This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

Tender

20 Aug 2026 at 17:15

Summary of the contracting process

Cardiff Council is procuring a developer to finance, design and construct the Ely Youth Zone, a new youth centre on Cowbridge Road East, Cardiff. The facility is expected to be approximately 1,650 square metres and will be delivered on land currently occupied by housing and a partly demolished social club, which the Council is acquiring and remediating. OnSide, a registered charity, is co-commissioning the project and an OnSide charity entity is expected to occupy the completed facility. The requirement covers construction work plus architectural, engineering and inspection services. The successful supplier will not provide fixtures, furniture or equipment. Cardiff Council is the contracting authority, with OnSide having contractual rights to influence and control delivery so the completed building meets its requirements.

The procurement has reached tender: Cardiff Council invited suppliers to submit a Procurement Specific Questionnaire through an electronic portal under a selective competitive flexible procedure. Up to three suppliers will be shortlisted, followed by dialogue and negotiation, tender submission and a preferred-bidder stage. Enquiries close at 12:00 on 2 September 2026, and requests to participate through the completed PSQ are due by 12:00 on 15 September 2026. The estimated value is £8,650,000 excluding VAT, or £10,380,000 including VAT. The contract is planned for 1 March 2027 to 28 February 2030, with a maximum extent to 31 May 2030; extensions may be permitted for unforeseen delays. Award is expected by 29 January 2027. Evaluation covers legal, funding strategy, design, delivery, programme, risk, cost, community benefits and socially responsible procurement.

This opportunity suits developers and main contractors able to take overall responsibility for financing, designing and constructing a substantial community building, including managing professional design, construction delivery, programme, risks and legal arrangements. Suppliers will need to demonstrate the economic and technical conditions in the PSQ and provide a credible funding strategy, fixed-cost information against a capped budget, and evidence of delivering community well-being benefits. The competitive process is suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises, although the requirement involves the capacity to coordinate the full development and contractual package. Relevant experience in comparable construction or youth, community or public-sector facilities would be useful, alongside strong stakeholder management and the ability to work with Cardiff Council and OnSide through dialogue, negotiation and delivery.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Title

