Provision of legal advice for Reviving Exmoor's Heartlands Landscape Recovery Project
- Exmoor National Park Authority
Procurement identifier (OCID): ocds-h6vhtk-0565a5
Description
Reviving Exmoor's Heartlands is part of Defra's Landscape Recovery scheme, aiming to support long-term, large-scale restoration of England's most precious habitats. The Reviving Exmoor's Heartlands (REH) project is a round 2 Landscape Recovery project that has been approved for a two year development phase, which started in April 2024.
The project aims to restore Exmoor's central moorlands to a thriving ecological state with good habitat connectivity to the wider landscape, supported by viable farming. The project area spans approximately 12,000 hectares made up of a cluster of over 20 upland farms and moorland landholdings including large areas of common land, supporting mainly extensive beef and sheep enterprises.
The provision of this contract is for:
Advise on Legal Structure and Governance
- Evaluate and compare options for suitable legal entity structures aligned with the project goals (e.g. CIC, CIO, LLP, BenCom).
- Present clear and actionable advice to the project steering group and participants via an evening workshop to make a final decision on the legal form and governance arrangements.
- Draft a fit-for-purpose governance structure and plan for the selected SLE model compliant with HM Treasury's Managing Public Money principles.
Draft and Review Legal Agreements
- Draft and advise on:
- Agreements between the SLE and land managers/commoners associations.
- Implementation agreement with Natural England.
- Contracts with private investors and partners.
- Identify and evaluate legal tools to safeguard environmental outcomes (e.g. conservation covenants, land trusts).
- Ensure agreements:
- Provide long-term environmental and legal security.
- Address enforcement, flexibility, and succession planning for land ownership.
Conduct Land & Title Due Diligence
- Review land ownership titles for risks, rights, or restrictions.
- Complete due diligence letters to be submitted to Natural England before contract signing.
- Identify and propose resolutions for any legal impediments to delivery.
Statutory Consents and Risk Management
- Identify required statutory consents, permits, or licenses.
- Highlight legal risks and develop mitigation strategies.
Notices
UK7: Contract details notice
- Notice identifier
- 2025/S 000-068252
- Published
- 24 October 2025, 2:48pm
UK4: Tender notice
- Notice identifier
- 2025/S 000-042867
- Published
- 24 July 2025, 3:31pm