Soft Market Engagement - Bus Shelter Advertising and Maintenance Concession Contract

West Northamptonshire Council will shortly be seeking tenders for a concession contract for the provision and maintenance of bus shelters throughout West Northamptonshire, including Northampton and Daventry, funded from advertising on shelters.

The Council wants to ensure its proposals are designed to enable prospective operators to maximise the value they can achieve, and thus offer to the Council. Its current thinking is:

• The Operator will use its expertise to provide and maintain shelters. • The Council will meet the cost of providing new shelters. • The Operator will advertise on shelters in order to generate income, including to maintain shelters. • If the Council requires new shelters or changes to shelters it would carry the financial consequences of this. • The Council would share benefit from the net income.

It is unavoidable that there will need to be some control over the location and nature of advertising, but the Council intends to keep this as simple and clear as possible, and avoid the Council becoming involved in decisions about the merits of different advertisements.

The Council will be presenting its proposals via an online meeting on Friday 1st December at 10.30am - 12noon via Teams

To confirm your attendance at this meeting, please email procurement@westnorthants.gov.uk

If you are unable to attend the meeting, please use the same email address to request a recording.

Comments on the proposals are sought, and should be sent to the same email address.

This soft market testing exercise is not an invitation to tender or request for formal expressions of interest. The Council is issuing this request for information and market research only.