---
title: "Preliminary Market Engagement for Ashford Arts Centre Operator"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-06d8e0"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-06d8e0"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06d8e0.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06d8e0.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Planning"
buyer: "ASHFORD BOROUGH COUNCIL"
published: "2026-07-31"
---

# Preliminary Market Engagement for Ashford Arts Centre Operator

Buyer: ASHFORD BOROUGH COUNCIL  
Current stage: Planning  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-06d8e0

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## Summary

Ashford Borough Council is currently in the planning phase for the redevelopment of the former Odeon cinema on Ashford High Street into the Ashford Arts Centre. This flexible venue will accommodate a theatre, gallery, and community space and is poised to become a cultural focal point in the town. The council is engaging with the market to appoint an operator or leaseholder to run the venue. Situated in Ashford, UKJ4 region, this procurement process, classified under "services" in the recreational, cultural, and sporting services categories, aims to assess market interest and inform the council's procurement strategy. Key dates include a market engagement day on 12th August 2026, with responses due by 28th August 2026. The entire project is expected to formally commence between 2027 and 2028, with a contract term of approximately 15 to 25 years. The council also anticipates that some public revenue support might be needed for the venue's sustainable operation.

This tender presents significant opportunities for businesses within the cultural, community, and commercial sectors, offering an estimated turnover of approximately £6.1 million over the lease or concession term. Ideal candidates are operators who can enhance local employment, provide affordable access, and deliver a high-quality programme. Successful bidders will be instrumental in shaping a landmark cultural project in Ashford, maintaining a resilient commercial model and benefiting from potential public revenue support to ensure long-term sustainability. Businesses with expertise in managing entertainment venues or those with a strong base in cultural services are well-suited for this tender, given the council's ambition for creating a genuine cultural anchor in the area.

## Notice

Ashford Borough Council is bringing forward the redevelopment of the former Odeon cinema on Ashford High Street into Ashford Arts Centre (working title, naming convention to be agreed with successful bidder), a flexible theatre, gallery and community venue, and a landmark cultural project for the town centre. Following Cabinet and Full Council approval, this first phase of the project focuses on restoring the High Street facing part of the building; it does not recreate a full-scale theatre and is designed to complement rather than compete with larger regional venues. Design development is being led by Haworth Tompkins, with RIBA Stage 2 complete and Stage 3 design now underway. The Council intends to appoint an operator or leaseholder to run the venue once complete, on a lease or concession basis pending final classification, and is undertaking preliminary market engagement to understand market capacity and appetite among cultural and commercial operators before finalising its procurement route and minimum requirements. This builds on strong interest already shown by creative and community organisations in Ashford and is intended to ensure the technical brief and contract terms are realistic and will attract high quality operators, given the Council's ambition for the venue to become a genuine cultural anchor for the area. The Council acknowledges that some form of public revenue support may be required to enable a venue of this kind to operate sustainably; the level and structure of any such support has not yet been determined and will be informed by this engagement. This is not a call for competition and does not commit the Council to commence a procurement process. Turnover estimated at approximately PS6.1 million over a 15-year term, in line with the lease or concession term set out above. This reflects the Council's indicative commercial model for the venue, based on cumulative operator income (not net or gross profit and excluding public subsidy) over the 15-year term. Lease or concession term of approximately 15 - 25 years from operational handover. Start date to be confirmed once the Stage 3 and Stage 4 design and construction programme is finalised, but indicative dates provided are based on an early agreement being in place in early 2027, with the venue opening in July 2028, based on the current programme and a 15 year agreement from opening. For more information about this opportunity, please visit the eSourcing portal at: https://www.kentbusinessportal.org.uk/tenders/UK-UK-Ashford:-Recreational%2C-cultural-and-sporting-services./6784S55D35 To respond to this opportunity, please click here: https://www.kentbusinessportal.org.uk/respond/6784S55D35

