NW councils launch £1bn joint construction panel

The five over-arching counties of the North West have teamed up to establish a construction framework for the next four years with a budget of up to £1bn.

Operated by Manchester City Council on behalf of Cumbria, Lancashire, Greater Manchester, Merseyside and Cheshire, the construction roster will invite up to 99 companies to rebuild and repair council buildings from bus stations and schools to housing and abattoirs.

A new body, the North West Construction Hub, has been established by the authorities to tender the works. Each authority has set its own budget and price range for contracts and will have its own panel of up to 20 contractors.

Contracts across the five areas will range from £500,000 to £10m. The idea of a pooled procurement process has been mooted for a while as a way of saving revenue by avoiding duplicated teams within each authority. The cash-strapped climate appears to have accelerated the decision to go ahead with the proposal.

• Contact Robert Renshaw at the North West Construction Hub for further details of how to apply for a place on the panel on O161 219 6525.