Ely Youth Zone

Notice Description

Cardiff Council (the Council) has identified a plot of land at Cowbridge Road East (the Site) as the preferred location for the delivery of a new youth centre facility (Youth Zone). The Site is currently occupied by housing and a partly demolished social club which the Council is in the process of acquiring which it will then remediate in order to enable delivery of the Youth Zone. Further information on the Site location can be found in the Stage 2 Report (Appendix A of the Scope) made available with this Tender Notice. Whilst the Council will be the contracting authority for the purposes of this procurement, the delivery of the Youth Zone will be co-commissioned by OnSide, a registered charity and company which raises funds to deliver and operate a national network of state-of-the-art Youth Zones in the UK's most disadvantaged areas. OnSide (or a subsidiary of its group) is expected to be the tenant of the Youth Zone once delivered. Further information on OnSide is set out in the associated tender documents. The Council wishes to appoint a developer to finance, design and construct the Youth Zone which this notice relates to. The Youth Zone is anticipated to be in the region of 1,650m2 and further details on the specification requirements for this output can be found in the Scope. The successful supplier will not be required to provide the associated Fixtures, Furniture and Equipment for the completed output - for the avoidance of doubt, this is not within the scope of this procurement process. The Council has set a budget for this project and further details on this are set out in the ITP and ITPDN made available with this Tender Notice. The Council will be making staged payments towards the cost of delivering the Youth Zone. These staged payments are not subject to negotiation. Further details on the staged payments and the intended contractual structure/approach are set out in the Heads of Terms. Once delivered to satisfactory completion, the Council intends to enter into a lease with a newly created OnSide charity entity for the Youth Zone for a term of 125 years. To ensure that the Youth Zone is fit for Onside's requirements, the OnSide charity will be a counterparty to the contractual arrangements to be entered into with the successful supplier subject of this procurement and will be able to exercise rights under it to have input/control on delivery. The lease to be entered into separately with the Council and the OnSide charity (once the output is delivered) will not involve the Council placing any legally enforceable obligation on the OnSide charity to provide any services to the Council or the wider public in respect of the Youth Zone - it will be an independent matter as to how to utilise and operate the Youth Zone for the Youth Zone charity. This Tender Notice is for the award of a public contract through a competitive flexible procedure in accordance with section 20(1) and (2)(b) of the Procurement Act 2023. The competitive flexible procedure may include negotiation at any stage. The Council reserves the right to rely on Section 24 of the Procurement Act 2023 to refine award criteria. The Council reserves the right to rely on Section 43 of the Procurement Act 2023 to directly award a contract. The Council intends to shortlist up to 3 suppliers with the highest scoring Procurement Specific Questionnaire (PSQ) responses to participate in the subsequent stages of the competitive flexible procedure. The 3 shortlisted suppliers will be invited participate in the dialogue and negotiation phase and then submit tenders. The supplier with the most advantageous tender will be invited to participate in the preferred bidder stage to confirm commitments in its tender. The Council will use an online portal at www.proactisplaza.com/SupplierPortal (the Portal) to make associated tender documents available to suppliers. Suppliers requesting to participate in this procurement competition are also required to submit their completed PSQs through the Portal. The following associated tender documents are being provided with the publication of this tender notice to provide further information about the procurement and are available on the Portal: * Tender Notice * Heads of Terms * PSQ * PSQ Guidance Document * Invitation to Participate (ITP) * Invitation to Participate in Dialogue and Negotiation (ITPDN) * Stage 2 Report - Cardiff Youth Zone * Schedule of Accommodation The following associated tender documents will be made available later through the Portal to bidders shortlisted to participate in the tender stages of this competitive flexible procedure: * Invitation to Tender (ITT), including evaluation questions and evaluation methodology * Build License * PCSA * Development Agreement * Lease * Indicative General Arrange Plans * Scheme Specific Onside Youth Zone - Specific Technical Requirements * Preliminaries & General Conditions * Topo Survey - Warner Surveys * Services trace * Ground Investigation: Phase I Desk Study & Preliminary UXO Threat Assessment * Drainage CCTV Survey * Air Quality Assessment * Flood Consequence Assessment * PCSA Cost Document Template * Fixed Cost Template Selected reports and additional information relating to the site and the Scheme will also be made available later through the Portal to suppliers shortlisted to participate in the tender stages of the competitive flexible procedure.

Lot Information

Lot 1

Renewal: Extensions may be permitted to any unforeseen delays and must be approved by the Contracting Authority

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-06e911
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/079661-2026
Current Stage
Tender
All Stages
Tender

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK4 - Tender Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Works
Procurement Method
Selective
Procurement Method Details
Competitive flexible procedure
Tender Suitability
SME
Awardee Scale
Not specified

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

45 - Construction work

71 - Architectural, construction, engineering and inspection services


CPV Codes

45000000 - Construction work

71000000 - Architectural, construction, engineering and inspection services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£8,650,000 £1M-£10M
Lots Value
£8,650,000 £1M-£10M
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
20 Aug 20266 days ago
Submission Deadline
2 Sep 20266 days to go
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
1 Mar 2027 - 28 Feb 2030 3-4 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

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

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
Cardiff Council
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
CARDIFF
Postcode
CF10 4UW
Postcode Area
Cardiff
Country
Wales

Major Region (ITL 1)
TLL Wales
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLL5 South East Wales
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLL52 Cardiff and Vale of Glamorgan
Delivery Location
TLL22 Cardiff and Vale of Glamorgan

Local Authority
Cardiff
Electoral Ward
Butetown
Westminster Constituency
Cardiff South and Penarth

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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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.

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