St Ives Town Council is seeking project support from suitably qualified and experienced individual(s) to assist in the delivery of an innovative housing enabling project – the Pioneering Parish project.
The vision for the project is to develop a range of tools and interventions to support and accelerate the delivery of affordable and local needs housing and associated community infrastructure for the St Ives Parish. The project aims to apply innovation and flexibility to find local solutions which best meet community aspiration and the homes which St Ives’ needs.
The project will utilise planning contributions collected for the St Ives Parish, by Cornwall Council, specifically to enable the delivery of affordable housing.
The project is a partnership between the Town Council and Cornwall Council to identify, de-risk and assist in the progress and / or delivery of 250 affordable housing plots within the parish of St Ives.
Required Resources
Dedicated people resources are identified as the key success factor. Expressions of interest are, therefore, sought from suitably experienced and qualified individuals, freelancers or consultancies. The Council is adopting an open approach to resourcing solutions and welcomes proposals which could see the project scope delivered in the following ways:
- An individual seeking a short term contract of employment
- A fixed term contract with a freelance consultant
- An award to an established consultancy with the relevant skills and a commitment to fund the necessary hours.
Project Duration
In order to progress and de-risk sites and opportunities, the project is proposed to extend over three years. However, these timescales are flexible and can be reduced, should the project outputs and outcomes be achieved over a shorter period, by being resourced differently.
It is anticipated that the likely pace of the project will require a part time project lead, equivalent to 2.5 days a week, to be reviewed annually. However, depending upon how the people resources are procured, this may be on an annualised-hours basis of approximately 975 per year.
Funding
The business plan sets out an indicative allocation of funding for the project resource’s hours of up to £100,000, over three years, plus a separate budget of up to £150,000 in order to commission / procure necessary advice, technical reports and support planning applications and community engagement. These estimates are indicative and may be varied by negotiation.
Should a member of staff be recruited to the Council establishment, the role will be aligned with the Town Council’s adopted pay structure.
| Procurement Stage | Dates |
| Date Below Tender Threshold Notice published | 17th September 2026 |
| Deadline for Supplier clarification questions to be submitted | 5th October 2026 |
| Clarification responses to be issued by | 5th October 2026 |
| Bid Deadline (5pm) | 12th October 2026 |
| Assessment period (completed) | 15th October 2026 |
| Notification of Contract award (Contract Award Notice) | 16th October 2026 |
| Standstill period ends midnight | 26th October 2026 |
| Below Threshold Contract Details Notice published | 30th October 2026 |
| Contract start – Main Contract | 30th October 2026 |
| Contract end date | 30th October 2029 |
Tender Submission – Instructions for Bidders
Interested parties should subject an expression of interest, in accordance with the timetable set out below, to tenders@stives-tc.gov.uk with Pioneering Parish Affordable Housing Delivery Project (ITT-0006-2026) as the subject line.
Complete and compliant submissions must reach the inbox by no later than 5pm on Monday 12th of October 2026.
Download the full tender pack here
word version of the part B submission document for completion
Download the Clarifications log here
All Correspondence, Clarifications and Tenders MUST be sent to tenders@stives-tc.gov.uk by the deadline
