---
title: "009048 - Back Office Traffic Management System"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-050703"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-050703"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-050703.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-050703.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Tender"
buyer: "NEWCASTLE CITY COUNCIL"
published: "2025-11-20"
---

# 009048 - Back Office Traffic Management System

Buyer: NEWCASTLE CITY COUNCIL  
Current stage: Tender  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-050703

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## Summary

Newcastle City Council is seeking bids for the provision of a Back Office Traffic Management System, a part of the Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) network for the North East Combined Authority. This procurement falls under the "services" category, focusing specifically on traffic-monitoring equipment and software-related services. The process is currently at the tender stage, with the submission deadline set for 15th December 2025. Interested parties should note that this is an open procedure, allowing for electronic submissions. The contract, valued at £500,000 to £600,000, intends to enhance traffic data processing and management across regions including Gateshead, Newcastle, Northumberland, and more. The procurement aims to transition from the outdated 'Cortex' system to a secure, up-to-date alternative with expansions in capacity and functionality.

This tender represents a significant opportunity for businesses involved in traffic management, software development, and data processing services. SMEs and VCSEs are encouraged to participate, with suitability criteria favouring such organisations. The procurement encourages quality and price competitiveness, offering a clear opportunity for firms that provide innovative solutions and technical support tailored to the transport and infrastructure sector. With a contract period extending potentially until 2034, the project offers a long-term growth avenue with potential extensions, promoting further business expansion and innovation in traffic management solutions.

## Notice

Newcastle City Council has a requirement for the provision of a Back Office Traffic Management System. The Tyne and Wear UTMC facility since 2013 operates a large network of Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras on behalf of the North East Combined Authority (NECA) across Gateshead, Newcastle upon Tyne, Northumberland, North Tyneside, South Tyneside and Sunderland. The ANPR back-office system is used to receive number plate reads in real-time and derive journey times and car park occupancy.

### Lot Information

Lot 1

Renewal: + 24 months + 12 months + 12 months option to extend

### Planning Information

Please submit a response on the OPEN portal www.open-uk.org (reference 009048 - Back Office Traffic Management System)
Project # OPEN2025726
Preliminary Market Engagement Notice (UK2)
Invitation to Suppliers for ANPR Back-Office System
Purpose: Developing procurement requirements and approach
Introduction: We are seeking expressions of interest from suppliers who can fulfil our requirements for an Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) back-office system. This system will be used to derive journey times and car park occupancy. We aim to engage with suppliers to understand the capabilities available in the market and to develop our procurement requirements and approach.
Background: The Tyne and Wear UTMC facility operates a large network of ANPR cameras on behalf of the North East Combined Authority (NECA). As of April 2025, the ANPR back-office system:
• Accepts data from over 478 ANPR cameras.
• Calculates travel times for over 466 Journey Time Links.
• Calculates occupancy for over 21 Car Parks & Park and Ride locations.
Data for camera faults, journey time links, and car park occupancy are outputted on a user interface and to the UTMC Common Database to help alert staff of faults, inform users of live travel times, change traffic signal timings, and set variable message signs. The data transfer is currently sent to UTMC via outdated CORBA (Common Object Request Broker Architecture) adapters.
Several reporting tools in the back-office system are used by the UTMC and Car Parking Services teams, for example, to determine when a vehicle entered/exited a car park including duration of stay.
The current network of ANPR cameras communicates to the back-office over:
• 2.5G (GPRS)
• 4G (LTE/LTE Advanced)
• 5G (NR-SA/NR-NSA)
Communications are via a private APN using fixed IP addresses from Mobius Vodafone/Telenor or via Northumbria Police O2 contract. All data sent to the server conforms to standard UTMC protocols for ANPR data objects.
The current ANPR back-office system, Cortex, was developed and installed in 2013 and is hosted at Northumbria Police on behalf of UTMC. While Cortex is still functional, it no longer supports the required functions, several features have ceased to function correctly, and it does not conform to the latest web security standards due to the supplier ceasing trading.
UTMC is looking to procure a next-generation ANPR back-office system that provides the same current functionality, but with the following improvements:
• A secure, maintainable, and supported system conforming to the latest software and security standards.
• Re-enable functions which have ceased working.
• Added functionality and flexibility to support additional cameras, car parks, and journey time links.
• Potential for future development of the system such as a detailed Origin and Destination reporting platform.
The preferred hosting location for the ANPR back-office system is on servers at a Northumbria Police facility on behalf of the UTMC. The servers and software must be able to cope with existing and future demands as the system expands and keep up to date with current and evolving data security requirements. The supplier would be required to provide maintenance and support of the back-office system.
Purpose and Intended Outcomes: The purpose of this engagement is to:
• Gather information on available solutions and technologies.
• Understand supplier capabilities and innovations.
• Develop a robust procurement strategy that meets our needs.
• Ensure compliance with sections 16 and 12 of the Act.
Engagement Process: We invite suppliers to participate in this preliminary market engagement by providing detailed information on how their solutions can meet our requirements. The engagement will be conducted through a series of activities, including:
1. Digital Webinar for SMEs:
• Date: [TBC]
• Time: [TBC]
• Platform: Microsoft Teams
• Purpose: To provide Suppliers with an opportunity to present their solutions and engage in discussions.
2. Submission of Information:
• Suppliers are requested to submit detailed information on their solutions, including technical specifications and case studies.
• Deadline for submissions: [16/05/2025]
Selection Criteria: To ensure compliance with sections 16 and 12 of the Act, the selection of suppliers to participate in further engagement activities will be based on the following criteria:
• Relevance and Suitability of the Solution to Our Requirements: Please send a response (1000 word limit) outlining how well your solution meets our needs stated above, including hosting, maintenance, support, experience and expertise in ANPR systems, and compliance with legal and regulatory requirements.
• Your response will be evaluated against the below evaluation criteria and the top 3 suppliers will be invited to participate in further discussion.
"Score - Classification
100 - Exceptional response in all areas
90 - Exceptional response with some minor shortcomings, or very good response with some exceptional elements
80 - Very good response in all areas
70 - Very good response with some minor shortcomings, or good response with very good elements
60 - Good response in all areas
50 - Good response with some minor shortcomings, or acceptable response with good elements
40 - Acceptable response in all areas
30 - Acceptable response with some minor shortcomings, or poor response with some acceptable elements
20 - Poor response in all areas
10 - Very poor response that is significantly below expectations in all areas
0 - No response, or inappropriate response in all areas"
Next Steps: Selected suppliers will be invited to participate in further discussion. This will include detailed requirements gathering and solution demonstrations.
Contact Information: For any queries or to express interest in participating, please contact:
• Name: James Wood
• Email: james.wood@newcastle.gov.uk
We look forward to your participation and insights to help us develop a comprehensive procurement strategy for our ANPR back-office system.
Please submit a response on the OPEN portal www.open-uk.org (reference 009048 - Back Office Traffic Management System)
Project # OPEN2025726

