SOFT MARKET TESTING OF WINCHESTER CITY STREET MARKET MANAGEMENT COMPANY

Winchester City Council (The "council") is running a soft market test exercise, to inform how the council might progress future operations of the street market in central Winchester prior to procuring a contract for a market management company.

The aim of the soft market testing is to:

•gather information to support the council's decision-making process in any next steps •inform our thinking regarding commercial considerations of operating the street market •identify innovative and cost-effective delivery solutions, which may inform our specification development •understand the optimum way of procuring.

For the avoidance of doubt, this notice is for the purpose of conducting a soft market testing exercise and will not formally begin the procurement or constitute any commitment by Winchester City Council to undertake any procurement exercise.

Potential providers are invited to respond to the questions set out in the Winchester City Street Market: Confidential Soft Market Testing Questionnaire document by 9am on Wednesday 19 July 2023. There is no maximum word count, but please do not use brochures or marketing material as an answer to any question.

Potential providers may be invited to a virtual meeting to discuss their answers. Please confirm in your response if you are willing to meet on a MS Teams meeting with council officers on Wednesday 26 July 2023. Times to be mutually agreed.

Responses to the questionnaire and information gathered from subsequent meetings may be used to inform our future operations and approach to the tender exercise.

All information included in this soft market testing questionnaire is confidential and only for the council's knowledge. No information included in this document or in discussions connected to it may be disclosed to any other party without prior written authorisation from the council.

Where confidential information is provided by the council to the potential providers all recipients of council information must treat the information provided as confidential and to use the information only for the purpose provided.

Please return responses to the Economy Team at ecodev@winchester.gov.uk by 9am on Wednesday 19 July 2023.