Alternatives to Cheshire and Warrington Outline Water Plan

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The newly established Cheshire and Warrington Combined Authority (CWCA) has recently stated its intention to commission an Independent Economic Review (IER) for the subregion - setting out the evidence for the opportunities for and constraints on local growth. In support of this, it is vital to better understand where water infrastructure may require upgrades to support local ambition, and how we can better work together to ensure that flooding and drought are not impediments to growth whilst ensuring that wider ecosystem services and farming resilience are better supported. Simultaneously, the Water White Paper published in January 2026 committed Government to act on the Independent Water Commission recommendation, setting up Regional Systems Planning in England. DEFRA have set out an intention to pilot this through Regional System Planners (RSPs), established across each region of England with the aim of influencing both PR29 and other water system investment plans. Defra are keen for partnerships to pilot RSP governance and structures during this set-up year. and have set out that they only intend to provide high level direction on form. Within this context there is a significant opportunity to influence water planning, and ensure alignment with local growth and wider environmental ambitions. To support the IER along with engagement with the establishing North West RSP, ECW is seeking to appoint consultants to develop a strategic, place based evidence base and outline water plan that sits between national/regional water planning processes and local spatial, economic, and infrastructure planning.

Society’s most important advances have stemmed from those willing to think differently about what might be possible. ARIA is an R&D funding agency built to unlock scientific and technological breakthroughs that benefit everyone. Created by an Act of Parliament, and sponsored by the Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology, ARIA funds breakthrough R&D in under explored areas to catalyse new paths to prosperity for the UK and the world.

CONTEXT Nature Towns and Cities is a UK-wide mission to bring nature and green space to urban areas for everyone's benefit. It is backed by coalition of public, private and third sector organisations committed to putting accessible nature at the heart of vibrant, healthy, resilient places and communities, focusing on those areas that will benefit the most. Over the next 10 years we're aiming to help 5 million more people enjoy better access to green and blue space close to home, and 1 million more children to be able to play in nature on their doorstep. THIS COMMISSION To support places and communities on their journey we have already provided training, peer mentoring, action learning, case studies and how to guides, conferences and events and informal opportunities to collaborate, though the Nature Towns and Cities Network. We now wish to develop and establish a small number of Communities of Practice to connect people and organisations working to create, improve and care for urban nature across the UK. These spaces will connect local government and wider public sector, national NGOs, VCSE organisations and possibly private sector organisations around shared ambitions for greener, fairer, healthier towns and cities. Communities of Practice is a working concept, intended to start coalescing the large Nature Towns and Cities network around purposeful activity on specific themes. We want to create spaces where network members can work through live challenges, share experience, learn from different perspectives and identify practical next steps. This commission will determine what these spaces look and feel like, and how they are delivered. INFORMATION TO BE RETURNED Tender responses should be sent to david.coughlin@nationaltrust.org.uk by the deadline of 12pm (midday) on 18/09/26 and include details of the following: • Outline of your proposed approach, including outputs • Description of your relevant experience, including examples of at least two pieces of similar work you have carried out. • Project timeline or Gantt chart • Key responsibilities of team members and time allocations • Proposed budget breakdown The budget available for this work is £50,000 inc VAT. Please see the full ITT document attached for further details.

CONTEXT The Future Parks Accelerator (FPA) programme ran from 2019 to 2022 working intensively with 8 Local Authorities to help identify and develop new ways to care for the urban natural environment, create a step change in how people engaged with parks and greenspaces in the participant cities; and identify new ways to fund parks and greenspaces for the long term, putting the management and funding of green space on a more sustainable footing. 7 of the FPA Cohort remained closely involved with the project partners following the completion of the programme and helped to co-design the follow-on ten-year programme. Nature Towns and Cities, launched in 2025, was designed to support transformative change in up to 100 towns and cities. These 7 places form the Nature Towns and Cities pioneer cohort continue to receive support from the programme while also supporting and mentoring new participants. Although evaluated throughout the programme, it was anticipated that on-the ground impacts would lag behind the implementation of these changes. THIS COMMISSION This commission seeks to understand and evidence the change that has taken place in each of the 7 places that have remained involved. We are seeking a consultant to undertake a follow-up study of the 7 places still participating in the Nature Towns and Cities Pioneer Cohort to understand what has happened since 2019 (and especially since 2022), and to generate robust, independent evidence of longer-term impact, including write up stories of whole place change, evidence the benefit to places and communities of investing in capacity-building and systems-change approaches and support Nature Towns and Cities & Pioneer Cohort to understand and articulate the causal link between the interventions and their longer-term impacts. INFORMATION TO BE RETURNED Submissions should include the following information: · Outline of your proposed approach to the project, including project plan and high-level risk log · Description of your relevant experience and abridged CVs of the proposed project team. · Proposed budget breakdown. · Details of any matters or concerns not covered by this brief · Answers to the mandatory questions and company information included in the Annex (not included in page count). Submissions should be no more than 6 pages in length. Abridged CVs can be included as appendices. These should be returned to anne.mackinnon@nationaltrust.org.uk by the deadline of 9am Monday 14th September 2026. The budget available for this work is £20-25k incl. VAT. Please see the full attached ITT document for further details.

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Non-Domestic EPCs RBH are looking for a supplier that can carry out non-domestic Energy Performance Certificates (EPC's) for properties within the society's portfolio. This will include but is not limited to shops, community centres, community bases, offices, stores. In carrying out this service, RBH will require • A prompt response/acknowledgement to email instructions (within 2 working days). • To arrange appointments directly with customer (if occupied) within 2 working days of instruction. • Prompt collection and return of keys from RBH office/hubs within the following postcode areas (OL10, OL11, OL12, OL15, OL16, M24, BL9). • EPC lodgement within 5 days of access to the property. • Provide link to lodged EPC and copy of XML file via email within 5 working days of EPC lodgement.