Prepared and maintained by Cambridge Development Archaeology for development teams working across Cambridge and Cambridgeshire.
Sources, review dates and corrections →Last source review: .
Content updated: .
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.
Compare bidders against the same obligation
| Allowance | Check in every return | If excluded |
|---|---|---|
| Fieldwork | Method, area, team, plant, welfare and reinstatement | Identify who supplies it and its programme dependency |
| Additional work | Instruction route, rate basis and stated assumptions | Record who authorises variations; do not compare only headline totals |
| Reporting and specialists | Assessment, analysis and agreed submission stages | Carry the obligation into the total budget |
| Archive and completion | Deposition, publication where required, and completion evidence | Do not equate machine departure with condition discharge |