust to help deliver 10 self-build affordable homes at Reservoir Lane, Petersfield. The loan is intended to be repaid from plot sales, subject to further treasury, legal and subsidy-control checks, and the authority confirmed this is a test case for a revolving housing investment approach.
“So, as we said before, this is the second example before you today, but it is one that would come to NPA because it's over the, uh, the delegation limits at 300,000. Um, we heard the speaker earlier, but just to summarize briefly in terms of what the development is, it's a reserv…”
The audited accounts showed a £731,000 underspend, which was added to reserves and then utilised through the year. Members also noted the authority's capital and project accounting is growing more complex and linked to the financial management reports.
“Speaker 11: Thank you, Madam Chair. Just a very quick one. I see that we've got an underspand of £731,000 Will that go back into general reserves? Or will they be going to an earmarked reserve? And well done for getting the interest that we've got so far.”
Members approved a revised South Downs Partnership Management Plan that aligns delivery across partners and is intended to guide future planning decisions. The plan was developed through extensive consultation, with significant links to local nature recovery strategies, and the authority expects it to support future delivery partnerships and annual reviews.
“Speaker 13: As you all know, this is a strict requirement. Every National Park Authority has to have
Speaker 4: a management plan. We are do.
Speaker 13: And the intention of the plan really is to align strategies and delivery across a range of organizations. It's really import…”
The authority approved creation of an earmarked reserve using around £1 million from general reserves to fund projects that grow the authority's impact, income generation, communications capacity and net zero delivery. The fund is intended to be used for enabling investments rather than one-off projects, with delegated spend below £200,000 and member approval above that threshold.
“So um we uh I'm putting forward here a proposal to create an earark reserve. Uh there's a reason for this. We have um after last year we received some additional money from uh DERA uh last year 1 point is this year in fact 1.7 million um which uh has allowed us to displace some o…”
The Active Travel Network Plan was approved as a flexible, live pipeline of projects supported by Active Travel England funding. The authority plans to submit an expression of interest in January for the next funding tranche, and the document is intended to help prioritise projects, support planning responses and create a web portal for communities to propose schemes.
“Speaker 21: Some members may acknowledge that it's usual this type of paper to come to P and R first, and it's coming straight to you. That is a timing issue and relationship issue with Accurate Travel England. They have indicated verbally that they would like to continue funding…”
The authority wants to amend the South Downs Trust memorandum of understanding so the Trust can create a trading company. The structure is intended to achieve full cost recovery, generate unrestricted income, increase secondments, and support ecological consultancy work based on biodiversity net gain and nature-based solutions. Members raised procurement and VAT questions that management said would be checked.
“Speaker 0: Okay. I'll be very quick. You've got the report. We are looking to amend the MoU to allow for the creation within the trust of a trading company. The model that we're putting forward ensures full cost recovery, so the authority is not subsidizing commercial activity.”
The meeting covered a wide range of procurement and spending matters, with the biggest themes being a new earmarked reserve to fund growth and innovation, a loan to support affordable housing at Reservoir Lane, and the procurement of financial services. Members also approved an updated Hampshire Minerals and Waste Plan, heard about pressure on communications and engagement work, and discussed ecological and nature-based solutions capacity, including a new ecologist post. A number of items were noted as requiring private session because they involved commercially sensitive or personal information.
Key procurement-relevant discussions focused on housing delivery within the National Park, the interaction with highways and drainage constraints, and the financing/viability framework for affordable housing. Issues included: (1) housing land supply and the tilted balance framework guiding decisions; (2) late highways objections and the need for road safety auditing and access design; (3) affordable housing viability and Section 106 implications; (4) drainage and environmental constraints requiring permits and specialist works; (5) ongoing cross-boundary cooperation for local plan delivery and statements of common ground.
The SDNPA Planning Committee discussed multiple applications with a strong emphasis on ecological and landscape mitigation for the Matterley Farm Boomtown site (item 6), including biodiversity net gain (BNG), landscape management plans, and potential offsite BNG credits. A key policy thrust was the use of temporary planning permissions (5 years) for major developments within the National Park, with debate on the appropriateness and evidentiary basis. Public concerns ranged from noise, light, and traffic impacts to long-term landscape and heritage preservation. The meeting also covered other local planning matters (North Marden Farm, Corhampton Golf Club) and provided updates on neighborhood planning activity. Key decisions included approval of the Matterley Farm Boomtown application with conditions, refusal of the Corhampton Golf Club proposal, and approval of North Marden Farm with a change to a rural worker condition.
Key procurement opportunities and spending decisions emerged: (1) Alfriston bridleway surface and drainage works (£270k) funded by DEFRA Access Capital; (2) South Downs Centre cleaning contract exceeded threshold (>£200k) requiring private-law procurement steps and delegated award to the CEO; (3) significant budget and capital plans for 2026-27, including a Defra-funded capital program (>£6m) and revised reserves; (4) private-session items indicating sensitive planning and project details; (5) local plan Regulation 19 process with substantial policy changes (self-build, brownfield BNG, HRA tweaks).
The meeting covers three main procurement-relevant threads within planning policy and enforcement: (1) development of a Technical Advice Note (TAN) on retrofitting historic buildings to improve energy efficiency, including consultation and evolving guidance; (2) planning enforcement actions and the refused Roots allotments application (shipping containers and CCTV), highlighting landscape impact considerations; (3) formal making of the East Dean & Friston Neighborhood Development Plan following a successful referendum, establishing it as part of the development plan. These items indicate future procurement opportunities in consultancy, heritage-led energy efficiency guidance, and plan-related services rather than immediate contracts.
The South Downs Policy and Resources Committee discussed procurement related to ecological services for the Centurion Way extension. A new single-supplier ecological services framework is to be procured to support continued construction, with a two-year initial term and a potential 12-month extension. The framework is valued at 260,000 + VAT, with a possible increase to 312,000 + VAT, and will be procured via an open single-tender, single-stage process under the Procurement Act 2023 to ensure competition and value for money. Delegated authority to enter the contract will be given to the Chief Executive. The current framework expires in April 2026, creating time-sensitive pressure to initiate procurement to avoid disruption to the construction program.