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PROCUREMENT OPPORTUNITY

Development and Trial of Sustainable Weed Control Solutions for the Strategic Road Network

National Highways Limited · Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender

Tender information last checkedLast checked 26 Sept 2026, 08:02.

Opportunity overview

National Highways is a government-owned company and the appointed strategic highways authority and licence holder responsible for operating, maintaining and improving England’s SRN; 4,300 miles of motorways and major A roads at the core of the national transport network. Use of glyphosate; known to be a probable carcinogen to humans, is a widely used chemical to control weeds in highway maintenance. Although approved for use in the UK, concerns regarding glyphosate’s impact on biodiversity, and management of this health hazard to the general public and highway operatives are considerable. National Highways is seeking to engage the market to explore and trial credible, scalable alternatives to glyphosate for weed control on the Strategic Road Network (SRN), alongside existing local trials, with the aim of reducing exposure risks and improving environmental outcomes. This notice is issued as part of a Preliminary Market Engagement under the Procurement Act 2023. Participation does not constitute a commitment to procure or award any contract, nor does it provide any guarantee of involvement in future commercial opportunities. Information gathered will be used to support technical decision-making, standards development, and potential future procurement strategies.

Classification

  • CPV73111000 — Research laboratory services

Lots

  • Lot 1Value not stated

Documents and notices

Published notice details

Additional information from the published procurement release. Fields appear only when supplied by the source; check the original notice and tender documents before acting.

Scope, procedure and submissions

Id
ocds-h6vhtk-06dc47
Main Procurement Category
services
Above Threshold
No
Status
planning

Legal basis

Id
2023/54
Scheme
UKPGA

Communication

Future Notice Date
5 Oct 2026, 23:59

Lots and requirements

Entry 1
Id
1
Status
planning

Suitability

Sme
Yes
Vcse
Yes

Contract period

Starts
1 Dec 2026, 00:00
Ends
31 Mar 2027, 23:59

Items and delivery

Item 1
Id
1
Related Lot
1

Additional Classifications

Entry 1
Scheme
CPV
Id
73111000
Description
Research laboratory services

Delivery locations

Entry 1
Region
UK
Country
GB
Country Name
United Kingdom

Planning and budget

Milestones

Entry 1
Id
engagement
Type
engagement
Description
Organisations with relevant capability and experience are invited to contribute information to support this market engagement. Interested parties are invited to provide experience in one or more of the following areas: • Development or deployment of non-glyphosate weed control solutions (chemical, mechanical, thermal, biological, or integrated approaches) • Evidence-based trials or pilots in operational environments • Environmental impact assessment, including biodiversity considerations • Working in safety-critical or public-facing environments • Any other relevant information Supplier questionnaire and optional technical discussions, focused on solution maturity, evidence of effectiveness, environmental impacts, and operational considerations. Initially, organisations are invited to complete the questionnaire found at the link below: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/e/gkwYSEJvHY
Due
31 Aug 2026, 23:59
Status
scheduled

Documents

Entry 1
Id
074144-2026
Document Type
marketEngagementNotice
Notice Type
UK2
Description
Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
Published
5 Aug 2026, 12:24
Format
text/html

Buyer, suppliers and contacts

Organisation 1
Name
National Highways Limited
Id
GB-PPON-PGMJ-3793-VBBN

Identifier

Scheme
GB-PPON
Id
PGMJ-3793-VBBN

Address

Street Address
Three Snowhill, Snow Hill Queensway
Locality
Birmingham
Postal Code
B4 6GA
Country
GB
Country Name
United Kingdom
Region
UKG31

Contact

Telephone
0300 123 5000

Roles

buyer

Details

Classifications

Entry 1
Scheme
UK_CA_TYPE
Id
publicAuthorityCentralGovernment
Description
Public authority - central government

Recorded locations

  • Buyer location · Birmingham · UKG31 · B4 6GA · United Kingdom
  • Delivery location · UK · United Kingdom

Notice and amendment history

1 published notice version reviewed by ProcuraAxis.

1 VERSION
  1. 074144-2026Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender ·