---
title: "North Northamptonshire Council Bus Framework Mini-Competition CONTRACT PC2614"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-06f516"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-06f516"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06f516.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06f516.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "North Northamptonshire Council"
published: "2026-09-08"
---

# North Northamptonshire Council Bus Framework Mini-Competition CONTRACT PC2614

Buyer: North Northamptonshire Council  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-06f516

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## Summary

North Northamptonshire Council has procured bus and road transport services to strengthen rural accessibility in and around North Northamptonshire. The requirement covers scheduled services linking Oundle, Corby and Rushden Lakes, including routes CB1, CB2, CB5, CB14 and 601, with the 601 including a school journey. It also covers services linking Corby with Stamford, Rushden Lakes and Market Harborough through routes CB2, CB3, CB4, CB5 and CB6. The council is also considering regular weekday travel from Corby to Rushden Lakes, potentially using different routes. The work is for public passenger transport operations rather than vehicle supply or infrastructure. The stated intention was to award one contract for Lots 1 to 6 and another for Lots 7 to 14, although the recorded awards relate to Lot 1.

This procurement has reached the award stage following a competitive mini-competition under a framework, using a selective procedure. The tender is complete. BLAND'S (RUTLAND) LTD was awarded a contract worth £454,182.48 gross, and LAWSON'S OF CORBY LTD was awarded a separate contract worth £204,978 gross; both awards are recorded against Lot 1. Both contract periods run from 8 September 2026 to 3 September 2028, with an optional extension available to 2 September 2029. Both awards were dated 20 August 2026. The awards are recorded as active, with signature scheduled for 8 September 2026. The service category is road transport. The recorded tender value exceeds the applicable threshold for the first award but is below it for the second.

This outcome demonstrates demand for operators able to deliver scheduled rural bus services across North Northamptonshire and neighbouring parts of Northamptonshire, Cambridgeshire and Leicestershire. A credible future competitor would need to plan and operate multiple routes, connect dispersed communities with destinations such as Corby, Oundle, Stamford, Rushden Lakes and Market Harborough, and accommodate education-related travel alongside public passenger journeys. The requirement also points to the importance of reviewing service viability and identifying operating efficiencies, including where a regular weekday journey may use alternative routing. The awards to two local small and medium-sized operators indicate that established regional bus businesses with practical local knowledge, suitable operating capacity and the ability to manage separate service packages can compete for this council’s rural transport requirements.

## Notice

North Northamptonshire Council (hereafter referred to as 'the Council') requires quotations for the operation of the following; Lots 1 to 6 These Lots are for the strengthening of rural accessibility through the provision of CB1, CB2, CB5, CB14 and 601 between Oundle, Corby and Rushden Lakes. In each case we are looking what savings are to be made by putting the school journey (601) and journeys to Rushden Lakes. We are also looking at the viability of a regular journey at 09:15 from Corby to Rushden Lakes every Mondays to Fridays, (although this could be via different routes). Lots 7 to 14 These Lots are for the strengthening of rural accessibility through the provision of CB2, CB3, CB4, CB5 and CB6 between Corby and Stamford, Rushden Lakes, Corby and Market Harborough. The Council envisages that there will be 2 contracts awarded as a result of this mini-competition; 1 Contract for Lots 1-6 and 1 Contract for Lots 7-14.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/085134-2026 |
| Notice type | UK6 - Contract Award Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Selective |
| Procurement method details | Award under framework |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | SME |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 8 Sep 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 20 Aug 2026 |
| Contract period | 8 Sep 2026 - 3 Sep 2028 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | £659,160 |
| Contracts value | Not specified |

## Status

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

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | North Northamptonshire Council |
| Locality | CORBY |
| Postcode area | Northampton |
| Postcode | NN17 1QG |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLF East Midlands (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLF2 Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire |
| ITL 3 | TLF25 North Northamptonshire |
| Local authority | North Northamptonshire |
| Electoral ward | Corby West |
| Westminster constituency | Corby and East Northamptonshire |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 2 |
| Supplier names | Mark Bland Travel Ltd; Lawson's Of Corby Ltd |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 60 - Transport services (excl. Waste transport)

### Codes

- 60100000 - Road transport services

## Release History

- 8 Sep 2026 at 18:31 - Award - UK6 - Contract Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/085134-2026

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/085134-2026
  8th September 2026 - Contract award notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- http://www.blands.info
- http://www.lawsonsofcorby.com
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/api/1.0/ocdsReleasePackages/ocds-h6vhtk-05d849
- https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents
- https://www.northnorthants.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-06f516. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06f516.json.