East of England to get £80m framework deal

An £80m regional framework contract is to be launched in the East of England CJ can reveal. The four-year deal will deliver all building work above £150,000 for at least seven county councils and 54 district councils. Works could also include Building Schools for the Future schemes.

The contract will initially cover all building works for Essex, Suffolk and Hertfordshire County Councils. However, another four councils - Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Peterborough and Luton - are preparing to join the procurement consortium. Known as SMARTE EAST, the consortium also includes the Regional Centre of Excellence East.

Eight contractors will be chosen to deliver the framework contract, although more may be taken on as the workload grows. Works will be grouped into value bands ranging from £150,000 to £500,000 £500,000 to £2m and £2m and above. The consortium is hoping to include local and regional players as well as national contractors in the framework.

So far 60 companies have expressed interest in the contract and a shortlist is due to be announced this month. Names in the frame include Mansell, May Gurney, Kier, Wates and HBG.

Peter Geall, construction management head at Essex County Council, said the framework would drive out waste by providing a long-term workload and continuity. "Our target is to reduce project cost by 10%," he said.

This is the third regional framework contract to be set up for local authority building works, following in the footsteps of the groundbreaking South East and East Midlands regional contracts.

This week, small builders raised concerns that these large bundled contracts are undermining local builders' traditional workloads. Gary Amer, regional director at the National Federation of Builders (NFB), said it is important that work should be procured efficiently.

(Contract Journal, 8 August 2007, p 1)