Notice Information
Notice Title
Highways and Infrastructure Professional Services Contract
Notice Description
As many organisations will be aware, Norfolk County Council ("NCC") recently conducted a procurement exercise for its highways professional services contract ("PSC") which it was unfortunately unable to conclude, and therefore it could not proceed to award a contract. NCC is currently reviewing the approach taken to that competition with the intention that it will, in due course, commence a new competition to replace the current PSC Contract, which is currently provided by WSP and expires on or before 31 March 2028 (the "Opportunity"). The intention is that the newly appointed PSC provider will work closely with Kier, NCC's recently mobilised term maintenance contractor (since April 2026). NCC expects that the PSC will provide for professional services relating to topics including but not limited to highways, bridges and structures, travel and transport, spatial planning, economic development and strategy, environment, waste and infrastructure associated with NCC's estate and carbon assessments. NCC anticipates that the services required under the PSC will be carried out collaboratively with NCC's in-house teams and will include: - Highway design services, project delivery studies, stakeholder consultation studies, and specialist expertise required for the development of highway maintenance, asset management, and capital improvement schemes - Design Services (feasibility, preliminary and detailed) - Bridges and structures design and advisory services - Business Case development in support of funding applications to funders such as DfT and Homes England (e.g., cost benefit analysis, carbon analysis, etc.) - Archaeology and heritage advisory services - Transport planning advisory services - Intelligent transport services and Future Mobility Services design and advisory services - Spatial planning (including master planning, planning applications, statutory services, carbon assessments and environmental impact assessments) - Maritime services (including supporting design and project delivery for coastal, harbour and river environments) - Flood and water management design and advisory services - Land, property and assets management advisory services - Economic development advisory services - Quantity surveying and costing services - Development of tender documentation; tender evaluation support - Construction phase services - Surveys and investigations - Development research and design and build agreement checks - Heat, energy and water network advisory services - Any other related Services The Council anticipates that the annual value of the PSC will be PS7m (excluding VAT) subject to indexation in accordance with its terms. To support development of this new competition, NCC has appointed Bird & Bird LLP, a respected and highly experienced firm of legal and procurement experts, with whom potential bidders may be familiar following their recent work with other local authorities such as Surrey, Suffolk, Hertfordshire and Kent. Bird & Bird's role with NCC will include reviewing the previous procurement approach to ensure that the new competition offers all bidders a fair and equal opportunity to secure this important appointment. The current intention is that the PSC will be procured using the competitive flexible procedure available under the Procurement Act 2023 ("PA23") and will include a comprehensive pre-market engagement phase to allow suppliers to offer their thoughts in relation to the Opportunity and for NCC to gather actionable feedback to integrate into the new procurement process. In particular, NCC will be keen to communicate to the market (i) the government's proposed structure for local authorities in Norfolk following its recent Local Government Reorganisation ("LGR") announcement, including how it proposes to accommodate this within the context of the Opportunity; and (ii) its latest understanding of government proposals relating to devolution. As such, NCC will be seeking specific feedback from the market on what it considers could be most attractive and appropriate in the LGR and devolution context. In light of the anticipated LGR transition, NCC is seeking to procure this PSC on a basis that supports continuity of service delivery within the county council geographic area and the area of the proposed Norfolk and Suffolk county combined [mayoral] authority and provides a stable contractual framework capable of accommodating any future local government and/or mayoral structure. Further information regarding LGR and devolution is contained within the PME document. NCC is publishing this preliminary market engagement notice to allow prospective bidders as much time as possible to prepare for the upcoming Opportunity. NCC intends to continue its engagement during face-to-face meetings with individual suppliers at Bird & Bird's London offices on 30 June and 1 July 2026, with a view to launching the formal procurement at an appropriate point following the summer.
