Official UK procurement notice
MSDC - Cultural Operator for the redevelopment and operation of the Clair Hall Site in Perrymount Road Haywards Heath
Authority: Mid Sussex District Council (Local council)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionFollowing a competitive flexible procurement (see Tender Notice (2025/S 000-042820) for further details), Mid Sussex District Council selected a cultural operator for the redevelopment and ongoing operation of the site known as 'Clair Hall' (see Contract Award Notice (2026/S 000-014110) for further details). 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 cultural operator will support the Council during a design and development period with a view to ultimately leasing and operating the cultural facility.
Note that the estimated total value of the contract listed in this Contract Details Notice is an estimate based on projections informed by market information and industry standards with an assumption of £2.28m turnover per annum over an estimated lease period of 20 years. The actual value of the contract, in practice, is dependent on external factors but the procurement intends to cover the value generated over the 20-year term.
- How the procedure runs: 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
CPV: Construction work for buildings relating to leisure, sports, culture, lodging and restaurants · Recreational, cultural and sporting services · Theatre management system
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedWhat it takes to wini
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
Evaluation split and conditions of participation as published; the tender pack may add morei
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
- 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 (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
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Procedure method
- Competitive flexible procedure
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Awarded
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Concession
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 12 Jun 2025, 14:26 BST
- Last source update
- 15 Jun 2026, 16:03 BST
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 31 Jan 2026
- Authority reference
MSDC - 038490- FTS notice number
2025/S 000-031961- Latest notice
- Contract details notice (UK7)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-0547c0Find a Tender
- How it runs
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
How it was run
Official notice- Requests to participate (first stage)
- 1 Aug 2025, 12:00 BST
- Submission deadline
- 1 Aug 2025, 12:00 BST
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
How to obtain the Tender Documents
Interested parties should register their interest in the project via the In-Tend website in-tendhost.co.uk/sesharedservices/asp… ↗. 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.
Timeline
12 Jun 2025 → 15 Jun 2026 · 7 dates- Tender notice published12 Jun 2025, 14:26 BST
- Submission deadline1 Aug 2025, 12:00 BST
- Assessment summaries sent276 days ago13 Jan 2026
- Award decision expected by257 days ago31 Jan 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Standstill ends231 days ago26 Feb 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Contract starts230 days ago28 Feb 2026
- Latest notice published122 days ago15 Jun 2026, 16:03 BST
Notice history
7 events · 5 releases on Find a Tender · since 12 Jun 2025- Tender notice published12 Jun 2025, 14:26 BSTUK4
- Tender notice published24 Jul 2025, 14:41 BSTUK4
- Contract award notice published17 Feb 2026, 09:06 GMTUK6
- Status changed to complete17 Feb 2026, 09:06 GMT
- Contract signature expected27 Feb 2026, 23:59 GMTscheduled
- Contract details notice published22 Apr 2026, 14:20 BSTUK7
- Contract details notice published15 Jun 2026, 16:03 BSTUK7
Published amendments (1)
Time adjusted to the correct deadline, accounting for British Summertime
Routine re-releases (5)
- 2025-07: 1 release · 24 Jul 2025
- 2025-06: 1 release · 12 Jun 2025
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Digital Picture House LtdSMECollaboration Agreement in respect of the delivery and operation of the New Cultural Facility at the Clair Hall Site, Perrymount Road, Haywards Heath30 Mar 2026 – 30 Mar 2044 | £38,016,666 | 13 Jan 2026 | Awarded |
Contracts
Collaboration Agreement in respect of the delivery and operation of the New Cultural Facility at the Clair Hall Site, Perrymount Road, Haywards Heath · The Digital Picture House LtdSME
- Signed
- 26 Mar 2026
- Value
- £38,016,666
- Period
- 26 Mar 2026 – 25 Mar 2044
- Status
- active
- Change The contract document has now been added to this Contract Details Notice.
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3final-stage tenders | 3 | 0 | — |
Who bid
- wonTHE DIGITAL PICTURE HOUSE LTDSME · South East England
- did not winPDJ CINEMAS LIMITEDSME · South East England
- did not winTHE LIVING ROOM CINEMA LIPHOOK LTDSME · South East England
Bidders as named on the Procurement Act 2023 award notice. “Won” means the bidder holds an award on this notice.
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Bidders & participating suppliers
3 commercial parties on the notice · 1 awarded- PDJ CINEMAS LIMITEDBidder / tenderer
- THE LIVING ROOM CINEMA LIPHOOK LTDBidder / tenderer
- The Digital Picture House LtdAwarded supplier
Official documents & specifications (6)
Official links; attachments are not copiedTender pack and attachments
Notices published for this procedure
- Contract details notice Contract details notice on Find a Tender
- Contract details notice Contract details notice on Find a Tender
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender