Scope
Description
The Council is seeking the appointment of a cultural operator for the redevelopment and ongoing operation of the site known as the 'Clair Hall' (the Site). The Council's ambition is to create a vibrant and inclusive creative cultural hub in the centre of Haywards Heath. The venue will be one that welcomes all communities and provides inspiration through film, art and performance.
The Site has development potential (as further explained in the Information Memorandum). The Council's objective is to ultimately develop a new cultural facility (yet to be constructed) on part of the Site, with the remaining area to be redeveloped for other uses (such as residential). This follows the decision by the Council's Cabinet on 8th March 2025 to proceed with the recommendation that "the Clair Hall site be regenerated by way of a mixed-use development to provide a new cultural facility, funded through the land value".
On that basis, the Council is seeking to appoint a cultural operator to support the Council during a design and development period with a view to ultimately leasing and operating the cultural facility.
Preliminary Market Engagement (PME) has been undertaken by the Council and its advisors, the findings of which have informed the procurement for this Opportunity. The PME included building on a market engagement exercise undertaken in 2023 by way of engaging with industry specialists and arts / cinema operators (ranging from premium operators through to small independent operators) to explore the interest in the Opportunity, the market knowledge and the likely conditions for participation and contractual / commercial terms.
Further detail on the market engagement exercise is set out in the Preliminary Engagement Notice issued by the Council on 06 June 2025.
The 'total value (estimate; inclusive of VAT)' stated in this notice is an estimate based on market information and industry standards with an assumption of £1.5m turnover and 100,000 ticket sales per annum over an estimated lease period of 15 years.
The 'total value (estimate; exclusive of VAT)' stated in this notice has been calculated by removing VAT valued at 20% from the previous figure.
Total value (estimated)
- £18,750,000 excluding VAT
- £22,500,000 including VAT
Above the relevant threshold
Contract dates (estimated)
- 28 February 2026 to 27 February 2044
- 18 years
Main procurement category
Services
CPV classifications
- 45212000 - Construction work for buildings relating to leisure, sports, culture, lodging and restaurants
- 48814300 - Theatre management system
- 92000000 - Recreational, cultural and sporting services
Contract locations
- UKJ28 - West Sussex (North East)
Submission
Submission type
Requests to participate
Deadline for requests to participate
1 August 2025, 1:00pm
Submission address and any special instructions
How to obtain the Tender Documents
Interested parties should register their interest in the project via the In-Tend website https://in-tendhost.co.uk/sesharedservices/aspx/Tenders/Current. The Tender documents can be accessed when logged into In-Tend by selecting 'View Details' on the relevant tender advert and clicking the 'Express Interest' tab. Once in the tender there are five tabs, namely 'Tender', 'ITT - documents', 'Correspondence', 'Clarifications' and 'History'.
Select the 2nd tab (ITT - documents) where you will find useful information under 'Tender Details'. Continue to scroll down to the heading 'Tender Documents Received' where you will be able to view / download the documents. Please download all the documents and read very carefully.
Opting In and Opting Out
Please note you are required to 'Opt In' before you can access the 'My tender Return' to start populating your response.
The 'Opt Out' functionality will also be available throughout the duration of the tender process. Opting out will give you the option of declaring you no longer want to receive any further communication in relation to this tender along with the opportunity of providing comments and feedback for this decision.
You can choose to 'Opt In' at any time during the tender process if you initially decided to 'Opt Out'.
Further Guidance
In addition, guidance on how to participate in a tender, download and upload documents / returns and if required, register your company (free of charge) can be found on the In-tend site under the 'Help' or 'Information for Suppliers' buttons.
Receiving Notification Emails
To ensure you receive email alerts and notifications from our system, please add the email domain '@in-tendorganiser.co.uk' to your Safe Senders list.
Tenders may be submitted electronically
Yes
Languages that may be used for submission
English
Award decision date (estimated)
31 January 2026
Award criteria
| Name | Description | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Simple description | This procurement is weighted as follows: Quality (70%) - Core cultural offer (35%) - Design and fit out (15%) - Resourcing and capabilities for design and fit out (10%) - Capital and financial planning... |
Price |
Weighting description
This procurement is weighted as follows:
Quality (70%)
- Core cultural offer (35%)
- Design and fit out (15%)
- Resourcing and capabilities for design and fit out (10%)
- Capital and financial planning (10%)
Financial (20%)
- Financial offer (10%)
- Robustness (10%)
Legal (10%)
Bidders should refer to further detail on the award criteria set out in the Invitation to Tender
Other information
Conflicts assessment prepared/revised
Yes
Procedure
Procedure type
Competitive flexible procedure
Special regime
Concession
Competitive flexible procedure description
This Competitive flexible procedure is being launched after the Council conducted Preliminary Market Engagement (please refer to Notice 2025/S 000-030704).
The expected process of the procurement is as set out below, and Bidders should refer to 'Section 2: Participation Process' of the Invitation to Participate and the Invitation to Tender (as issued via the Council's Portal) for further detail.
Interested parties are invited to submit a Participation Submission. The Council will evaluate Participation Submissions received in accordance with the participation criteria and methodology set out in 'Section 4: Participation Submission evaluation' of the Invitation to Participate.
Invitation to Tender: subject to there being sufficient Bidders qualifying, the Council's intention is to invite between four (4) and six (6) Bidders. If there is a minimal scoring gap between Bidders four (4) and five (5) the Council reserves the right to invite 5 Bidders to tender; and if there is a minimal scoring gap between Bidders five (5) and six (6), the Council reserves the right to invite six (6) Bidders to tender.
Following the shortlist, the Council will formally issue the Invitation to Tender to the shortlisted Bidders (the "Tenderers").
The Council intends to hold a number of meetings with the Tenderers to discuss their emerging proposals before issuing a call for Final Tenders. The Council reserves the right to introduce additional meetings or remove meetings throughout the procurement.
Final Tenders received will be evaluated in accordance with the award criteria set out in the draft Invitation to Tender (as issued via the Council's Portal). Further detail on the award criteria will be set out in the updated Invitation to Tender issued at shortlisting.
Following evaluation, and identification of the most advantageous tender, the Council intends to hold 'preferred tenderer' stage with the Tenderer who submitted the most advantageous tender prior to entry into contract so as to clarify and confirm commitments made and for limited post tender negotiation.
The Council reserves the right to vary the procurement process set out above and in the procurement documents at any stage in the procurement.
Please note that the 'contract start date' and 'award decision date' included within this Tender Notice are estimates and may be subject to change.
The Council considered whether the opportunity was suitable for dividing into lots. It was determined that the opportunity was not suitable for dividing on the basis that:
- dividing into lots could increase technical risk to delivery
- the scheme requires a single cohesive approach in assisting the Council with the procurement of a Developer and the ultimate operation of the venue (and multiple operators could undermine this)
- the size / scale of the site does not require multiple operators
- it could make the contract disproportionately expensive to manage
Contracting authority
Mid Sussex District Council
- Public Procurement Organisation Number: PQLR-5948-PBHY
Oaklands, Oaklands Road
Haywards Heath
RH16 1SS
United Kingdom
Email: procurement@horsham.gov.uk
Website: http://www.midsussex.gov.uk
Region: UKJ28 - West Sussex (North East)
Organisation type: Public authority - sub-central government