### Planning Information

1. Purpose of this Engagement
Ashford Borough Council is undertaking preliminary market engagement in advance of a potential procurement process for the appointment of an operator or leaseholder to run Ashford Arts Centre.
The purpose of this exercise is to:
•understand current market capacity and appetite among cultural, community and commercial operators
•test the contract structure against real operator experience, including views on whether, and to what extent, public revenue support may be needed
•inform the proposed procurement route, contract structure and specification
•identify opportunities for community engagement, accessible pricing and high-quality content programming
This is not a call for competition and does not commit the Council to commence a procurement process.
2. Venue Overview
•Location: the former Odeon cinema, Ashford High Street, currently being redeveloped by Haworth Tompkins
•Main auditorium (Studio Theatre): up to 176 seated, or 212 standing, a flexible performance space for resident and touring content
•First floor Dance Hall and community space: approximately 145 sqm, with seated capacity varying by use from around 45 up to around 132 depending on layout, intended to operate as a concurrent, separate hire alongside the auditorium, supporting workshops, rehearsals, dance classes and wellbeing activities, as well as commercial and public hire including meetings, conferences, weddings and private celebrations
•Additional spaces: a foyer with café/bar and informal workspace, a gallery and pop-up creative area for exhibitions and community showcases, and accessible circulation with modern building systems throughout
•Design and technical development detail available in the information pack on request
•Further background on the project, including the Cabinet report and community engagement activity, is available on the Council's website: https://www.ashford.gov.uk/your-council/council-projects/town-centre-improvements/the-odeon/ 
•Public sector revenue support: the Council acknowledges that some form of public subsidy may be required to enable a venue of this scale and specification to operate sustainably. The level and structure of any such support has not yet been determined, and responses to this engagement will help inform that decision
The Council is particularly interested in understanding how operators can support: local employment opportunities; affordable and accessible pricing alongside genuine community access commitments; high quality cultural and commercial content programming; and a resilient commercial model capable of sustaining the venue over the full contract term.
3. Engagement Format
•Operator Market Day: Wednesday 12th August 2026, held via Teams, with senior representatives from Haworth Tompkins, Ashford Borough Council and Blue Horizon Ventures presenting the design, requirements and next steps
•Optional follow up conversations available on request
All participating organisations will receive the same information pack, to ensure transparency.
4. Confidentiality
Information provided will be used solely to inform the Council's procurement strategy. Commercially sensitive information will not be disclosed publicly.
5. Next Steps
Following this engagement, the Council may:
•refine its delivery model 
•adjust its route to market
•publish a formal procurement notice
•decide not to proceed
Register attendance for the market day by Friday 7th August 2026, to Julian Russell julian@bluehorizon-ventures.com 
Written expressions of interest and responses to the questionnaire are due by Friday 28th August 2026 via the Kent Business Portal.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/072732-2026 |
| Notice type | UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Not Specified |
| Procurement method details | Not specified |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | Not specified |
| All stages | Planning |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 31 Jul 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | 28 Aug 2026 |
| Award date | Not specified |
| Contract period | 30 Mar 2027 - 30 Jun 2043 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | £6,100,000 |
| 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 | ASHFORD BOROUGH COUNCIL |
| Locality | ASHFORD |
| Post town | Tonbridge |
| Postcode | TN23 1HU |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLJ South East (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLJ4 Kent |
| ITL 3 | TLJ45 Mid Kent |
| Local authority | Ashford |
| Electoral ward | Victoria |
| Westminster constituency | Ashford |
| Delivery location | TLJ4 Kent |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 92 - Recreational, cultural and sporting services

### Codes

- 92000000 - Recreational, cultural and sporting services
- 92300000 - Entertainment services
- 92310000 - Artistic and literary creation and interpretation services

## Release History

- 31 Jul 2026 at 12:54 - Planning - UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/072732-2026

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/072732-2026
  31st July 2026 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- https://www.ashford.gov.uk/your-council/council-projects/town-centre-improvements/the-odeon/
- https://www.kentbusinessportal.org.uk/respond/6784S55D35
- https://www.kentbusinessportal.org.uk/tenders/UK-UK-Ashford:-Recreational%2C-cultural-and-sporting-services./6784S55D35
- 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-06d8e0. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06d8e0.json.