The project proposes three interventions to enhance the SSSI Chobham Common heathland habitat; • Wildfire resilience woodland work – enhancement of 37.96 hectares of SSSI through pruning existing woodland trees to prevent fire spread through woodland understories and prevent fire spreading up into the tree canopy and removal of fallen deadwood to reduce fire risk. • Site wide grazing system – facilitate grazing across 84ha of the southern half of Chobham Common. Increased grazing would create better quality heathland habitat and reduce wildfire risk from a reduction in vegetation caused by grazing animals and subsequent reduced risk to the road network. • Natural Flood Management – conduct a feasibility study into restoring the hydrological function on the site using paleo-ecology to increase site resilience to flooding and wildfire.

Procurement Act 2023

Direct award Surrey Wildlife Trust (SWT) is the established land manager for Chobham Common SSSI and is responsible for the site's ongoing conservation and management. The proposed works, including wildfire resilience measures, grazing infrastructure improvements, and natural flood management, must be integrated with existing site management activities and delivered in accordance with conservation objectives and statutory approvals that SWT already manages. A competitive procurement exercise would not provide additional value to National Highways, as no alternative supplier could independently deliver the works without SWT's agreement and involvement. A Direct Award therefore represents the most efficient and lowest-risk approach, enabling timely delivery of environmental improvements that support National Highways statutory duty under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 whilst providing confidence of successful delivery through an experienced partner with extensive site knowledge.