Preliminary Market Engagement for Ashford Arts Tender - 146368759

Procurement Summary

Country: United Kingdom

Summary: Preliminary Market Engagement for Ashford Arts Centre Operator

Deadline: 28 Aug 2026

Posting Date: 01 Aug 2026

Other Information

Notice Type: Tender

TOT Ref.No.: 146368759

Document Ref. No.: ASH/25/358

Competition: ICB

Financier: Self Financed

Purchaser Ownership: Public

Tender Value: Refer Document

CPV Classification

92000000 - Recreational, cultural and sporting services
92300000 - Entertainment services
92310000 - Artistic and literary creation and interpretation services

Purchaser's Detail

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Tender Details

Ashford Borough Council is bringing forward the redevelopment of the former Odeon cinema on Ashford High Street into Ashford Arts Centre (working title, naming convention to be agreed with successful bidder), a flexible theatre, gallery and community venue, and a landmark cultural project for the town centre. Following Cabinet and Full Council approval, this first phase of the project focuses on restoring the High Street facing part of the building; it does not recreate a full-scale theatre and is designed to complement rather than compete with larger regional venues. Design development is being led by Haworth Tompkins, with RIBA Stage 2 complete and Stage 3 design now underway. The Council intends to appoint an operator or leaseholder to run the venue once complete, on a lease or concession basis pending final classification, and is undertaking preliminary market engagement to understand market capacity and appetite among cultural and commercial operators before finalising its procurement route and minimum requirements. This builds on strong interest already shown by creative and community organisations in Ashford and is intended to ensure the technical brief and contract terms are realistic and will attract high quality operators, given the Council's ambition for the venue to become a genuine cultural anchor for the area. The Council acknowledges that some form of public revenue support may be required to enable a venue of this kind to operate sustainably; the level and str...

Documents

 Tender Notice