Official UK procurement notice
Intelligent Transport Systems including traffic signals, variable message signs and car park signs
Authority: Southend-on-Sea City Council (Local council)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionSouthend-on-Sea City Council is looking to appoint a suitable Supplier to supply, install and maintain intelligent transport systems and associated equipment including traffic signals, Variable Message Signs, RGB Signs, School Warning Signs, Car Park Guidance Signs, Car Park Count controllers and Vehicle Speed Activated Signs.
All equipment is within the City of Southend and the Council will provide the Supplier with access to an asset management system where all faults and issues will be logged. The Supplier will be required to interrogate the Council's system on a daily basis to pick up faults, attend to rectify faults and then update the Council's system to confirm that the fault has been rectified.
The Council will provide free login access for the Supplier to the Council's remote monitoring system Car Park Guidance and VMS signs and urban traffic control system.
The Council currently uses Swarco RMS for remote monitoring of Traffic Signals, Swarco Zephyr for the car park guidance and Yunex UTC for urban traffic control. The Client will replace the Swarco RMS and Swarco Zephyr systems with Swarco My City (anticipated to be after the commencement of this contract).
The Supplier will also be required to undertake annual inspections and internal cleaning of equipment.
The Supplier will also be required to supply and install new equipment. This will vary throughout the life of the contract due to the level of funding available and/or external grant money becoming available.
- Not divided into lots: This is a relatively small contract and breaking this down further into smaller lots would increase contract management and administration costs disproportionately.
- The authority expects to re-tender this requirement around 23 Feb 2034, 23:59 GMT.
- How the procedure runs: This process will use the Competitive Flexible Procedure under the Procurement Act 2023 ("PA23") with two stages. The first stage will be an optional Interim Clarification Meeting with organisations who express an interest in bidding for the contract. To express an interest in bidding for the contract, an organisation must register on the Procontract system here: https://procontract.due-north.com/login and express an interest. Once the organisation has expressed an interest it must then send a message via the Procontract system stating that it has expressed an interest and wishes to take part in an Interim Clarification Meeting. The optional Interim Clarification Meetings are intended to clarify with interested organisations the Council's requirements and to refine the Scope and Service Information if necessary. The Council reserves the right to make amendments to any of the associated tender documents once the dialogue is concluded and such amended versions will be issued to all organisations who have expressed an interest as set out above. Full details of the Interim Clarification Meetings are set out in the associated tender documents available on the Procontract system. Participation in the Interim Clarification Meeting is recommended but is not mandatory and interested organisations will still be entitled to submit a tender even if they have not participated in Interim Clarification Meetings. Once the Interim Clarification Meetings have been held there will be a single tendering round where organisations will be required to submit their tenders no later than the tender submission deadline. There is no intention to limit the number of organisations entitled to submit tenders and there is no initial pre-qualification stage in this procurement. Organisations will however be asked to submit a completed Project Specific Questionnaire as part of their tenders. Organisations who meet the minimum requirements of the Project Specific Questionnaire (as an initial stage of the tender assessment) will then have their tender assessed. Organisations who do not meet the minimum requirements of the Project Specific Questionnaire will be excluded from the process without having their tender assessed. Tenders will be assessed against the criteria set out in the invitation to tender which will consist of 2 parts. Part 1 is a quality assessment where organisations will be asked to submit method statements within the online technical questionnaire. Part 2 is a commercial evaluation of the organisation's price submission. Please see the invitation to tender for full details. The Council may rely on section 31 PA23 to modify the terms of the procurement as set out in this Tender Notice or the associated tender documents. The Council reserves the right to abandon this procurement at any time and makes no commitment to enter into any contract as a result of issuing this Tender Notice. The Council will not be liable for any bid costs incurred by any organisation as a result of participating in this procurement and organisations are referred to the associated tender documents for further details.
