---
title: "Abandoned Vehicles"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-06f142"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-06f142"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06f142.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06f142.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Planning"
buyer: "South Hams District Council"
published: "2026-09-03"
---

# Abandoned Vehicles

Buyer: South Hams District Council  
Current stage: Planning  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-06f142

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## Summary

South Hams District Council and West Devon Borough Council are exploring suppliers for the recovery, transport, secure storage and environmentally compliant disposal of abandoned vehicles. The work is aimed at larger and specialist vehicles outside the councils’ existing arrangements for standard motor vehicles. Vehicle types include caravans, motorhomes, buses, minibuses, coaches, lorries, HGVs, agricultural vehicles, construction and plant equipment, trailers and other oversized vehicles. Suppliers may need to attend locations across South Hams and West Devon, recover vehicles from public land and other locations where the councils have legal removal powers, support statutory notices and related legal processes, and arrange recycling, destruction or disposal. This is a vehicle towing-away service (CPV 50118110), delivered across South Hams and West Devon.

The process is at preliminary market-engagement and planning stage. It is information gathering only, not an invitation to tender or a commitment to procure. The councils expect a service contract to start on 1 November 2026 and run to 1 November 2027, with a possible extension to 1 November 2028. The councils plan to engage interested suppliers by 30 September 2026 to understand the market’s capability and capacity. No procurement value or budget is stated. Any later procurement arrangements, including the procedure, tender method, lots and evaluation basis, have not yet been settled. Businesses should treat the dates as indicative expectations and use this stage to discuss their ability to provide the specialist vehicle recovery and disposal services described.

This will suit operators with practical capability to recover, transport, store and dispose of heavy, oversized or specialist vehicles rather than businesses focused only on standard passenger cars or light vehicles. Relevant suppliers are likely to include vehicle recovery and towing companies, specialist transport operators, secure storage providers, vehicle dismantlers, recyclers and waste-disposal businesses, either individually or in partnership. The councils are particularly interested in evidence of the relevant licences, permits and insurance, as well as capacity to cover both South Hams and West Devon. Experience of handling caravans, motorhomes, buses, coaches, HGVs, agricultural machinery, construction equipment or trailers would be directly relevant. This engagement gives capable suppliers an opportunity to explain their capacity, compliance arrangements and approach before any future competition is developed.

## Notice

South Hams District Council and West Devon Borough Council are undertaking preliminary market engagement to understand the capability and capacity of the market to provide the recovery, storage and disposal of abandoned vehicles. The Councils currently have arrangements in place for the collection of standard motor vehicles. However, they are seeking to identify suppliers capable of dealing with larger and specialist vehicle types that fall outside the scope of existing arrangements. The Authority is particularly interested in hearing from organisations able to recover, transport, store and dispose of: Caravans Motorhomes Buses and minibuses Coaches Lorries and HGVs Agricultural vehicles Construction and plant equipment Trailers Other oversized or specialist vehicles The Authority is not seeking responses relating solely to standard passenger cars or light vehicles. Potential suppliers may be asked to: -Attend locations across South Hams and West Devon. -Recover abandoned vehicles from public land and other locations where the Authority has legal powers to remove vehicles. -Provide secure storage facilities where required. -Support statutory notice periods and legal processes. -Arrange environmentally compliant disposal, recycling or destruction. -Provide evidence of relevant licences, permits and insurance. This exercise is for information gathering only and does not constitute a call for competition or commitment to commence a procurement. Should you believe your organisation can meet the requirements and you would be interested in potential opportunities, please contact Ollie Rees .

### Planning Information

If you are interested in discussing this opportunity with the Authority, please contract ollie.rees@swdevon.gov.uk

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/083459-2026 |
| 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 |
| All stages | Planning |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 3 Sep 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | Not specified |
| Contract period | 1 Nov 2026 - 1 Nov 2027 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| 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 | South Hams District Council |
| Additional buyers | West Devon Borough Council |
| Locality | TOTNES |
| Postcode area | Torquay |
| Postcode | TQ9 5NE |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLK South West (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLK4 Devon |
| ITL 3 | TLK43 Devon CC |
| Local authority | South Hams |
| Electoral ward | Totnes |
| Westminster constituency | South Devon |
| Delivery location | TLK4 Devon |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 50 - Repair and maintenance services

### Codes

- 50118110 - Vehicle towing-away services

## Release History

- 3 Sep 2026 at 13:08 - Planning - UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/083459-2026

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/083459-2026
  3rd September 2026 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

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

## 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-06f142. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06f142.json.