---
title: "Drone Technology for Environmental Monitoring and Disaster Response"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-05a9e6"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-05a9e6"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-05a9e6.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-05a9e6.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Planning"
buyer: "SOMERSET COUNCIL"
published: "2025-10-07"
---

# Drone Technology for Environmental Monitoring and Disaster Response

Buyer: SOMERSET COUNCIL  
Current stage: Planning  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-05a9e6

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## Summary

Somerset Council is currently in the planning stage of a procurement process titled "Drone Technology for Environmental Monitoring and Disaster Response". This initiative seeks to leverage innovative drone and other technological solutions to enhance environmental monitoring and disaster response across Somerset, UK, specifically focusing on areas like River Parrett, Minehead Harbour, Watchet Harbour, and Doniford Beach. The procurement process involves a multi-stage approach, starting with a pilot phase and potentially scaling successful solutions. Suppliers are invited to participate in a pre-market engagement exercise, with the deadline for submissions being 7th November 2025, which will help shape future procurement requirements. The project is aligned with environmental sustainability goals and has an estimated gross value of £498,000, with the contract period anticipated to start on 16th February 2026.

Participating in this tender offers significant opportunities for businesses specialising in drone technology, environmental monitoring, and disaster response services, as well as those capable of addressing technical, operational, and data privacy challenges associated with these technologies. Ideal candidates would include small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) that can provide innovative, scalable solutions with potential to integrate with existing systems. These businesses have the chance to influence Somerset Council’s approach to climate resilience and ecological stewardship, potentially leading to long-term partnerships and growth within the industry. The engagement exercise represents an information-gathering stage without any contractual obligation at this point, making it an ideal platform for businesses to showcase their capabilities and align with the council’s strategic objectives.

## Notice

Somerset Council is inviting suppliers to participate in a pre-market engagement exercise to explore innovative drone-based-and potentially other-technological solutions that can enhance environmental monitoring and disaster response across the region. This engagement will inform the procurement. The Council anticipates a multi-stage procurement approach, beginning with a pilot delivered by selected supplier(s), followed by further testing and potential scaling of the solution(s) that demonstrate cost-effective impact and alignment with the challenge requirements.

### Planning Information

Purpose of Engagement
Somerset Council is inviting suppliers to participate in a pre-market engagement exercise to explore innovative drone-based-and potentially other-technological solutions that can enhance environmental monitoring and disaster response across the region.
This engagement will inform the procurement. The Council anticipates a multi-stage procurement approach, beginning with a pilot delivered by selected supplier(s), followed by further testing and potential scaling of the solution(s) that demonstrate cost-effective impact and alignment with the challenge requirements.
Challenge Statement
"Somerset Council is seeking innovative solutions that harness drone technology to enhance environmental monitoring, asset management, and disaster response across the county.
While drones offer powerful capabilities for collecting high-resolution, real-time data in remote and sensitive locations, their full potential is currently limited by a range of technical, operational, analytical, and ethical challenges.
We invite proposals that address these barriers and unlock the transformative potential of drones or other methods to support climate resilience, ecological stewardship, and evidence-based decision-making. Solutions should be scalable, adaptable to diverse environments, and capable of integrating with existing data systems to deliver actionable insights."
Background
As part of our commitment to sustainable land management and climate resilience, Somerset Council is investigating the use of drone technology to:
• Monitor coastal erosion and river dynamics
• Map habitats and assess biodiversity
• Detect pollution in terrestrial and aquatic environments
• Support rapid response to environmental hazards (e.g. flooding, landslides)
Focus areas include River Parrett, Minehead Harbour, Watchet Harbour, and Doniford Beach.
Challenges to Address
We are particularly interested in solutions that overcome:
• Technical barriers: battery life, payload limits, weather sensitivity, data processing
• Operational constraints: flight regulations, pilot skills, maintenance
• Data & privacy concerns: secure data handling, ethical surveillance
• Environmental impact: wildlife disturbance, e-waste
• Analytical complexity: data interpretation and integration with other source
Desired Outcomes
• Scalable, cost-effective surveying in remote areas
• Adaptability to varied environmental contexts
• Integrated data management and analysis
• Enhanced disaster preparedness and response
• Use of AI for predictive modelling and planning
Evaluation Criteria
Responses will be assessed based on:
• Technical feasibility and innovation
• Cost-effectiveness and sustainability
• Scalability and integration potential
• Environmental impact
Engagement deadline
16:00 on 07 November 2025
How to Participate
Interested suppliers are invited to:
• To register your interest, please email corinne.matthews@somerset.gov.uk including your organisation's name and main contact details. 
• Upon receipt of your expression of interest, the team will provide you with a pre-market engagement questionnaire for completion.
• All completed questionnaires must be submitted to corinne.matthews@somerset.gov.uk by 16:00 on Friday 7th November 2025.
• Responses will help shape future requirements and inform potential market solutions.
**Please note that this market engagement exercise is for information-gathering purposes and does not constitute a commitment to initiate a procurement process or award any contract.**

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/063017-2025 |
| Notice type | UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Not Specified |
| Procurement method details | Not specified |
| Tender suitability | SME |
| Awardee scale | Not specified |
| All stages | Planning |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 7 Oct 2025 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | 21 Nov 2025 |
| Award date | Not specified |
| Contract period | 16 Feb 2026 - 15 Feb 2028 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | £498,000 |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | Not specified |

## Status

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

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | SOMERSET COUNCIL |
| Locality | TAUNTON |
| Post town | Taunton |
| Postcode | TA1 4DY |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLK South West (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLK6 North Somerset, Somerset and Dorset |
| ITL 3 | TLK62 Somerset |
| Local authority | Somerset |
| Electoral ward | Bishop's Hull & Taunton West |
| Westminster constituency | Taunton and Wellington |
| Delivery location | TLK23 Somerset CC |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 35 - Security, fire-fighting, police and defence equipment
- 60 - Transport services (excl. Waste transport)
- 71 - Architectural, construction, engineering and inspection services
- 79 - Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security

### Codes

- 35613000 - Unmanned aerial vehicles
- 60400000 - Air transport services
- 71351500 - Ground investigation services
- 71351720 - Geophysical surveys of archaeological sites
- 71510000 - Site-investigation services
- 79961200 - Aerial photography services

## Release History

- 7 Oct 2025 at 15:28 - Planning - UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/063017-2025

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/063017-2025
  7th October 2025 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents
- https://www.somerset.gov.uk

## 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-05a9e6. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-05a9e6.json.