This notice announces an administrative change to an existing contract or market (a contract change notice). No new tender or admission is opened here; see the linked notices below for the original opportunity.
Official UK procurement notice
Chelmsford Park and Ride · UK public procurement notice
Authority: Essex County Council (Local council)
What is being bought2 lots · detail below
Published requirement descriptionChelmsford Park and Ride Services for - Sandon Park and Ride Service and Chelmer Valley Park and Ride Service, for an initial contract term of four years.
- How the procedure runs: This competitive flexible procedure will initially include a PSQ, where the Authority will determine if the Bidders have the correct credentials to bid, and possibly be awarded a contract. After the conclusion of the PSQ, all bidders determined to have the correct credentials to bid will be invited to submit a response to stage 1 of the ITT. Stage 1 of the ITT will require the bidder to submit all required Commercial and Technical Responses to the available Park and Ride Options for both Sandon and Chelmer Valley. The Authority will then evaluate these bids, and through the information provided in the bids, and the results of the consultation, the Authority will select a preferred Chelmer Valley and Sandon. Stage 2 of the ITT will require bidders to submit a new Commercial Response to the preferred option or options that have been selected following the Stage 1 of the ITT and the Park and Ride Consultation. Bidders will also be required to submit a Social Value and Climate response. The selected option or options will either be a Combination of both Sites, or two Single Options (Chelmer Valley and Sandon). If a Combination Option is selected as the preferred option, bidders will be required to submit Social Value and Climate responses to both sites to submit a compliant bid. The new Commercial Response score and Social Value and Climate Scores will be combined with the Quality Response Score from Stage 1 to give an overall score. The bidder or bidders with the highest overall score will be selected for award.
CPV: Public road transport services · Special-purpose road passenger-transport services
Lots and requirements (2)Procurement structure
2 lots · all with a published value (£5,000,000 together) · same evaluation weights on every lotLot #1Sandon Park and Ride ServiceAwardedRenewalPublished value£2,500,000
The Sandon Park and Ride Service: Park and Ride Service based from the Sandon Park and Ride Site. The Site is accessible from the A12 and has a short 10-minute journey time into the city centre.
(Please see the Procontract Advert for the Schedule 1 - Part 1 - Service Specification of the Terms and Conditions, as well as the Route Timetable and Description).
Lot #2Chelmer Valley Park and Ride ServiceAwardedRenewalPublished value£2,500,000
The Sandon Park and Ride Service: Park and Ride Service based from the Chelmer Valley Park and Ride Site. The Site is situated along the A134 and is accessible from Braintree and The Beaulieu Development, North Chelmsford, and is a 15-minute journey time into the city centre
(Please see the Procontract Advert for the Schedule 1 - Part 1 - Service Specification of the Terms and Conditions, as well as the Route Timetable and Description).
What it takes to wini
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
Evaluation split and conditions of participation as published; the tender pack may add morei
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
Published sub-criteria (4)
- ITT: Quality Questions: 15%
- ITT: Climate: 5%
- ITT: Commercial Response: 70%
- ITT: Social Value: 10%
Published award criteria (4)
- ITT: Commercial Response: 70% of the Overall Evaluation Criteria.
- ITT: Quality Questions: 15% of the Overall Evaluation Weighting Criterion Evaluation: 50% on Case Study Question, 50% on Operational Support Question.
- ITT: Social Value: 10% of the Overall Evaluation Weighting Criterion Evaluation: 100% Social Value Score.
- ITT: Climate: 5% of the Overall Evaluation Weighting Criterion Evaluation: 100% Climate Score.
- Price carries 70 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 7 points. This one is won on the number: sharpen the price before polishing the prose.
Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Procedure method
- Competitive flexible procedure
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Administrative change
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 22 Dec 2025, 15:34 GMT
- Last source update
- 7 Apr 2026, 11:58 BST
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 25 Jul 2025
- Authority reference
PL0097- FTS notice number
2025/S 000-018928- Latest notice
- Contract change notice (UK10)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-050cb5Find a Tender
- How it runs
This competitive flexible procedure will initially include a PSQ, where the Authority will determine if the Bidders have the correct credentials to bid, and possibly be awarded a contract. After the conclusion of the PSQ, all bidders determined to have the correct credentials to bid will be invited to submit a response to stage 1 of the ITT.
Stage 1 of the ITT will require the bidder to submit all required Commercial and Technical Responses to the available Park and Ride Options for both Sandon and Chelmer Valley. The Authority will then evaluate these bids, and through the information provided in the bids, and the results of the consultation, the Authority will select a preferred Chelmer Valley and Sandon.