Planning Information
Interested contractors are invited to provide a response to the market engagement questionnaire that has been made available via the Council's e-procurement system, Intend. Questionnaire responses should be submitted via In-tend to NCC by 13.00 BST on 25 June 2026. To express an interest and participate in the market engagement applicants must first be registered on the system at https://in-tendhost.co.uk/norfolkcc Full instructions for registration and use of the system can be found at https://intendhost.co.uk/norfolkcc/aspx/BuyerProfiles. Once registered you will be able to see the procurement project under the tenders` section and `express an interest` to view the documentation. If you encounter any difficulties whilst using the system you can contact the In-tend support team by phoning +44 8442728810 or e-mailing support@in-tend.co.uk On accessing In-tend you will find the questionnaire under the 'clarifications' section. Following its review of the questionnaire responses, the Council may invite suppliers to participate in discussions, on 30 June and 1 July 2026 Bird & Bird LLP's London offices (12 New Fetter Lane, EC4A 1AN). Again, this will help the Council to shape its current thinking and allow it to potentially discuss some of the feedback provided in a confidential environment. Given time constraints, the Council may not be able to offer such meetings to all suppliers. As such, the Council will likely only offer meetings to suppliers who submitted a questionnaire response and where the Council believes further clarity on any aspect of a response would be helpful in formulating its procurement strategy.
Notice Details
Publication & Lifecycle
- Open Contracting ID
- ocds-h6vhtk-06b191
- Publication Source
- Find A Tender Service
- Latest Notice
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/055373-2026
- 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
71 - Architectural, construction, engineering and inspection services
72 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support
73 - Research and development services and related consultancy services
79 - Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security
90 - Sewage, refuse, cleaning and environmental services
-
- CPV Codes
71210000 - Advisory architectural services
71241000 - Feasibility study, advisory service, analysis
71242000 - Project and design preparation, estimation of costs
71244000 - Calculation of costs, monitoring of costs
71245000 - Approval plans, working drawings and specifications
71248000 - Supervision of project and documentation
71311200 - Transport systems consultancy services
71311300 - Infrastructure works consultancy services
71312000 - Structural engineering consultancy services
71313400 - Environmental impact assessment for construction
71313420 - Environmental standards for construction
71320000 - Engineering design services
71354500 - Marine survey services
71356400 - Technical planning services
71410000 - Urban planning services
71530000 - Construction consultancy services
71600000 - Technical testing, analysis and consultancy services
72130000 - Computer-site planning consultancy services
73112000 - Marine research services
79410000 - Business and management consultancy services
90711000 - Environmental impact assessment other than for construction
90713000 - Environmental issues consultancy services
Notice Value(s)
- Tender Value
- £77,000,000 £10M-£100M
- Lots Value
- Not specified
- Awards Value
- Not specified
- Contracts Value
- Not specified
Notice Dates
- Publication Date
- 11 Jun 2026Today
- Submission Deadline
- Not specified
- Future Notice Date
- 4 Sep 20263 months to go
- Award Date
- Not specified
- Contract Period
- 31 May 2027 - 30 May 2031 3-4 years
- Recurrence
- Not specified
Notice Status
- Tender Status
- Planning
- Lots Status
- Planning
- Awards Status
- Not Specified
- Contracts Status
- Not Specified
Buyer & Supplier
Contracting Authority (Buyer)
- Main Buyer
- NORFOLK COUNTY COUNCIL
- Additional Buyers
- Contact Name
- Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
- Contact Email
- Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
- Contact Phone
- Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Buyer Location
- Locality
- NORWICH
- Postcode
- NR1 2DH
- Post Town
- Norwich
- Country
- England
-
- Major Region (ITL 1)
- TLI London
- Basic Region (ITL 2)
- TLI3 Inner London - West
- Small Region (ITL 3)
- TLI35 Westminster and City of London
- Delivery Location
- TLH14 Suffolk CC, TLH15 Norwich and East Norfolk, TLH16 North and West Norfolk, TLH17 Breckland and South Norfolk
-
- Local Authority
- City of London
- Electoral Ward
- Castle Baynard
- Westminster Constituency
- Cities of London and Westminster
Further Information
Notice Documents
-
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/055373-2026
11th June 2026 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender -
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/054636-2026
10th June 2026 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)
View full OCDS Record for this contracting process
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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