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/075654-2025 |
| Notice type | UK4 - Tender Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Open |
| Procurement method details | Open procedure |
| Tender suitability | SME, VCSE |
| Awardee scale | Not specified |
| All stages | Planning, Tender |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 20 Nov 2025 |
| Submission deadline | 15 Dec 2025 |
| Future notice date | 16 May 2025 |
| Award date | Not specified |
| Contract period | 1 Mar 2026 - 28 Feb 2030 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | £500,000 |
| Lots value | £500,000 |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | Not specified |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Active |
| Lots status | Active |
| Awards status | Not specified |
| Contracts status | Not specified |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | NEWCASTLE CITY COUNCIL |
| Locality | NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE |
| Post town | Newcastle upon Tyne |
| Postcode | NE1 8QH |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLC North East (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLC4 Northumberland, Durham and Tyne & Wear |
| ITL 3 | TLC43 Tyneside |
| Local authority | Newcastle upon Tyne |
| Electoral ward | Monument |
| Westminster constituency | Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West |
| Delivery location | TLC North East (England), TLD North West (England), TLE Yorkshire and The Humber, TLF East Midlands (England), TLG West Midlands (England), TLH East (England), TLI London, TLJ South East (England), TLK South West (England) |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 34 - Transport equipment and auxiliary products to transportation
- 48 - Software package and information systems
- 72 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support

### Codes

- 34970000 - Traffic-monitoring equipment
- 48100000 - Industry specific software package
- 72212100 - Industry specific software development services
- 72260000 - Software-related services

## Release History

- 20 Nov 2025 at 13:05 - TenderUpdate - UK4 - Tender Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/075654-2025
- 20 Nov 2025 at 12:57 - Tender - UK4 - Tender Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/075645-2025
- 29 Apr 2025 at 13:39 - PlanningUpdate - UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/017650-2025
- 24 Apr 2025 at 13:03 - Planning - UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/016791-2025

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/075654-2025
  20th November 2025 - Tender notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/075645-2025
  20th November 2025 - Tender notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/017650-2025
  29th April 2025 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/016791-2025
  24th April 2025 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents
- https://www.newcastle.gov.uk/
- https://www.open-uk.org/

## Provenance

This Markdown file is an alternate public rendering of the D3 Tenders contract record. The canonical page is https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-050703. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-050703.json.