Stage 2 of the ITT will require bidders to submit a new Commercial Response to the preferred option or options that have been selected following the Stage 1 of the ITT and the Park and Ride Consultation. Bidders will also be required to submit a Social Value and Climate response. The selected option or options will either be a Combination of both Sites, or two Single Options (Chelmer Valley and Sandon). If a Combination Option is selected as the preferred option, bidders will be required to submit Social Value and Climate responses to both sites to submit a compliant bid.
The new Commercial Response score and Social Value and Climate Scores will be combined with the Quality Response Score from Stage 1 to give an overall score. The bidder or bidders with the highest overall score will be selected for award.
How it was run
Official notice- Requests to participate (first stage)
- 27 May 2025, 12:00 BST
- Submission deadline
- 27 May 2025, 12:00 BST
- Clarification deadline
- 22 May 2025, 12:00 BST
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
procontract.due-north.com/Login ↗
The tender name on the ProContract system is PL0097 - Chelmsford Park and Ride.
Bidders may be required to register and sign-up for the system.
Timeline
2 May 2025 → 7 Apr 2026 · 8 dates- Tender notice published2 May 2025, 18:53 BST
- Clarification questions by22 May 2025, 12:00 BST
- Submission deadline27 May 2025, 12:00 BST
- Award decision expected by25 Jul 2025, 23:59 BST
- Assessment summaries sent307 days ago22 Dec 2025
- Standstill ends291 days ago6 Jan 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Contract starts233 days ago6 Mar 2026
- Latest notice published200 days ago7 Apr 2026, 11:58 BST
Notice history
7 events · 3 releases on Find a Tender · since 2 May 2025- Tender notice published2 May 2025, 18:53 BSTUK4
- Tender notice published2 May 2025, 18:59 BSTUK4
- Tender notice published2 May 2025, 19:04 BSTUK4
- Contract award notice published22 Dec 2025, 15:34 GMTUK6
- Contract signature expected12 Jan 2026, 23:59 GMTscheduled
- Contract details notice published13 Mar 2026, 10:51 GMTUK7
- Contract change notice published7 Apr 2026, 11:58 BSTUK10
Published amendments (2)
Removed extra wording in regards to the differences in commercial evaluation between the lots. For more details, please review the Bidder Guidance.
Corrected ITT: Climate Criterion.
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Across several lots1 award | |||
| First Essex Buses LimitedChelmsford Park & Ride Service6 Mar 2026 – 5 Mar 2030 · up to 5 Mar 2033Extensions: Option to extend up to 3 years in increments at the Authority's discretion. · Options: The contracts provides grounds to upgrade the service by adding a Double Decker Bus to the fleet operating the service, with a proportionate increase in daily rate. | £15,960,000 inc. VAT | 22 Dec 2025 | Awarded |
Contracts
Contract 1 · First Essex Buses Limited
- Signed
- 12 Feb 2026
- Value
- £15,959,999 inc. VAT
- Period
- 13 Feb 2026 – 5 Mar 2030 · up to 5 Mar 2033 with extensions
- Status
- active
- Extensions
- An optional extension of up to 36 months is permitted.
- Change 13 Feb 2026 Contract change notice completed to facilitate the publication of the redacted contract within 90 days.
3 agreed KPIs: Management Information and Reporting · Punctuality · Reliability
- Management Information and Reporting
- Punctuality
- Reliability
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Lot | Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 · Sandon Park and Ride Service | 2final-stage tenders | 1 | 0 | — |
| 2 · Chelmer Valley Park and Ride Service | 2final-stage tenders | 1 | 0 | — |
Who bid
- wonFIRST ESSEX BUSES LIMITED · East of England · all lots
- did not winSTEPHENSONS OF ESSEX LIMITEDSME · East of England · all lots
Bidders as named on the Procurement Act 2023 award notice. “Won” means the bidder holds an award on this notice.
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Bidders & participating suppliers
2 commercial parties on the notice · 1 awarded- FIRST ESSEX BUSES LIMITEDAwarded supplier
- STEPHENSONS OF ESSEX LIMITEDBidder / tenderer
Official documents & specifications (7)
Official links; attachments are not copiedTender pack and attachments
- Signed contract Redacted contract
Notices published for this procedure
- Contract change notice Contract change notice on Find a Tender
- Contract details notice Contract details notice on Find a Tender
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender