Award

Invitation to Tender For the provision of a farmers' market in Maidstone Town Centre

MAIDSTONE BOROUGH COUNCIL

This public procurement record has 2 releases in its history.

Award

03 Nov 2025 at 15:44

Tender

18 Jun 2025 at 14:17

Summary of the contracting process

The procurement process conducted by Maidstone Borough Council involved the award of a contract for organising a farmers' market in Maidstone Town Centre. With a focus on the services industry, this initiative is aimed at enhancing the fresh produce offering within the town. The tender, which progressed to the award stage, utilised an open, below-threshold competition method and defines a contract period of one year starting from 17 November 2025, with a provision for two possible 1-year extensions. The awarded contract, valued at £21,216 gross, was granted to MARKETS AND EVENTS UK LTD, a supplier based locally in Maidstone. The council is looking for a partner to introduce monthly farmers' markets in designated town centre locations like Jubilee Square or Coronation Square and is flexible about incorporating new venues.

This tender presents significant opportunities for businesses involved in market and event organisation, particularly those experienced in coordinating vendors and stallholders who can offer a diverse range of fresh local produce. It is ideally suited to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) with a background in creating vibrant market environments. Such businesses can leverage this tender to establish a regular market presence in Maidstone's bustling town centre and contribute to a localised food economy, thus expanding their reach and opening pathways for sustained business growth through innovative market setups.

Find more tenders on our Open Data Platform.
How relevant is this notice?

D3 Tenders Premium

Win More Public Sector Contracts

AI-powered tender discovery, pipeline management, and market intelligence — everything you need to grow your public sector business.

Notice Title

Invitation to Tender For the provision of a farmers' market in Maidstone Town Centre

Notice Description

Maidstone Borough Council is inviting tenders for the concession of a farmers' market in Maidstone Town Centre. Locations for the farmers' market could be Jubilee Square, ME14 1TF or Coronation Square, ME16 8LW or another town centre location that a contractor sees as a new opportunity. Please include any new venues for the council to consider in your submission. The contract term will be an initial 1 year, with two possible 1-year extensions subject to performance reviews, giving a potential three-year total. (1 + 1 + 1). Maidstone holds weekly markets at Lockmeadow that include for sale household items, groceries, bric-a-brac and some fresh food items. The council wishes to expand the fresh element and introduce a farmers' market to Maidstone Town Centre for the provision of fresh produce, fresh food and locally-made food products. It will complement the existing farmers' markets in the borough and bring the same opportunities to the town centre. The Council is keen to hear from companies and individuals who can bring together stall holders for a regular farmers' market in the town centre. The council sees this as being a monthly occurrence but is also open to other suggestions from bidders. In submissions, the council wishes to see an organiser's experiences and successes with example stall holders that the organiser would expect to attract to the town centre market.

Lot Information

Lot 1

Renewal: Two annual extensions available after the initial term.

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-054f39
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/070550-2025
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Tender, Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK6 - Contract Award Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Open
Procurement Method Details
Below threshold - open competition
Tender Suitability
SME, VCSE
Awardee Scale
SME

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

79 - Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security


CPV Codes

79950000 - Exhibition, fair and congress organisation services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£1
Lots Value
£1
Awards Value
£17,680 Under £100K
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
3 Nov 20253 months ago
Submission Deadline
16 Jul 2025Expired
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
3 Nov 20253 months ago
Contract Period
17 Nov 2025 - 17 Nov 2026 1-2 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Complete
Awards Status
Active
Contracts Status
Not Specified

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
MAIDSTONE BOROUGH COUNCIL
Contact Name
Not specified
Contact Email
procurement@tunbridgewells.gov.uk
Contact Phone
Not specified

Buyer Location

Locality
MAIDSTONE
Postcode
ME15 6JQ
Post Town
Rochester
Country
England

Major Region (ITL 1)
TLJ South East (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLJ4 Kent
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLJ45 Mid Kent
Delivery Location
TLJ45 Mid Kent

Local Authority
Maidstone
Electoral Ward
High Street
Westminster Constituency
Maidstone and Malling

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

MARKETS AND EVENTS

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

View full OCDS Record for this contracting process

Download

The Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) is a framework designed to increase transparency and access to public procurement data in the public sector. It is widely used by governments and organisations worldwide to report on procurement processes and contracts.

