OPS9996 PIN Developer /Commercial Partner - Boston Spa Print Collection Hub

Tender description

This is a call for a market sounding exercise prior to the possible procurement of a commercial partner for the construction and/or operation of new buildings. We expect to place the OJEU Procurement Notice during 2016 but it may differ significantly from the topics raised here: there is no guarantee that the OJEU Notice will be placed. The British Library offers a unique opportunity to a commercial development partner to support us in delivering our ambitions for our freehold Boston Spa estate, owned by the British Library Board. In the past 10 years, two new facilities have been built at the Yorkshire site, which store – and make easily retrievable – vast parts of our collections at the highest possible levels of efficiency. The proposal is the Construction of a high density, automated storage facility increasing the capability of the British Library to offer print collection management, continued access and collaborative shared services for printed collections from cultural, educational and public sector organisations across the UK. The storage capacity would be equivalent to 250 linear kilometres. The British Library is interested in the potential of full private funding for the proposal, or a mixed public/private funding split. There are three potential partnership options - Construction only; Construction and operation of the retrieval service; and Construction, retrieval and other logistics. The Library will be interested to hear views on this project and to have non-binding discussions with any interested parties over the next period. Contact with the Library must, in the first instance be through the BRAVO platform as defined in this PIN. This exercise is due to close on 1st April 2016. We will contact you nearer the time to confirm the closure of the exercise and you will be alerted, by way of your BRAVO registration, when the procurement route is decided.