Call for expert views on the future of landmark building

An engagement exercise to gather views, ideas and market insight about the future development of a landmark town centre building is open for comments.

The Northern Echo building, in Priestgate, was bought by the council earlier this year using funding from the Towns Fund and Tees Valley Combined Authority.

An Adult Skills Centre is planned for the ground floor of the building, but the future of the upper three floors is open for consideration.

Ahead of any procurement exercise or any firm design plans being made, the council has launched a preliminary market engagement (PME) exercise.

Open to interested organisations with relevant experience and expertise, the market engagement is looking to generate initial views and ideas about the development of delivery routes, the scope and the potential procurement strategy for any future project.

Organisations will also be asked to provide informal input to help shape technical requirements and explain potential options and solutions to the council.

The PME is viewed as a valuable tool to open collaborative discussion with the market, helping the council understand the market position, capabilities and trends, alongside issues and risks before starting formal work determining the scope of the project.

The engagement is being held through the NEPO Portal to ensure transparency and an audit trail of communications.

Councillor Jamie Bartch, cabinet member for economy said: “The Echo building is an exciting project, one that could bring new jobs and high quality office space to an under-utilised part of the town centre.  

“However, it’s a huge building in need of a lot of work and before we dive in to make plans we want to hear from the market about technical issues that need to be considered and views around the options for delivery routes. We’re also looking for market insight into potential future uses for the building.”

Comments and returns can be made through the NEPO Portal until December 19. There is a full PME pack available, along with the document for comments, at https://procontract.due-north.com/Advert?advertId=4ff4ae1e-1667-ed11-811b-9f38301b3091&p=1c9e782c-541e-e611-8114-000c29c9ba21