£190m Mersey upgrade deal

Councils and housing trusts in Merseyside have banded together to thrash out a ground-breaking method of letting more than £190m worth of work.

The group, called Fusion21, is a partnership between St Helens and Knowsley councils and seven registered social landlords (RSLs). The scheme involves upgrading thousands of homes over a seven-year period.

Fusion21 has appointed contractor Mansell and consultant EC Harris as 'integrators' and shortlisted nine 'installers' to tackle the first phase of the scheme.

Mike Brogan, Fusion's chief executive, said: "The role of the integrators is to fill RSLs' skills gaps, for instance in the fields of purchasing and distribution."

He also said the RSLs will deal directly with installers, or subcontractors, rather than going through main contractors.

"We will pay installers directly and be able to negotiate best prices in return for a steady flow of work and encourage training - in other words, we will be able to exercise much more control.

"Another aim is to counter the casual employment that plagues so much of the industry. We will encourage installers to employ operatives directly and offer them long-term employment prospects," Brogan added.

The project will kick off in May, with heating, doors and windows upgrading schemes.

The line-up for heating is: JC Construction, Mitie, Rothwell, and Booth Mechanical.

JC Construction also figures on the windows and doors schemes along with Bethell, Camerons, the Casey Group, Lyjon and Premier Windows.

Over seven years, the value of the two schemes will swell to £83m and £40m respectively.

Also planned are kitchen and bathroom replacements (£37m and £32m respectively).

The seven RSLs in the partnership are: Knowsley Housing Trust; Helena Housing Asso-ciation; Arena Housing Associa-tion; Riverside Housing; Maritime Housing; CDS Housing; and South Liverpool Housing.

Specific works contracts will be held, managed and administered by individual RSLs, while the framework agreement will be managed by Fusion21.

It is understood that other councils and RSLs in the Merseyside area may join the partnership at a later date.