CPV: Control, safety or signalling equipment for roads · Installation of illuminated road signs · Installation of road signals · Installation of road signs · Installation of signalling equipment · Installation of traffic guidance equipment · Installation of traffic lights · Installation of traffic monitoring equipment · Signs and illuminated signs · Traffic-monitoring equipment · Traffic-signal maintenance services · Variable message signs
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedWhat 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 award criteria (2)
- Quality
- Price
- Price carries 40 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 4 points. The method statement decides this lot, not the discount.
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
- Awarded
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Yes (GPA)
- Recurring procurement
- Yes · next expected 23 Feb 2034
- First published
- 10 Dec 2025, 16:28 GMT
- Last source update
- 4 Aug 2026, 16:00 BST
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 17 Aug 2026
- Authority reference
DN799908- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-032349- Latest notice
- Contract award notice (UK6)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-05f32aFind a Tender
- How it runs
This process will use the Competitive Flexible Procedure under the Procurement Act 2023 ("PA23") with two stages. The first stage will be an optional Interim Clarification Meeting with organisations who express an interest in bidding for the contract. To express an interest in bidding for the contract, an organisation must register on the Procontract system here: procontract.due-north.com/login ↗ and express an interest. Once the organisation has expressed an interest it must then send a message via the Procontract system stating that it has expressed an interest and wishes to take part in an Interim Clarification Meeting.
The optional Interim Clarification Meetings are intended to clarify with interested organisations the Council's requirements and to refine the Scope and Service Information if necessary. The Council reserves the right to make amendments to any of the associated tender documents once the dialogue is concluded and such amended versions will be issued to all organisations who have expressed an interest as set out above.
Full details of the Interim Clarification Meetings are set out in the associated tender documents available on the Procontract system.
Participation in the Interim Clarification Meeting is recommended but is not mandatory and interested organisations will still be entitled to submit a tender even if they have not participated in Interim Clarification Meetings.
Once the Interim Clarification Meetings have been held there will be a single tendering round where organisations will be required to submit their tenders no later than the tender submission deadline.
There is no intention to limit the number of organisations entitled to submit tenders and there is no initial pre-qualification stage in this procurement.
Organisations will however be asked to submit a completed Project Specific Questionnaire as part of their tenders. Organisations who meet the minimum requirements of the Project Specific Questionnaire (as an initial stage of the tender assessment) will then have their tender assessed. Organisations who do not meet the minimum requirements of the Project Specific Questionnaire will be excluded from the process without having their tender assessed.
Tenders will be assessed against the criteria set out in the invitation to tender which will consist of 2 parts. Part 1 is a quality assessment where organisations will be asked to submit method statements within the online technical questionnaire. Part 2 is a commercial evaluation of the organisation's price submission. Please see the invitation to tender for full details.
The Council may rely on section 31 PA23 to modify the terms of the procurement as set out in this Tender Notice or the associated tender documents.
The Council reserves the right to abandon this procurement at any time and makes no commitment to enter into any contract as a result of issuing this Tender Notice. The Council will not be liable for any bid costs incurred by any organisation as a result of participating in this procurement and organisations are referred to the associated tender documents for further details.
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- 23 Jul 2026, 12:00 BST
- Clarification deadline
- 23 Jul 2026, 12:00 BST
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
Bidders must register on the Procontract system and submit tenders using this system. procontract.due-north.com/login ↗
Timeline
10 Dec 2025 → 1 Nov 2026 · 11 dates- Planning notice published316 days ago10 Dec 2025, 16:28 GMT
- Market engagement285 days ago9 Jan 2026, 23:59 GMT
Southend-on-Sea City Council ("the Authority") will be undertaking a procurement for Intelligent Transport Systems including traffic signals, variable message signs and car park signs. The new arrangements will commence in 2026 and this market engagement will help to determine the exact start date for the new contract.
The Authority wishes to engage with potential providers to understand the market and help to refine the model prior to the formal start of the procurement process.
The Authority is inviting potential providers to complete a questionnaire and to attend a virtual meeting via Teams to discuss the requirements (it is anticipated that meetings will last no longer than one hour).
