Scope
Description
The Highways and Transport Services delivered by the Council impact on the lives of everyone living, working, learning, and travelling in the County every day. The Council needs to ensure that it is in a position to respond to the changing needs of Cambridgeshire's residents, meeting both short and long-term challenges, whilst also providing support to the people that need us most.
In March 2025 the Highways and Transport Committee approved a procurement strategy for the future commissioning and delivery of highways and transport. The main goal of this strategy is to secure best value in the management of these Services by improving the efficiency, effectiveness and the customer experience of these Services. This will be based on engaging the appropriate segment of the market to deliver the best results for the service the Council needs to procure.
The Council has sought to appoint an experienced Consultant who fundamentally understands and shares its' long-term vision of a greener, fairer and more caring Cambridgeshire to Provide the Service. The Consultant will work collaboratively with the Council to deliver the Councils Strategic Framework 2023 - 2028 through achieving best value in the management of the highway network for the benefit of all communities that use Cambridgeshire's highway infrastructure.
The Council anticipates that the Services required under the Professional Services Contract ("PSC") will consist of:
- Transport Solutions
- Project Delivery Studies
- Consultation and Stakeholders
- Planning and Statutory Services
- Design Services (feasibility, preliminary and detailed)
- Commercial Services
- Surveys and investigation
- Environmental Services
- Future Mobility Services
- Construction Phase Services
- Any other relevant/related Services
The Council has an existing in-house design team, so it is looking to supplement and support that through the PSC. To do this, it needs access to technical specialities over and above simple design resource and the PSC will also be used to represent the Council with other suppliers e.g. through construction management.
It intends to appoint a single provider, for an initial term of four years, with the option to extend for a further period or periods of up to an additional three years, resulting in a total potential duration of up to seven years. Any mobilisation period between the Contract Date and the Service Commencement Date is separate from, and in addition to, the Service period set out in this Tender Notice.
The Services will be instructed entirely by Task Order under the contractual mechanism and that there is no minimum guaranteed volume or value of work under the Contract. The Council reserves the right to place Services similar to the service under this Contract with other service providers or to carry them out itself or not at all. Task Orders may be instructed at any time up until the final day of the Service Period and in the event, there is unfinished work under Task Orders at the end of the Service Period the Service Period will be extended until those Task Orders are complete. Interested parties should refer to the draft Contract in the associated tender documents for further details.
Under the wider Local Government Reform (LGR) agenda the Government has stated its intention to restructure remaining two-tier areas in England into single tier unitary authorities. This programme aims to streamline local government structures, improve accountability, and achieve efficiencies. As Cambridgeshire currently operates under a two-tier system, LGR is expected to affect the Council during the lifetime of this Contract. As the timing and scale of these changes are not yet confirmed, LGR may result in modifications to this Contract. Potential impacts include changes to the contracting authority through novation, variations in service volumes or values, and adjustments to the scope of Services required. Any changes will remain aligned to the existing nature of the Contract, although related additional Services may be required. A number of successor authorities may require access to the Services and the Contract will accommodate their entitlement to do so. Applicants should be aware of this forthcoming reform and be prepared to work collaboratively with the Council to support transition and ensure continuity of Services.
The financial values set out in this Tender Notice are indicative estimates and are presented at current prices as of the date of publication, therefore may be subject to change. The Council is providing the total estimated value of the Contract in accordance with the PA23 requirements on valuing contracts and for transparency purposes. The estimate is however provided purely as a guide, and the Council makes no guarantees in terms of scope, demand, or costs.
Full details of the procurement procedure, the intended Contract, required Services, and the process for expressing an interest in this opportunity are detailed within the associated tender documents.
The Council reserves the right to abandon the procurement and is not bound to award any contract arising from this Tender Notice. Applicants are solely responsible for all costs and expenses incurred in relation to the preparation and submission of their PSQ Response, as well as any costs arising from participation in subsequent stages of the procurement, assessment, and contract award process.
Total value (estimated)
- £35,000,000 excluding VAT
- £42,000,000 including VAT
Above the relevant threshold
Contract dates (estimated)
- 1 December 2026 to 30 November 2030
- Possible extension to 30 November 2033
- 7 years
Description of possible extension:
After the initial 4-year term, the contract may be extended by a period or periods of up to 3 additional years, resulting in a maximum total duration of 7 years.
