Official UK procurement notice
Winter Bureau and Weather Station Maintenance Services
Authority: Kent County Council (Local council)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionThis requirement is for Road Weather Information System maintenance and operation required within the Growth, Environment and Transport Directorate. This contract covers the maintenance and operation of the existing network of Weather Stations throughout the County of Kent.
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedLot #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
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 19 Sept 2025, 10:33 BST
- Last source update
- 12 Nov 2025, 12:10 GMT
- Authority reference
CN250206- FTS notice number
2025/S 000-073139- Latest notice
- Contract details notice (UK7)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-059de8Find a Tender
- Why no open competition
- Single Suppliers Technical Reasons
- Published justification
Software Compatibility - The existing weather station software operates the weather stations using a specific operating system. Alternative providers do not offer compatible software, leading to integration issues and potentially costly reconfiguration.
Proprietary Parts - Spare and consumable parts are unique to the current manufacture,Vaisala. These components are not universally interchangeable. Alternative suppliers would be required to source these from the original manufacturer, Vaisala, resulting in additional costs and delays.
Continuity of Service - Retaining the same manufacturer for weather stations and components ensures uninterrupted delivery of weather forecasting services, maintaining consistency and reliability across the system.
Seamless Integration - New and additional weather instruments can be added to our existing weather stations infrastructure without the need to seek additional software or operating systems, ensuring operational efficiency.
Established In-House Capability - KCC staff are already trained with this type of equipment. In-house experts are capable of performing frontline repairs, testing, troubleshooting and basic maintenance, reducing reliance on external support and delivers long term cost savings.
Alternative Solutions Impact- Any alternative solution would likely require significant reconfiguration due to incompatibility with the existing operating system and infrastructure. This would introduce additional costs for integration, training, and support, while also increasing the risk of operational disruption and reduced service efficiency.
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- —
Timeline
7 Nov 2025 → 12 Nov 2025 · 2 dates- Standstill ends350 days ago7 Nov 2025, 23:59 GMT
- Notice published345 days ago12 Nov 2025, 12:10 GMT
Notice history
4 events · 3 releases on Find a Tender · since 19 Sept 2025- Transparency notice published19 Sept 2025, 10:33 BSTUK5
- Contract award notice published29 Oct 2025, 09:46 GMTUK6
- Contract signature expected8 Nov 2025, 23:59 GMTscheduled
- Contract details notice published12 Nov 2025, 12:10 GMTUK7
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| VAISALA LTD8 Nov 2025 – 30 Sept 2028 · up to 30 Sept 2030Extensions: The contract may be extended by up to 2 years (24 months), either through two separate 1 year (12 months) extensions or a single 2 year (24 months) extension. Please note that these are optional extensions, subject to the Council's discretion. | £300,000 | 1 Oct 2025 | Awarded |
Contracts
Contract 1 · VAISALA LTD
- Signed
- 8 Nov 2025
- Value
- £300,000
- Period
- 8 Nov 2025 – 30 Sept 2028 · up to 30 Sept 2030 with extensions
- Status
- active
- Extensions
- The contract may be extended by up to 2 years (24 months), either through two separate 1 year (12 months) extensions or a single 2 year (24 months) extension. Please note that these are optional extensions, subject to the Council's discretion.
1 agreed KPI: Data Quality
- Data Quality
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Bidders & participating suppliers
1 commercial party on the notice- VAISALA LIMITEDAwarded supplier
Official documents & specifications (3)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Contract details notice Contract details notice on Find a Tender
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Transparency notice Transparency notice on Find a Tender