{
    "tag": [
        "compiled"
    ],
    "id": "ocds-h6vhtk-054f39-2025-11-03T15:44:56Z",
    "date": "2025-11-03T15:44:56Z",
    "ocid": "ocds-h6vhtk-054f39",
    "initiationType": "tender",
    "parties": [
        {
            "id": "GB-PPON-PGRT-5366-CGWY",
            "name": "Maidstone Borough Council",
            "identifier": {
                "scheme": "GB-PPON",
                "id": "PGRT-5366-CGWY"
            },
            "address": {
                "streetAddress": "Maidstone House, King Street",
                "locality": "Maidstone",
                "postalCode": "ME15 6JQ",
                "country": "GB",
                "countryName": "United Kingdom",
                "region": "UKJ45"
            },
            "contactPoint": {
                "email": "procurement@tunbridgewells.gov.uk"
            },
            "roles": [
                "buyer"
            ],
            "details": {
                "classifications": [
                    {
                        "scheme": "UK_CA_TYPE",
                        "id": "publicAuthoritySubCentralGovernment",
                        "description": "Public authority - sub-central government"
                    }
                ]
            }
        },
        {
            "id": "GB-COH-15506275",
            "name": "MARKETS AND EVENTS UK LTD",
            "identifier": {
                "scheme": "GB-COH",
                "id": "15506275"
            },
            "additionalIdentifiers": [
                {
                    "scheme": "GB-PPON",
                    "id": "PNDH-4844-DYND"
                }
            ],
            "address": {
                "streetAddress": "16 Mandarin Road",
                "locality": "Maidstone",
                "postalCode": "ME17 3UJ",
                "country": "GB",
                "countryName": "United Kingdom",
                "region": "UKJ45"
            },
            "contactPoint": {
                "email": "marketsandeventsuk@gmail.com"
            },
            "roles": [
                "supplier"
            ],
            "details": {
                "url": "https://www.pitchmarketsandeventsuk.com/",
                "scale": "sme",
                "vcse": false
            }
        }
    ],
    "buyer": {
        "id": "GB-PPON-PGRT-5366-CGWY",
        "name": "Maidstone Borough Council"
    },
    "tender": {
        "id": "ocds-h6vhtk-054f39",
        "legalBasis": {
            "id": "2023/54",
            "scheme": "UKPGA",
            "uri": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents"
        },
        "title": "Invitation to Tender For the provision of a farmers' market in Maidstone Town Centre",
        "description": "Maidstone Borough Council is inviting tenders for the concession of a farmers' market in Maidstone Town Centre. Locations for the farmers' market could be Jubilee Square, ME14 1TF or Coronation Square, ME16 8LW or another town centre location that a contractor sees as a new opportunity. Please include any new venues for the council to consider in your submission. The contract term will be an initial 1 year, with two possible 1-year extensions subject to performance reviews, giving a potential three-year total. (1 + 1 + 1). Maidstone holds weekly markets at Lockmeadow that include for sale household items, groceries, bric-a-brac and some fresh food items. The council wishes to expand the fresh element and introduce a farmers' market to Maidstone Town Centre for the provision of fresh produce, fresh food and locally-made food products. It will complement the existing farmers' markets in the borough and bring the same opportunities to the town centre. The Council is keen to hear from companies and individuals who can bring together stall holders for a regular farmers' market in the town centre. The council sees this as being a monthly occurrence but is also open to other suggestions from bidders. In submissions, the council wishes to see an organiser's experiences and successes with example stall holders that the organiser would expect to attract to the town centre market.",
        "status": "complete",
        "items": [
            {
                "id": "1",
                "additionalClassifications": [
                    {
                        "scheme": "CPV",
                        "id": "79950000",
                        "description": "Exhibition, fair and congress organisation services"
                    }
                ],
                "deliveryAddresses": [
                    {
                        "region": "UKJ45",
                        "country": "GB",
                        "countryName": "United Kingdom"
                    }
                ],
                "relatedLot": "1"
            }
        ],
        "value": {
            "amountGross": 1,
            "currency": "GBP"
        },
        "procurementMethod": "open",
        "procurementMethodDetails": "Below threshold - open competition",
        "mainProcurementCategory": "services",
        "aboveThreshold": false,
