Voluntary Notice - Flagship Restaurant Restaurateur at the Wish Tower, Eastbourne, East Sussex

Eastbourne Borough Council is investing in the creation of a flagship restaurant in a central location with stunning views of Beachy Head at the prime location adjacent to the listed Wish Tower. We are now seeking Expressions of Interest to be the restaurateur of this unique opportunity. The key objectives are: - To provide a new destination, primarily to increase the evening economy and to act as a footfall driver for the seafront to build on the Council's ambitious plans for the Town’s economic regeneration.

• To provide a landmark building design in the unique location making best use of views over the sea to the south east and towards Beachy Head and the Seven Sisters cliffs to the south west.
• To benefit from the outstanding landscaping, sympathetic to its surrounding location and being adjacent to the Wish Tower. To be sensitive to the Wish Tower in scale and appearance.
• Integrate into the design where possible the link between the close proximity of the new Devonshire Park development and the historic link with the Redoubt Fortress to the East.
• Potential to make use of the full site including the existing service yard area to exploit the views and key visibility opportunities.
• In accordance with the terms upon which external funding was secured, the development must provide a viable return on investment. The lease will be structured in terms of a base rent with overage linked to turnover to be agreed between the parties. This enables both the Council and the Restaurateur to jointly benefit from the continued success of the scheme.

The procurement of the restaurateur will be two stage. The purpose of this stage is for bidders to provide the Council with their outline proposals. At Stage two, the Council will request shortlisted bidders to submit their detailed proposals.

All interested parties are invited to submit an Expression of Interest by 31 March 2016 to: wishtower@focus-consultants.com.

For Expression of Interest requirements and submission details please contact: info@brucegillinghampollard.com.

These Expression of Interest materials can also be downloaded via the following link: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/u2hzy1lf5t86hom/AABLqK_BjYdDAjNdgtG117D9a?oref=e&n=447984143

General clarifications and any additional information, if any, will be published on Contract Finder on a regular basis before the deadline for expressions of interest (www.contractsfinder.gov.uk). The timetable in the issued documents provided will be updated.

The Council is flexible around the ultimate realisation of their objectives and through the procurement process, the Council will seek operator input to secure the most appropriate proposal. The Council recognises, and considers it important, that the creativity and commercial propositions of the private sector are harnessed and implemented where they improve the overall quality and appropriateness of the development, are deliverable and sustainable.

Additional information: The length of the concession agreement is flexible and may be longer or shorter than 10 years. The range of time and estimate of turnovers in this notice are provided only as a guide to those who may whish to express an interest. For a 10 year concession the estimated turnover is 5 – 10million GBP.

The main subject matter of the contract is a services concession. It is not intended to follow a formal procedure under the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 or 2006 or Directive 2014/23/EU. This notice is published in the interests of transparency only.

All discussions and meetings will be conducted in English, pricing must be in GBP and the process and the contract will be governed and construed in accordance with English law.

Participation and the costs and expenses of doing so are entirely at the risk of economic operators and will not be refunded by the contracting authority under any circumstances. The contracting authority shall not be responsible for any costs, charges or expenses incurred by participants and accepts no liability for any costs, charges or expenses, irrespective of the outcome of the competition, or if the competition is cancelled or postponed.

All dates and time periods specified in this notice are only provisional and the contracting authority reserves the right to change these.

The contracting authority reserves the right to not run any form of competition or award any or part of this contract.

Candidates are advised that the contracting authority is subject to the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (‘the Act’). If a candidate considers that any of the information supplied as part of this procurement procedure should not be disclosed because of its commercial sensitivity, confidentiality or otherwise, they must, when providing this information, clearly identify the specific information they do not wish to be disclosed and clearly specify the reasons for its sensitivity. The contracting authority shall take such statements into consideration in the event that it receives a request pursuant to the Act which relates to the information provided by the interested party. Please note, it is not sufficient to include a statement of confidentiality encompassing all the information provided in the response.