Prepared and maintained by Cambridge Development Archaeologyfor development teams working across Cambridge and Cambridgeshire.
Sources, review dates and corrections →Start with the planning requirement
Issue the condition, archaeological brief and any approved WSI before requesting price. If the scope is not yet agreed, say whether the appointment includes advisor liaison and preparation of the WSI. That distinction changes both fee and programme.
Give every bidder the same site information
Include the red-line and impact plans, utility information, access and welfare arrangements, contamination or unexploded-ordnance constraints, reinstatement expectations, previous archaeological reports and target dates.
- Required fieldwork method and coverage
- Plant, welfare, fencing and reinstatement responsibilities
- Reporting, specialist, archive and publication allowances
- Assumptions for unexpected discoveries and instruction
- Programme, mobilisation and phased handover requirements
Compare the whole obligation
A low fieldwork price can exclude the work needed to complete the condition. Compare post-excavation assessment, specialist analysis, report revisions, archive preparation, deposition charges and authority liaison alongside the site rate.
Ask each bidder to identify exclusions and provisional sums in one schedule. The most useful tender return makes uncertainty visible rather than hiding it in a single total.
Public-sector procurement evidence
Cambridgeshire public bodies use competitive procurement and framework arrangements for archaeological services. Published notices for local transport and infrastructure work show that scopes are commissioned against defined scheme requirements. These notices evidence the procurement route, not work by Cambridge Development Archaeology.
The public notice examples below were checked 19 September 2026.