Key areas the Authority is keen to explore are:
- Suppliers in the market who can deliver the services for the Authority
- Suppliers' capability and ability to manage existing equipment as well as adding new equipment as required and ensuring all equipment works together
- Mobilisation period required between award of contract and commencement of service
- Any other areas potential suppliers would like to highlight to enable the Authority to achieve maximum value for money
Organisations who would like to attend a market engagement meeting and complete a questionnaire can express their interest by emailing [email protected]
Expressions of interest must be received by Monday 5th January 2026 and meetings will take place between now and 9th January 2026. Appreciating the time of year, the Authority is open to extending this time period if necessary.
- Next notice expected262 days ago1 Feb 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Tender notice published196 days ago9 Apr 2026, 12:27 BST
- Clarification questions by91 days ago23 Jul 2026, 12:00 BST
- Submission deadline91 days ago23 Jul 2026, 12:00 BST
- Assessment summaries sent79 days ago4 Aug 2026, 00:00 BST
- Latest notice published79 days ago4 Aug 2026, 16:00 BST
- Standstill ends69 days ago13 Aug 2026, 23:59 BST
- Award decision expected by65 days ago17 Aug 2026, 23:59 BST
- Today22 Oct 2026
- Contract startsin 10 days1 Nov 2026
Notice history
14 events · 6 releases on Find a Tender · since 10 Dec 2025- Preliminary market engagement notice published10 Dec 2025, 16:28 GMTUK2
- Preliminary market engagement notice published10 Dec 2025, 16:30 GMTUK2
- Tender notice published9 Apr 2026, 12:27 BSTUK4
- Published value updated to £3,000,0009 Apr 2026, 12:27 BSTwas £2,500,000
- Status changed to active9 Apr 2026, 12:27 BST
- Procurement method changed9 Apr 2026, 12:27 BST
- Deadline published: 29 May 2026, 12:00 BST9 Apr 2026, 12:27 BST
- Tender notice published19 May 2026, 18:23 BSTUK4
- Deadline moved to 30 Jun 2026, 12:00 BST19 May 2026, 18:23 BST+32 days · was 29 May 2026, 12:00 BST
- Tender notice published8 Jun 2026, 14:55 BSTUK4
- Deadline moved to 23 Jul 2026, 12:00 BST8 Jun 2026, 14:55 BST+23 days · was 30 Jun 2026, 12:00 BST
- Contract award notice published4 Aug 2026, 16:00 BSTUK6
- Status changed to complete4 Aug 2026, 16:00 BST
- Contract signature expected17 Aug 2026, 23:59 BSTscheduled
Published amendments (3)
Reference number updated
Change to deadline for submission to 30th June 2026.
Change to the deadline for submission of tenders. Change to the specification to allow for the Council to provide additional systems and remove the need for Suppliers to provide those system ("instation" systems).
Routine re-releases (6)
- 2026-04: 1 release · 9 Apr 2026
- 2025-12: 2 releases · 10 Dec 2025, 10 Dec 2025
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yunex LimitedVCSE1 Nov 2026 – 30 Oct 2030 · up to 30 Oct 2034Extensions: Extensions will be at the discretion of the Council. As part of its decision whether to extend the Contract, the Council will consider the level of performance achieved by the contractor throughout the contract period. The Contract will be for an initial period of 4 years (unless terminated earlier in accordance with its terms), with the option to extend by a period or succession of consecutive periods (each to be no less than a year in duration) up to a further 4 years. The total estimated values set out above are inclusive of the maximum extensions of the service period permitted under the Contract (8 years in total). | £3,000,000 | 4 Aug 2026standstill to 13 Aug 2026 | Standstill |
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2final-stage tenders | 0 | 0 | — |
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Bidders & participating suppliers
1 commercial party on the notice- YUNEX LIMITEDAwarded supplier
Official documents & specifications (6)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- 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
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender