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PROCUREMENT OPPORTUNITY

Joint Venture Partner for the Durham Innovation District

Durham County Council · compiled

Tender information last checkedLast checked 29 Sept 2026, 18:58.

Opportunity overview

Durham County Council are seeking a Joint Venture Partner to develop the council owned Aykley Heads site, as a catalyst for the new Durham Innovation District. The 15ha site is within single council ownership; has outline planning permission for 39,000 square metres of commercial floorspace for up to 4,000 jobs. It sits within a wider 60ha area of the city that is the emerging Durham Innovation District, encompassing the new University Business School and Milburngate, a 450,000 sq ft mixed-use development. Aykley Heads and the Durham Innovation District will provide a platform to maximise the benefits of economic growth. It will identify key areas of opportunity, including research and advanced manufacturing, green jobs, electronics, digital and creative, fintech, life sciences and satellite applications sectors. Inward investment will also be directly focused on these specialisms and ecosystems to create sustainable supply chains and jobs across the county and beyond. Although the Joint Venture will initially focus on the Aykley Heads location, the JV scope (of goods, works and services) may be expanded in the future to cover wider County Durham area opportunities in order to support the strategic objectives of the Council and it's Partners.

Awarded to

Amounts belong to published awards or contracts. Where several suppliers share one value, it is labelled as shared and is not a supplier-specific allocation.

Muse Places Ltd

Matched by number
Published award value
Value not stated
Awarded
Not supplied
Contract signed
29 Apr 2025
Award ID
028324-2025-1
Status
active
Identifier
GB-COH 02717800
Location
London, UKC1, United Kingdom

Classification

  • CPV70100000 — Real estate services with own property
  • CPV09000000 — Petroleum products, fuel, electricity and other sources of energy
  • CPV45000000 — Construction work
  • CPV50700000 — Repair and maintenance services of building installations
  • CPV50800000 — Miscellaneous repair and maintenance services
  • CPV55000000 — Hotel, restaurant and retail trade services
  • CPV65000000 — Public utilities
  • CPV66100000 — Banking and investment services
  • CPV70000000 — Real estate services
  • CPV71200000 — Architectural and related services
  • CPV71300000 — Engineering services
  • CPV71400000 — Urban planning and landscape architectural services
  • CPV71500000 — Construction-related services
  • CPV71600000 — Technical testing, analysis and consultancy services
  • CPV71700000 — Monitoring and control services
  • CPV73100000 — Research and experimental development services
  • CPV73200000 — Research and development consultancy services
  • CPV73300000 — Design and execution of research and development
  • CPV79900000 — Miscellaneous business and business-related services

Lots

  • Durham County Council are seeking a Joint Venture Partner to develop the council owned Aykley Heads site, as a catalyst for the new Durham Innovation District. The 15ha site is within single council ownership; has outline planning permission for 39,000 square metres of commercial floorspace for up to 4,000 jobs. It sits within a wider 60ha area of the city that is the emerging Durham Innovation District, encompassing the new University Business School and Milburngate, a 450,000 sq ft mixed-use development. Aykley Heads and the Durham Innovation District will provide a platform to maximise the benefits of economic growth. It will identify key areas of opportunity, including research and advanced manufacturing, green jobs, electronics, digital and creative, fintech, life sciences and satellite applications sectors. Inward investment will also be directly focused on these specialisms and ecosystems to create sustainable supply chains and jobs across the county and beyond. This procurement is to appoint a JV partner who will seek to retain a long-term interest in the development beyond the construction phase and has the experience and expertise of creating, running and managing an Innovation District. This will ensure: -The partner brings expertise & desire to hold assets over the long term -A partnership approach which shares risk and reward with partner -That the council can retain high level of control on programme, use and quality -Council control can be further protected through phased approach of land transfer in to JV -The council has the benefit of a partner with long term commitment to the site -The partner would bring long term management experience and capability Although the Joint Venture will initially focus on the Aykley Heads location, the JV scope (of goods, works and services) may be expanded in the future to cover wider County Durham area opportunities in order to support the strategic objectives of the Council and it's Partners.Value not stated

Published notice details

Additional information from the published procurement release. Fields appear only when supplied by the source; check the original notice and tender documents before acting.

Scope, procedure and submissions

Id
ocds-h6vhtk-040454
Status
complete
Has Recurrence
No
Procurement Method
selective
Main Procurement Category
services
Procurement Method Details
Competitive dialogue

Covered By

GPA

Legal basis

Id
32014L0024
Scheme
CELEX

Second Stage

Successive Reduction
Yes

Tender Period

Ends
10 Nov 2023, 12:00

Communication

Future Notice Date
9 Oct 2023, 00:00

Contract terms

Performance Terms
As identified in the procurement documentation and supporting information.

Classification

Id
70100000
Scheme
CPV
Description
Real estate services with own property

Submission terms

Languages

en

Bid Validity Period

Ends
31 Dec 2025, 23:59

Submission Method

electronicSubmission

Lots and requirements

Entry 1
Id
1
Status
cancelled
Has Options
Yes
Has Renewal
No
Description
Durham County Council are seeking a Joint Venture Partner to develop the council owned Aykley Heads site, as a catalyst for the new Durham Innovation District. The 15ha site is within single council ownership; has outline planning permission for 39,000 square metres of commercial floorspace for up to 4,000 jobs. It sits within a wider 60ha area of the city that is the emerging Durham Innovation District, encompassing the new University Business School and Milburngate, a 450,000 sq ft mixed-use development. Aykley Heads and the Durham Innovation District will provide a platform to maximise the benefits of economic growth. It will identify key areas of opportunity, including research and advanced manufacturing, green jobs, electronics, digital and creative, fintech, life sciences and satellite applications sectors. Inward investment will also be directly focused on these specialisms and ecosystems to create sustainable supply chains and jobs across the county and beyond. This procurement is to appoint a JV partner who will seek to retain a long-term interest in the development beyond the construction phase and has the experience and expertise of creating, running and managing an Innovation District. This will ensure: -The partner brings expertise & desire to hold assets over the long term -A partnership approach which shares risk and reward with partner -That the council can retain high level of control on programme, use and quality -Council control can be further protected through phased approach of land transfer in to JV -The council has the benefit of a partner with long term commitment to the site -The partner would bring long term management experience and capability Although the Joint Venture will initially focus on the Aykley Heads location, the JV scope (of goods, works and services) may be expanded in the future to cover wider County Durham area opportunities in order to support the strategic objectives of the Council and it's Partners.

Options

Description
The term of the JV is anticipated, and likely be in the region of 15-25 years to deliver the shared Visions and Outcomes but may be subject to extension by mutual consent.

Second Stage

Maximum Candidates
5
Minimum Candidates
5

Award criteria

Criteria

Criterion 1
Name
Financial
Type
cost
Description
20

Contract period

Starts
1 Apr 2025, 00:00

Submission terms

Variant Policy
notAllowed

Items and delivery

Item 1
Id
1
Related Lot
1

Delivery locations

Entry 1
Region
UKC1
Entry 2
Region
UKC1
Entry 3
Region
UKC1

Additional Classifications

Entry 1
Id
09000000
Scheme
CPV
Description
Petroleum products, fuel, electricity and other sources of energy
Entry 2
Id
45000000
Scheme
CPV
Description
Construction work
Entry 3
Id
50700000
Scheme
CPV
Description
Repair and maintenance services of building installations
Entry 4
Id
50800000
Scheme
CPV
Description
Miscellaneous repair and maintenance services
Entry 5
Id
55000000
Scheme
CPV
Description
Hotel, restaurant and retail trade services
Entry 6
Id
65000000
Scheme
CPV
Description
Public utilities
Entry 7
Id
66100000
Scheme
CPV
Description
Banking and investment services
Entry 8
Id
70000000
Scheme
CPV
Description
Real estate services
Entry 9
Id
71200000
Scheme
CPV
Description
Architectural and related services
Entry 10
Id
71300000
Scheme
CPV
Description
Engineering services
Entry 11
Id
71400000
Scheme
CPV
Description
Urban planning and landscape architectural services
Entry 12
Id
71500000
Scheme
CPV
Description
Construction-related services
Entry 13
Id
71600000
Scheme
CPV
Description
Technical testing, analysis and consultancy services
Entry 14
Id
71700000
Scheme
CPV
Description
Monitoring and control services
Entry 15
Id
73100000
Scheme
CPV
Description
Research and experimental development services
Entry 16
Id
73200000
Scheme
CPV
Description
Research and development consultancy services
Entry 17
Id
73300000
Scheme
CPV
Description
Design and execution of research and development
Entry 18
Id
79900000
Scheme
CPV
Description
Miscellaneous business and business-related services

Published documents

Entry 1
Id
economic
Document Type
economicSelectionCriteria
Entry 2
Id
technical
Document Type
technicalSelectionCriteria

Buyer, suppliers and contacts

Organisation 1
Id
GB-FTS-93559
Name
Durham County Council

Roles

buyer

Address

Region
UKC14
Locality
DURHAM
Postal Code
DH15UQ
Country Name
United Kingdom
Street Address
County Hall, Aykley Heads

Details

Classifications

Entry 1
Id
REGIONAL_AUTHORITY
Scheme
TED_CA_TYPE
Description
Regional or local authority
Entry 2
Id
01
Scheme
COFOG
Description
General public services

Identifier

Legal Name
Durham County Council
No Identifier Rationale
notOnAnyRegister

Contact

Name
Richard Carroll
Telephone
+44 3000265423
Organisation 2
Id
GB-FTS-34318
Name
Durham County Council

Roles

buyer

Address

Region
UKC14
Locality
DURHAM
Postal Code
DH15UQ
Country Name
United Kingdom
Street Address
County Hall

Details

Classifications

Entry 1
Id
REGIONAL_AUTHORITY
Scheme
TED_CA_TYPE
Description
Regional or local authority
Entry 2
Id
01
Scheme
COFOG
Description
General public services

Identifier

Legal Name
Durham County Council
No Identifier Rationale
notOnAnyRegister

Contact

Name
Richard Carroll
Telephone
+44 3000265423
Organisation 3
Id
GB-FTS-94914
Name
High Court of England and Wales

Roles

reviewBody

Address

Locality
London
Postal Code
EC4A 1NL
Country Name
United Kingdom
Street Address
7 Rolls Building, Fetter Lane,

Identifier

Legal Name
High Court of England and Wales

Contact

Organisation 4
Id
GB-FTS-141319
Name
Durham County Council

Roles

buyer

Address

Region
UKC14
Locality
Durham
Postal Code
DH15WB
Country Name
United Kingdom
Street Address
Corten House, Dunholme Close

Details

Classifications

Entry 1
Id
REGIONAL_AUTHORITY
Scheme
TED_CA_TYPE
Description
Regional or local authority
Entry 2
Id
01
Scheme
COFOG
Description
General public services

Identifier

Legal Name
Durham County Council
No Identifier Rationale
notOnAnyRegister

Contact

Name
Richard Carroll
Organisation 5
Id
GB-COH-02717800
Name
Muse Places Ltd

Roles

supplier

Address

Region
UKC1
Locality
London
Country Name
United Kingdom

Details

Scale
large

Identifier

Id
02717800
Scheme
GB-COH
Legal Name
Muse Places Ltd
Organisation 6
Id
GB-FTS-53823
Name
High Court of England and Wales

Roles

reviewBody

Address

Locality
London
Postal Code
EC4A 1NL
Country Name
United Kingdom
Street Address
7 Rolls Building, Fetter Lane

Identifier

Legal Name
High Court of England and Wales

Contact

Award information

Award 1
Id
028324-2025-1
Status
active

Suppliers

Supplier 1
Id
GB-COH-02717800
Name
Muse Places Ltd

Related lots

1

Contracts and changes

Entry 1
Id
028324-2025-1
Status
active
Award ID
028324-2025-1
Date Signed
30 Apr 2025, 00:00

Recorded locations

  • Buyer location · Durham · UKC14 · DH15WB · United Kingdom
  • Delivery location · UKC1

Notice and amendment history

1 published notice version reviewed by ProcuraAxis.

1 VERSION
  1. ocds-h6vhtk-040454-2025-05-29T09:41:10+01:00compiled ·