        "submissionMethodDetails": "All tender submissions must be through the Kent Business Portal: www.kentbusinessportal.org.uk",
        "submissionTerms": {
            "electronicSubmissionPolicy": "allowed"
        },
        "tenderPeriod": {
            "endDate": "2025-07-16T12:00:00+01:00"
        },
        "enquiryPeriod": {
            "endDate": "2025-07-09T12:00:00+01:00"
        },
        "lots": [
            {
                "id": "1",
                "status": "complete",
                "value": {
                    "amountGross": 1,
                    "currency": "GBP"
                },
                "suitability": {
                    "sme": true,
                    "vcse": true
                },
                "contractPeriod": {
                    "startDate": "2025-09-01T00:00:00+01:00",
                    "endDate": "2026-08-31T23:59:59+01:00",
                    "maxExtentDate": "2028-08-31T23:59:59+01:00"
                },
                "hasRenewal": true,
                "renewal": {
                    "description": "Two annual extensions available after the initial term."
                },
                "awardCriteria": {
                    "description": "Licence fee - 25% Quality - 75%"
                }
            }
        ],
        "documents": [
            {
                "id": "L-1",
                "documentType": "biddingDocuments",
                "url": "www.kentbusinessportal.org.uk"
            },
            {
                "id": "033394-2025",
                "documentType": "tenderNotice",
                "noticeType": "UK4",
                "description": "Tender notice on Find a Tender",
                "url": "https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/033394-2025",
                "datePublished": "2025-06-18T15:17:05+01:00",
                "format": "text/html"
            }
        ]
    },
    "language": "en",
    "bids": {
        "statistics": [
            {
                "id": "1",
                "measure": "bids",
                "value": 1,
                "relatedLot": "1"
            },
            {
                "id": "2",
                "measure": "finalStageBids",
                "value": 1,
                "relatedLot": "1"
            },
            {
                "id": "3",
                "measure": "smeFinalStageBids",
                "value": 1,
                "relatedLot": "1"
            },
            {
                "id": "4",
                "measure": "vcseFinalStageBids",
                "value": 0,
                "relatedLot": "1"
            }
        ]
    },
    "awards": [
        {
            "id": "1",
            "status": "active",
            "date": "2025-11-03T00:00:00Z",
            "value": {
                "amountGross": 21216,
                "amount": 17680,
                "currency": "GBP"
            },
            "mainProcurementCategory": "services",
            "aboveThreshold": false,
            "suppliers": [
                {
                    "id": "GB-COH-15506275",
                    "name": "MARKETS AND EVENTS UK LTD"
                }
            ],
            "items": [
                {
                    "id": "1",
                    "additionalClassifications": [
                        {
                            "scheme": "CPV",
                            "id": "79950000",
                            "description": "Exhibition, fair and congress organisation services"
                        }
                    ],
                    "deliveryAddresses": [
                        {
                            "region": "UKJ45",
                            "country": "GB",
                            "countryName": "United Kingdom"
                        }
                    ],
                    "relatedLot": "1"
                }
            ],
            "contractPeriod": {
                "startDate": "2025-11-17T00:00:00Z",
                "endDate": "2026-11-17T23:59:59Z",
                "maxExtentDate": "2028-11-17T23:59:59Z"
            },
            "hasRenewal": true,
            "renewal": {
                "description": "The contract term will be an initial 1 year, with two possible 1-year extensions subject to performance reviews, giving a potential three-year total. (1 + 1 + 1)."
            },
            "relatedLots": [
                "1"
            ],
            "documents": [
                {
                    "id": "070550-2025",
                    "documentType": "awardNotice",
                    "noticeType": "UK6",
                    "description": "Contract award notice on Find a Tender",
                    "url": "https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/070550-2025",
                    "datePublished": "2025-11-03T15:44:56Z",
                    "format": "text/html"
                }
            ],
            "milestones": [
                {
                    "id": "1",
                    "type": "futureSignatureDate",
                    "dueDate": "2025-11-17T23:59:59Z",
                    "status": "scheduled"
                }
            ]
        }
    ]
}