---
title: "Preliminary Market Engagement for Mobile Catering Units"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-0607d4"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-0607d4"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0607d4.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0607d4.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Planning"
buyer: "DACORUM BOROUGH COUNCIL"
published: "2026-01-16"
---

# Preliminary Market Engagement for Mobile Catering Units

Buyer: DACORUM BOROUGH COUNCIL  
Current stage: Planning  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-0607d4

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## Summary

Dacorum Borough Council is currently in the planning stage of a preliminary market engagement (PME) regarding the placement of mobile catering units in various parks across the borough. This initiative, titled "Preliminary Market Engagement for Mobile Catering Units," falls under the services category, specifically focusing on restaurant, food-serving, and beverage-serving services. The engagement aims to gather information to help structure future tender opportunities and seek innovations to enhance park user experience and income generation. The engagement period is scheduled until 6th February 2026, with submissions due by noon on that date. The parks identified for potential catering units include Coronation Fields, Bunkers Park, Canal Fields, Grovehill Playing Fields, and Jellicoe Water Gardens in Hemel Hempstead, UK.

This procurement process offers substantial business growth opportunities, particularly for SMEs specialising in catering, food services, and event management. Businesses adept at innovation in customer engagement and service delivery in outdoor settings will find this opportunity well-suited to their capacities. The council is interested in different commercial models such as fixed rent or turnover share, inviting dynamic enterprises to propose sustainable, profitable strategies. This is an ideal entry point for businesses eager to establish or expand their presence in Dacorum Borough's community spaces, with a potential contract period starting from 1st September 2026, allowing growth and development into the local catering market until potentially 2030.

## Notice

Preliminary Market Engagement - Mobile Catering Units (Dacorum Borough Council) This is a request for information and NOT a tender opportunity. Overview The Council own several parks across the Borough. The following sites have been identified as areas that would benefit from having Mobile Catering Units located in them:- * Coronation Fields * Bunkers Park * Canal Fields * Grovehill Playing Fields * Jellicoe Water Gardens Key Aims We are seeking input to understand: * What kind of food and beverage offer would best meet the expectations of park users * How to maximise income generation while delivering a quality and inclusive experience * The preferred commercial model (e.g. fixed rent, turnover share, hybrid) * The level of interest and capacity among potential operators * Innovations that could increase footfall, customer satisfaction, and community engagement To access further information about this catering concession and to submit a questionnaire, interested parties will need to download these from the Council's e-tendering portal 'Supply Hertfordshire'. Suppliers must register to use the portal - this is free of charge. Documents can be downloaded from the portal and via this link https://in-tendhost.co.uk/supplyhertfordshire/aspx/Home Completed questions can be submitted up to 12 noon on 6th February 2026.

### Planning Information

Please refer to PME documentation for further detail. This is NOT a tender exercise.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/003976-2026 |
| Notice type | UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Not Specified |
| Procurement method details | Not specified |
| Tender suitability | SME |
| Awardee scale | Not specified |
| All stages | Planning |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 16 Jan 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | 2 Mar 2026 |
| Award date | Not specified |
| Contract period | 31 Aug 2026 - 31 Aug 2028 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | Not specified |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Planning |
| Lots status | Planning |
| Awards status | Not specified |
| Contracts status | Not specified |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | DACORUM BOROUGH COUNCIL |
| Locality | HEMEL HEMPSTEAD |
| Post town | Hemel Hempstead |
| Postcode | HP1 1DN |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLH East (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLH2 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire |
| ITL 3 | TLH27 South West Hertfordshire |
| Local authority | Dacorum |
| Electoral ward | Hemel Hempstead Town |
| Westminster constituency | Hemel Hempstead |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 55 - Hotel, restaurant and retail trade services

### Codes

- 55300000 - Restaurant and food-serving services
- 55400000 - Beverage-serving services
- 55500000 - Canteen and catering services

## Release History

- 16 Jan 2026 at 14:57 - Planning - UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/003976-2026

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/003976-2026
  16th January 2026 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- https://in-tendhost.co.uk/supplyhertfordshire/aspx/Home
- https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents

## Provenance

This Markdown file is an alternate public rendering of the D3 Tenders contract record. The canonical page is https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-0607d4. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0607d4.json.