Northampton Central Library Refurbishment Works

West Northamptonshire Council invite Potential Providers to quote for the refurbishment works at Northampton Central Library. Scope: Enhancing Northampton Central Library to provide a wider range of services with improved facilities, including a family hub.

To refurbish and improve Northampton Central Library, built in 1910 and located in the heart of Northampton town centre. The project will make the Grade II Listed building more flexible, accessible and safer, and with greater commercial potential from the refurbishment of the Carnegie Room.

Improvements to existing facilities to include the refurbishment of the existing lift into an evacuation lift, additional new Registrar’s office, new children’s 0-19/25 family hub facilities including two new therapy rooms, a new sensory room and new accessible toilets, refurbishment of the Carnegie meeting room, new staff room and classroom areas and redecoration to specified areas of the library including the basement. Northampton Central Library saw over 175,000 visits in the last 12 months.

The library provides functions including the Business & IP service (BIPC) and Discover, the local and family history centre as well as West Northamptonshire's main Registrar’s office. The library is also used as a ‘welcoming space’ and the ‘flagship’ library of the WNC library service, acting as a gateway to other Council services.

Both the library and registrar’s offices are means of delivering statutory services. The Council is developing a network of family hubs across West Northamptonshire to incorporate children’s centres, a statutory function under Sections 5A to 5G of the Childcare Act 2006.

This procurement is conducted in accordance with the Procurement Act 2023 under the Regulated Below Threshold procedure as an Open advertised quotation and the Reserved Below Threshold applies: Participation - Reserved Below Threshold - This procurement is reserved by supplier location in the geographical area of the County of Northamptonshire (Northampton, Daventry and South Northamptonshire) and bordering counties to Northamptonshire; Leicestershire, Rutland, Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Lincolnshire and Warwickshire, meaning only suppliers located in these geographical areas can bid. Potential Suppliers will be assessed on their suitability to perform the contract as part of the conditions of participation, as pass/fail evaluation criteria, Potential Suppliers that fail will be rejected.

Site visits will be available outside of opening hours. Potential Suppliers who wish to attend the out of hours site visits are to confirm their attendance and number of attendees and preferred date via the ‘Correspondence’ section of the In-Tend portal by: 15:00 on Thursday 26th March for the Friday 27th March site visit and by 16:00 on Friday 27th March for the Monday 30th March site visit.

Potential Suppliers may also visit the library during public opening hours. Expected Start on site May 2026 and Practical Completion May 2027. Please view the quotation pack for full details via WNC In-Tend portal.