Liverpool City Council and Foundation Homes are looking for contractors to work on a four year long housing framework worth up to £60million.
The framework – one of four bespoke platforms the council is creating to invest in new homes and roads – is divided into three lots with projects worth up to £10 million to undertake refurbishment, renovation and repair of untenanted dwellings.
A full suite of construction-related activities is being required such as groundworks, plumbing, electrics, joinery, masonry, plastering and roofing to painting and decorating to enable Foundations and the council to refurbish selected properties across the city over the life of the framework contract.
There will be 18 places in total on the framework, across the three lots, with up to 27 shortlisted suppliers invited to tender, after the Mayor of Liverpool announced a new phase of investment last Autumn.
The city council is also taking advantage of EU procurement rules that gives the authority options of ring-fencing a sum of the forecast spend to be distributed amongst local SMEs and third sector organisations.
Interested parties must complete the Selection Questionnaire by Friday, 8 March – which can be found at the Pro Contract website, which is free for businesses to sign up to.
The new housing frameworks have been designed specifically for the city council to deliver its Foundations housing programme – with a focus on enabling Liverpool and Merseyside-based contractors the opportunity to pitch for council contracts, bolstering the local supply chain.
Foundations is a newly formed ethical housing company established by the council to create new homes and refurbish dilapidated housing stock in the city. Foundations will also be given stiff targets to bolster apprenticeships in the region’s construction sector. The frameworks can also can be utilised by other local bodies to contract works.
A separate framework for new build housing projects will be advertised in early March.
Mayor Joe Anderson said: “Liverpool’s housing sector is in need of a dramatic overhaul and Foundations will enable the city to address a raft of issues such as reviving empty homes, while at the same time having a positive impact on the local economy.
“The initial funding for Foundations has now been established so the time has now come to fine tune the plans and start delivering.
“To do this, and to make it easier for Liverpool companies to navigate our tendering process, the council’s procurement team has created our first bespoke frameworks.
“This a watershed moment for the council and symbolises the effort and commitment the entire organisation is undertaking to change the way we operate to be more business friendly so together the public and private sector can make a real difference to the future of the city.”
Mark Kitts, Chief Executive of Foundations, said: “We are committed to delivering quality homes for people in Liverpool and committed also to getting the highest standards of workmanship.
“But we also wish to engage, wherever possible, with local contractors and businesses to ensure that our programme of activity is generating local jobs and helping young people here develop their skills.”
