Official UK procurement notice
National Parking Platform — UK public procurement notice
Authority: Guildford Borough Council (Local council)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionGuildford Borough Council intends to join the National Parking Platform (NPP), a not-for-profit, government-backed initiative designed to modernise and simplify parking payments across participating local authorities. The NPP provides an open and interoperable platform that enables multiple parking service providers to connect to a single national parking ecosystem, allowing motorists to use their preferred parking application when paying for parking rather than being restricted to a single provider.
Through integration with the NPP, the Council will offer users greater choice, improved accessibility, and a more consistent customer experience across participating locations. The platform operates through a transaction-fee funding model and provides a centralised mechanism through which multiple approved parking service providers can facilitate parking payments on behalf of the Council.
As part of the service, participating providers will collect parking charges, undertake transaction processing and monthly reconciliations, and remit all parking revenue due to the Council in accordance with the agreed operating and settlement arrangements. The solution supports improved interoperability within the parking sector while maintaining the Council's control over parking tariffs and revenue.
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedLot #1Lot 1Awarded
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Procedure method
- Direct award
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Notice status
- Awarded without competition
- Procurement threshold
- Unspecified in notice
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Direct award — no call for competition
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- No (one-off requirement)
- First published
- 11 Sept 2026, 10:42 BST
- Last source update
- 11 Sept 2026, 10:42 BST
- Latest notice
- Transparency notice (UK5)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06f7bb
- Why no open competition
- Single Suppliers Intellectual Property Exclusive Rights; Single Suppliers Technical Reasons
- Published justification
This direct award is made pursuant to Section 41 and Schedule 5, Paragraph 6 of the Procurement Act 2023. The contracting authority has determined that competition is absent for technical reasons (Schedule 5, Paragraph 6(a)) and that no reasonable alternative or substitute exists (Schedule 5, Paragraph 6(b)) These conditions are satisfied because: (a) The National Parking Platform Ltd is the only supplier of a more…
unique multivendor cashless parking solution, which is currently able to supply the critical service of aggregating service providers so as to enable users of a parking operator's facilities to pay for parking with a wide range of parking apps. (b) National Parking Platform Ltd holds exclusive rights to operate and develop the Platform, which was originally commissioned by the Department for Transport. No other supplier has access to this public asset grant. (c) The NPP operates as a central, shared interoperability platform with: • A single, governed technical integration layer enabling approved parking service providers to connect • Controlled onboarding, certification, and access arrangements managed by NPP • A defined ecosystem where authorities must connect via the platform to enable interoperability • No individual supplier can independently replicate or provide: • Access to the NPP integration layer • The ability to onboard multiple payment providers within a nationally recognised interoperability framework • The same level of cross-authority interoperability d) The requirement to integrate with the NPP does not artificially narrow competition because: • The NPP is designed as an open, non-exclusive platform enabling multiple parking service providers to participate • Competition is preserved at the payment provider level, where multiple suppliers can operate via the NPP • The Authority is not selecting a single downstream provider but enabling a competitive marketplace of providers • The specification reflects a genuine operational need for interoperability, not a preference for a specific supplier • Therefore, the direct award relates only to the core interoperability platform, while maintaining competition in the wider service ecosystem.
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics — not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| National Parking Platform LimitedSME1 Oct 2026 — 30 Sept 2030 | £480,000 | — | Standstill |
Notice history
2 events · 1 release on Find a Tender · since 11 Sept 2026- Contract signature expected30 Sept 2026, 23:59 BSTscheduled
- Transparency notice published11 Sept 2026, 10:42 BSTUK5
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Bidders & participating suppliers
1 commercial party on the notice- NATIONAL PARKING PLATFORM LIMITEDAwarded supplierView supplier profile →
Official documents & specifications (2)
Official links; attachments are not copiedTender pack and attachments
- Conflict of interest declarationNot published
Notices published for this procedure
- Transparency notice Transparency notice on Find a Tender