Main procurement category
Services
CPV classifications
- 60000000 - Transport services (excl. Waste transport)
- 71000000 - Architectural, construction, engineering and inspection services
Contract locations
- UKH1 - East Anglia
Justification for not using lots
The Council requires a single contract to ensure streamlined delivery, operational efficiency, and effective contract management. Consolidating the Services under one contract is necessary because the scope spans multiple disciplines and specialist areas, all of which must be coordinated to achieve cohesive outcomes. A single appointed Consultant will therefore be responsible for sourcing and managing the appropriate specialist resources and for overseeing the interfaces between disciplines.
The Council therefore does not consider that subdivision into Lots would be appropriate, as this could increase the technical risk to delivery of the requirement and render the execution and management of the contract as disproportionately expensive to manage and the need to coordinate different Consultants for the Lots could seriously risk undermining the proper execution of
the Contract and would not deliver value for money for the Council.
Participation
Legal and financial capacity conditions of participation
Full details of the legal and financial capacity conditions can be found in the associated tender documents, which applicants can access via the portal.
Technical ability conditions of participation
Full details of the technical ability conditions can be found in the associated tender documents, which applicants can access via the portal.
Submission
Enquiry deadline
25 February 2026, 5:00pm
Submission type
Requests to participate
Deadline for requests to participate
9 March 2026, 12:00pm
Submission address and any special instructions
All bids must be submitted electronically via the Council's e-tendering portal - ProContract.
Full details and all associated tender documents can be found here: https://procontract.due-north.com/Advert?advertId=6fec1bbc-a2fa-f011-813c-005056b64545
Tenders may be submitted electronically
Yes
Languages that may be used for submission
English
Award decision date (estimated)
2 November 2026
Award criteria
| Name | Description | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Award Criteria | Price per Quality Point |
Quality |
Weighting description
The Authority will be awarding the contract based on the Price per Quality Point evaluation method.
Full details of the award criteria are provided within the associated tender documentation.
The associated tender documents made available on the Portal alongside this Tender Notice are issued in draft form (save for the PSQ and PSQ Guidance which are in final form) at this stage. The Council reserves its right to rely on section 24 PA 2023 to refine award criteria as part of the competitive...
Other information
Description of risks to contract performance
A known risk is Local Government Reorganisation as detailed within the scope description.
Applicable trade agreements
- Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
Conflicts assessment prepared/revised
Yes
Procedure
Procedure type
Competitive flexible procedure
Competitive flexible procedure description
This Tender Notice relates to the award of a public contract through a Competitive Flexible Procedure in accordance with section 20(1) and 20(2)(b) of the Procurement Act 2023 ("PA 2023").
For a description of the process to be followed, including conditions of participation to be applied in the selection of suppliers, the process for submitting tenders and award criteria and assessment methodology, refer to the associated tender documents made available together with this Notice. The associated tender documents include the draft invitation to tender, the draft Contract and the draft Scope.
The Council reserves its right to rely on section 24 PA 2023 to refine award criteria as part of the competitive flexible procedure. Refinements to the award criteria may include but are not limited to:
- Refining award criteria weightings;
- Adding sub-criteria or more detail to the sub-criteria (relevant to the existing main criteria).
In addition, the Council may also rely on section 31 PA 2023 to modify the terms of the procurement as set out in this Tender Notice or the associated tender documents. The associated tender documents made available on the Portal alongside this Tender Notice are issued in draft form (save for the PSQ and PSQ Guidance which are in final form) at this stage. The Council considers the information provided in this Tender Notice and the draft associated tender documents are sufficiently clear and specific to enable Applicant's to identify the nature and scope of the Council's requirement, and decide whether to submit a request to participate.
This will be an iterative process and the Council may update,
refine or provide additional associated tender documents to
shortlisted participating Tenderers at the next stage of the
procurement process. At this next stage Tenderers may raise
clarifications or propose amendments to certain associated
tender documents or specific areas within which the Council will
consider and may amend/refine the associated tender
documents.
The Council will not distort competition nor act
unfairly and amendments will not be made to benefit just one or
just a few Tenderers. Final associated tender documents will be
issued to all shortlisted participating Tenderers via the portal.
Contracting authority
Cambridgeshire County Council
- Public Procurement Organisation Number: PJVB-3262-VGVJ
New Shire Hall Emery Crescent Enterprise Campus,
Alconbury Weald, Huntingdon
PE28 4YE
United Kingdom
Contact name: Jon Collyns
Region: UKH12 - Cambridgeshire CC
Organisation type: Public authority - sub-central government