Derbyshire County Council tenders £40m contract for surface dressing works

Derbyshire County Council is tendering a £40m contract for surface dressing and ancillary highway works across its rural and urban road network, with bids open until 9 October 2026.

Derbyshire County Council has opened a £40m tender for a programme of surface dressing and ancillary works across its rural and urban road network. The contract covers all labour, plant, materials, equipment, supervision and associated services needed to carry out the works, including pre-treatment preparation, masking of ironwork, chipping supply and management, application of surface dressing and seal coats, lockchipping, sweeping operations and defect rectification.

Works will be delivered across a range of highway classifications throughout Derbyshire, in line with the Specification for Highway Works, NHSS 13 and the RSTA/ADEPT Code of Practice for Surface Dressing.

In brief:

• £40m (£48m including VAT) for surface dressing and ancillary highway works
• Open tender, submission deadline 9 October 2026 at 11am; enquiry deadline 25 September 2026
• Initial one-year contract from December 2026, with an option to extend for up to three further 12-month periods, to a maximum of four years

Derbyshire’s £40m surface dressing tender

The contract is due to start on 1 December 2026, running for an initial year before the council can choose to extend it in 12-month increments up to a maximum term of four years, to November 2030. Bids will be assessed 70% on price, 20% on technical quality and 10% on social value, and the tender specifically notes it is suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises.

One detail worth noting: the notice states the contract may be affected by local government reorganisation, meaning it could be novated to a successor council or otherwise modified partway through its term under the Procurement Act 2023, depending on how reorganisation in the area plays out.