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Street Lighting and Highways Signs

Sunderland City Council

This public procurement record has 2 releases in its history.

Planning

30 Sep 2026 at 10:04

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Planning

18 May 2026 at 17:21

UK1 - Pipeline Notice
Summary of the contracting process

Sunderland City Council plans to procure a street-lighting and highway-signs term maintenance and design service for Sunderland. The work is classified as a service and covers maintenance of street lighting, alongside highway signs and design services. The council is undertaking preliminary market engagement to understand supplier appetite and inform the scope and structure of the eventual contract. Engagement is intended to cover the service scope, contract term and structure, commercial model and pricing, risk allocation, contract review and flexibility, capital replacement and asset renewal, procurement strategy, and strategic service considerations. Suppliers are invited to provide responses to questions across these areas to help shape the procurement. The council’s requirement is for services delivered in its area.

This procurement is at the planning stage: Sunderland City Council has set out its intention to procure, but has not yet invited tenders. The council’s planned procedure and procurement method have not been stated. The estimated value is £50 million excluding VAT, or £60 million including VAT. The planned contract period runs from 1 September 2028 to 31 August 2033, with an option to extend to 31 August 2038. The procurement is structured as one lot. The council expects the next notice to be published on 4 January 2027. The market engagement is scheduled to close on 2 November 2026; this is an engagement response date, not a tender deadline. The procurement’s detailed evaluation criteria and eligibility requirements have not yet been established through this planning process.

The future contract is likely to suit suppliers with the capability to maintain street-lighting infrastructure and highway signs, alongside the ability to provide relevant design services. Providers able to advise on capital replacement and asset renewal, service risks, contract flexibility and delivery models may be well placed to contribute to the council’s market engagement and inform how the eventual requirement is shaped. Commercial and pricing expertise will also be relevant, as the council is seeking market input on its commercial model and risk allocation. The engagement is a chance for suppliers to explain their capabilities and the workable approaches available to the market before the tender is developed. Suppliers interested in competing later should register on the council’s online tendering system and ensure their details are current on the government’s Central Digital Platform.

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Notice Information

Notice Title

Street Lighting and Highways Signs

Notice Description

Street Lighting and Highway Signs Term Maintenance and Design Services Contract

Planning Information

This market engagement will allow the Council to understand the appetite in the market and prepare the market and to advise them to register with the appropriate sies to ensure that have access to all documentation and can submit compliant tenders. Suppliers can access brief information of the requirement, the proposed tender dates and works timetable and the proposed form of contract by registering their interest on the Councils online tendering system (www.open-uk.org). Registration is free and easy. Simply head over to www.open-uk.org (https://www.open-uk.org) and complete the online registration form. Top tips to help you get started: Keep an eye out for the temporary password to confirm your account - this is only valid for 3 days so if you have not logged in during this period, you will need to contact open.support@nepo.org to request a new temporary password Adding your Companies House number will populate fields and make it easier to register Once registered, select Codes & Categories relevant to your area of business Add notifications@open-uk.org to your safe sender list to ensure you don't miss out on notifications of relevant opportunities The Open Hub is packed with resources and information to help you get the most out of Open. We have answered your questions in our FAQ section and developed a range of how-to guides so you can familiarise yourself with the system at your own pace. Visit www.open-hub.org (https://www.open-hub.org) to find out more Please note that during the market engagement we would like to identify the following: Scope of Services Contract Term and Structure Commercial Model and Pricing Risk Allocation Contract Review and Flexibility Capital Replacement and Asset Renewal Procurement Strategy Strategic Service Considerations On the Open system you will find the following document 'PME-StreetLighting&HighwaySignsV2-FINAL' which includes a number of questions under each of the above headings and a response to these is required to understand the current market position and inform the procurement and contracting processes. Please also note that suppliers will need to register on the governments Central Digital Platform (CDP), and ensure their information is up-to-date on the system, if they wish to tender for this once the opportunity is published as a tender. The CDP is available at https://www.gov.uk/find-tender. (https://www.gov.uk/find-tender.)

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-069b56
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/092184-2026
Current Stage
Planning
All Stages
Planning

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Not Specified
Procurement Method Details
Not specified
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
Not specified

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

50 - Repair and maintenance services

CPV Codes

50232100 - Street-lighting maintenance services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£50,000,000 £10M-£100M
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
30 Sep 20266 days ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
4 Jan 20273 months to go
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
1 Sep 2028 - 1 Sep 2033 Over 5 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Planned
Lots Status
Planned
Awards Status
Not Specified
Contracts Status
Not Specified

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
Sunderland City Council
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
SUNDERLAND
Postcode
SR1 3AA
Postcode Area
Sunderland
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLC North East (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLC4 Northumberland, Durham and Tyne & Wear
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLC44 Sunderland
Delivery Location
TLC23 Sunderland
Local Authority
Sunderland
Electoral Ward
Millfield
Westminster Constituency
Sunderland Central

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

View full OCDS Record for this contracting process

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The Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) is a framework designed to increase transparency and access to public procurement data in the public sector. It is widely used by governments and organisations worldwide to report on procurement processes and contracts.

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