Official UK procurement notice
Longbarn Community Hub - Operator
Authority: Trafford Council (Local council)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionLongford Park is Trafford's largest public park and a designated conservation area which is undergoing a major multi‑million‑pound restoration and improvement programme led by Trafford Council. The initiative is supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF), forming part of an overall £6 million investment into the park.
The project is built around improving Longford Park for people, wildlife, and heritage. Its key aims include:
- Heritage Restoration
- Biodiversity & Nature
- Facilities & Public Realm Upgrades
- Community Engagement & Wellbeing
Part of the project will involve the restoration of the park's Longbarn, for use as a community hub . We are carrying out `soft market testing' as outlined below, to determine current interest levels in the market in managing and operating the Longbarn.
Trafford Council seeks an experienced operator to manage the Longbarn Community Hub in Longford Park.
The Longbarn is a heritage building in Longford Park, currently undergoing restoration, that will offer flexible spaces for volunteering, learning, arts & culture, health & wellbeing and community participation. The successful organisation will be responsible for ensuring that its operation meets the terms of the lease and agreed KPIs, reporting to Trafford Council and hiring the space out to other organisations. The building will also act as a hub for information and enhancement of the park's visitor experience.
The development of the Longbarn will reuse the existing building fabric sustainably with scope for a more sensitive and sustainable retrofit.
Lease proposed:10-year term, subject to negotiation and discussion with the selected operator.
The appointed operator will be responsible for maintaining the Longbarn to an appropriate standard throughout the duration of the lease.
The operator will be responsible for all repairs and maintenance of the Longbarn's internal and external areas, including statutory compliance.
THIS IS NOT A CALL FOR COMPETITION
This Soft Market Test is intended to allow interested organisations with relevant experience to outline their views and provide information with no commitment to themselves or the Council.
CPV: Property management services of real estate on a fee or contract basis · Repair and maintenance services of building installations
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedPipeline intelligence · planning stage: how this market runs before the tender is published
How Trafford Council buys Property management services of real estate on a fee or contract basis (CPV 7033), and who usually turns up
Trafford Council’s own published record, next to the published market for the same work. Frameworks and DPS are kept out: they attract a different number of bids. Whole-market view: Property management services of real estate on a fee or contract basis (CPV 7033) →
How the contest usually goes
Winner shares use published awards; bid and price charts use contested lots.
i
How often small and medium firms win.
Share of awards where the winner’s size is known.
The counts under this question show how many awards have a known supplier size.
Small firms have won here. Neither number says whether you qualify; it describes who has been winning.
i
How often local firms win similar work.
Winners with a registered address in the delivery region, out of awards with a known address.
Here, local means registered in North West England.
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
Most of this buyer’s recorded winners are registered in North West England.
i
How long buyers here take to decide after bids close.
Middle value in days from the deadline to the first award notice, on competitions that published both dates.
Only decided tenders count, so slow ones still waiting are not in.
Half of these awards were announced within 49 days of the bid deadline.
i
How often work is awarded with no recorded rival.
Direct awards and tenders where every published lot count shows one bid.
Both shares are minimums: some awards have no bid count.
Thin markets produce this too; it is not proof of a tailored specification.
Direct awards or one recorded bid are common here. Check the route before spending time on a bid.
How many bids did past lots attract?
i
How many bids past lots received.
Each colour is a bid-count range. Only competed lots with a published count are included.
Past bids do not predict this tender.
1 bid33% / 17%
2–317% / 17%
4–633% / 33%
7+17% / 33%
How did awards compare with estimates?
i
Where winning prices landed against estimates.
Each colour shows awards below, close to or above the published estimate, one lot at a time.
Past prices are a guide, not a bid price.
Below estimate67% / 42%
Within ±2%33% / 40%
Above estimate0% / 18%
Assess each lot i
What past awards tell you about each lot.
See the forecast, this buyer’s earlier suppliers and firms with relevant wins.
No supplier is confirmed as a bidder.
i
What past awards tell you about each lot.
