Official UK procurement notice
PEACEPLUS - Our Historical Borough
Authority: Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council (Local council)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionAntrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council has received funding through the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB) to develop and deliver a PEACEPLUS Local Community Action Plan. Programme 1 entitled ‘Our Historical Borough’ will ensure the regeneration and connectivity of heritage and historical sites throughout the Borough.
As part of this, Council will deliver a range of new heritage focused visitor products, including walking and driving trails, promoted through two central Heritage Hubs. This programme will provide a platform for building a strong and vibrant local historical and tourism economy, whilst protecting and supporting the growth and knowledge of our shared history for many years to come.
As part of the ‘Our Historical Borough’ Programme, Council seeks to deliver the following projects:
- The creation of two designated Heritage Hubs - one in Antrim and one in Newtownabbey
- The creation of five themed driving trails across the Borough
- The creation of ten walking trails across the Borough
- A full signage and wayfinding upgrade of heritage sites across the Borough
- The development of an app to accompany the trails giving additional information on secondary sites of interest and visitor information.
The purpose of this questionnaire is to gain an understanding of the latest developments, technology and products in the tourism and heritage industry, in relation to the above projects and how this can inform the Council’s tender specification.
Any information gathered will NOT be considered in any future tender evaluation exercise.
Participation or non-participation in this pre-procurement market engagement shall not prevent any supplier participating in a potential procurement process nor is it intended that any information supplied shall place any supplier at an advantage in any upcoming procurement process.
For avoidance of doubt, this stage of the project is not part of a formal procurement process. Any procurement process will be conducted in accordance with rules and regulations applicable to projects funded under the PEACEPLUS programme.
CPV: Administrative services related to tourism affairs · IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support · Recreational, cultural and sporting services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedPipeline intelligence · planning stage: how this market runs before the tender is published
How Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council buys Administrative services of agencies (CPV 7512), and who usually turns up
Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough 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: Administrative services of agencies (CPV 7512) →
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 the winner is registered in the region where that contract was delivered.
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
Most of this buyer’s recorded winners are registered in Northern Ireland.
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 37 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 bid66% / 38%
2–325% / 26%
4–66% / 28%
7+3% / 8%
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 estimate28% / 39%
Within ±2%11% / 57%
Above estimate61% / 4%
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 7512Estimate 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 39 past lots.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid38%
2–326%
4–628%
7+8%
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
- 26 Feb 2026, 11:12 GMT
- Last source update
- 26 Feb 2026, 11:12 GMT
- Authority reference
FI/PRO/TEN/619- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-017213- Latest notice
- Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-065cceFind a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- —
Timeline
26 Feb 2026 → 1 Aug 2026 · 4 dates- Planning notice published238 days ago26 Feb 2026, 11:12 GMT
- Market engagement216 days ago20 Mar 2026, 23:59 GMT
The Council would like to invite participation in the market engagement exercise through the completion of the questionnaire.
This questionnaire will be used to assist the Council to gain a better understanding of the feasibility of the requirements, the most appropriate approach, the capacity of the market to deliver and any possible risks or issues that may not have previously been considered.
Any submission received in response to this exercise will not constitute any contractual agreement between the respondent and the Council.
In addition, depending on the volume of responses, the Council may wish to follow up the questionnaire with a face to face or virtual meetings with respondents.
Each meeting will provide an opportunity for further mutual understanding of the individual response and any potential issues around this procurement including, but not limited to any risks or issues that may not have previously been considered.
If the Council exercises its right to engage in follow up meetings, the respondents will be contacted with the dates and times available for meetings. While the Council will attempt to accommodate respondents’ preferences, meetings will be scheduled on a first come basis. In addition, where any respondent has a special requirement such as video conferencing (should they be based in other jurisdictions), they should highlight it in their response and the Council will do their best to make the necessary provisions.
Further details on the process are available in the documentation whch can be accessed via eSourcingNI. The questionnaire must be submitted via eSourcingNI by Friday, 20 March 2026 at 12noon.
- Tender notice expected175 days ago30 Apr 2026, 23:59 BST
- Contract starts83 days ago1 Aug 2026, 00:00 BST
Notice history
1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender- Preliminary market engagement notice published26 Feb 2026, 11:12 GMTUK2
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