Darlington BC, A67 Merrybent (Phase 3), Darlington – Cold Milling, Patching and Surfacing Works.

About the buyer

Darlington Borough Council is a local authority in the North East of England that buys through NEPO, the regional procurement organisation. Every tender is advertised on Open, the e-tendering system that replaced the Proactis NEPO Portal from October 2024. Suppliers are also asked to register on the Central Digital Platform for Find a Tender notices. Regional NEPO frameworks cover categories from building materials to interpretation and highway surveys. Darlington is the technical lead for the North East Highways Surfacing Framework used across the region. A Supplier Incentive Programme lets contractors opt for earlier payment than their contracted terms.

UK local government drives £140bn in annual procurement, led by social protection (£66.6bn) and education (£57.1bn).

Over the past 5 years, most of Darlington Borough Council's contract awards have been in health and social work, construction work and business services.