See the forecast, this buyer’s earlier suppliers and firms with relevant wins.
No supplier is confirmed as a bidder.
Open a lot for its forecast, this buyer’s previous supplier and possible competitors, from published award history, not a bid list
Lot #1CPV 7033Estimate not published
i
How many bids this lot may attract.
The forecast uses similar past competitions. The bar shows either that forecast or past bid counts; the line below says which.
Each lot shows its own forecast based on its own category; forecasts for different lots of the same notice are not comparative. The bar shows 10 past lots.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid20%
2–310%
4–630%
7+40%
i
Where the award price may land.
The forecast uses similar awards and the buyer’s estimate. The band covers the middle half of likely prices.
No comparable awards for this lot yet.
A statistical guide from past awards, not a price to bid.
Who has supplied this buyer on similar work? i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
A past supplier may not bid again.
i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
A past supplier may not bid again.
No earlier contract of this buyer matches this lot on the published record.
Who could compete for this lot? i
Who could compete for this lot?
Firms with relevant past wins. On a framework, we show firms on that agreement.
None is confirmed as a bidder.
i
Who could compete for this lot?
Firms with relevant past wins. On a framework, we show firms on that agreement.
None is confirmed as a bidder.
Candidate suppliers for this notice have not been worked out yet, so this is not a verdict that nobody fits.
About this data
- Source. Official UK public procurement notices (Find a Tender), reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. New notices arrive through the day; the figures are rebuilt nightly.
- Two views, kept apart. The authority’s own track record and the wider market for the same kind of work sit side by side and are never mixed. Where the local picture is too thin, a figure widens to a broader market and says which one it used.
- Forecasts are labelled. The price forecast and its range, possible competitors and the earlier-work matches are our estimates from past awards: not published facts, not win chances and not price advice. Official notices do not say who is bidding.
- Every figure shows what it rests on. Not every notice publishes a bid count, a value or a delivery region, so each figure carries the number of records behind it, and one built on few records is marked as such. The on a figure explains it; the counting rules are in the methodology. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Planned procurement
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 8 Jul 2026, 14:45 BST
- Last source update
- 8 Jul 2026, 14:45 BST
- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-064291- Latest notice
- Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06c694Find a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- —
Timeline
8 Jul 2026 → 4 Jan 2027 · 3 dates- Planning notice published105 days ago8 Jul 2026, 14:45 BST
- Market engagement76 days ago5 Aug 2026, 23:59 BST
The Soft Market Test document will be issued via The Chest (project ID DN821638). Further details of the requirements can be found in the documents attached to the opportunity. To register interest in the opportunity and respond, suppliers will need to register on The Chest www.the-chest.org.uk ↗
Interested suppliers are required to complete the company information form and a short questionnaire. Suppliers who complete and return the questionnaire may be invited to meet with Council representatives to discuss its requirements.
The questionnaire should be returned via The Chest - www.the-chest.org.uk ↗ by Wednesday 5th August 12pm.
If Suppliers have any questions about this soft market test, such questions should be submitted to the Council using the 'Question and Answer' facility within the opportunity advertised on The Chest.
A copy of the question and a copy of the written reply may be circulated to all Suppliers, with anonymity of the Supplier preserved. Suppliers must not raise questions through any other channels, including emails direct to the Council or to STAR Procurement. No questions will be responded to, other than those raised through The Chest as described above.
We encourage your participation in this soft market testing exercise, but must emphasise that your involvement in this exercise will not carry any commercial advantage in any ensuing procurement process.
No information provided in response to this soft market testing exercise will be used in any evaluation of any subsequent response to a procurement exercise.
- Today21 Oct 2026
- Contract startsin 75 days4 Jan 2027
Notice history
1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender- Preliminary market engagement notice published8 Jul 2026, 14:45 BSTUK2
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Pipeline notice- Awards (0)
- No award published
- Contracts (0)
- No contract published
- Bid statistics
- No aggregate bid statistics published
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Official documents & specifications (1)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender