The bid race is getting underway for a new £4.2bn framework covering major projects for public sector bodies across the UK.

Framework provider Procurement Hub has published a Prior Information Notice for the deal which covers a whole range of construction services.

The framework will last for four years and a full contract notice will be published later this month.

One main contractor or joint venture will win each of three lots and a minimum of 70% of the value of each construction project awarded under the framework will be tendered to subcontractors.

Work will cover construction in sectors including housing, education, emergency services, health, offices, transport, military, industrial and commercial buildings.

For all the latest tender notices try the ‘Find a Tender’ service on the Enquirer data pages here.

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Homes England has selected its 31 new strategic partners to deliver nearly 90,000 grant-funded affordable homes over the next five years.

Under the Affordable Homes Programme 2021-26, Homes England is committing almost £5.2bn in affordable housing grant to 31 strategic partnerships with 35 organisations.

Vistry is one of the new private sector partners bagging £83m to deliver nearly 1,500 affordable homes. Retirement specialist McCarthy & Stone and new modular housing entrant Legal and General are also among the new faces securing direct funding.

Homes England’s strategic partners will deliver nearly 90,000 grant-funded affordable homes across the country. London has decided its own extra £3.46bn funding allocations focused on councils and housing associations to deliver nearly 30,000 affodable homes over the next five years.

Homes England Affordable Homes Programme grantsOrganisationGrant fundingNumber of homesAbri£250m3,218Accent£210m3,305Aster£114m1,550Bromford£240m4,000Clarion£250m4,770Curo & Swan£160m2,425EMH & Midland Heart£172m3,551Flagship£93m1,500Great Places£241m4,920Greensquare Accord£213m3,755Guinness & Stonewater£250m4,180Hyde£250m3,000Karbon£132m2,200Legal & General£126m2,121LiveWest£124m2,550Longhurst & NCHA£230m3,935McCarthy and Stone£94m1,500Metropolitan Thames Valley£623m1,500Onward£152.m3,208Orbit£104m1,500Places for People£250m4,403Platform£250m4,680Riverside£81m1,530Sage£74m1,750Sanctuary£100m2,000Sovereign£167m3,338Thirteen£191m3,270Together£250m4,047Torus£140m2,736Vistry£83m1,474Vivid£106m1,550

Peter Denton, chief executive officer at Homes England, said:   “These strategic partnerships give our new partners the funding, flexibility, and confidence they need to build much needed affordable homes across the country, it also establishes a large network of organisations looking to share their skills and capabilities to expand the affordable housing sector and transform communities.

“By forming strategic partnerships with a wide range of public and private organisations, we are creating the conditions needed for institutional investment to catalyse affordable housing supply and in future give local authorities more of the tools they need to plan and act strategically, shaping their communities and building new homes.”

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Accountant KPMG is facing allegations of providing “false and misleading information” during audits of collapsed contractor Carillion

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has delivered a disciplinary Formal Complaint against KPMG LLP, a former KPMG partner and certain current and former KPMG employees.

The FRC’s investigation was opened in November 2018 after KPMG had self-reported certain matters relating to the review of the 2016 Carillion audit.

A Disciplinary Tribunal has been convened to hear the Formal Complaint and determine whether or not the respondents have committed misconduct.

The hearing is scheduled to commence on 10 January 2022.

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Modular specialist Wernick has bought smaller Manchester-based rival AVDanzer to boost production of site cabins in the face of rising demand from contractors.

The new acquisition means that Wernick will add additional manufacturing capabilities and increase its fleet with more than 2,000 cabins and modular bays.

AVDanzer, also known as Danzer, supplies major infrastructure and development projects including the London Power Tunnels Project and the nuclear power station at Hinkley Point in Somerset.

Following the acquisition, Danzer will continue to operate as usual from its sites in Manchester and Langley Mill.

Danzer 60-unit welfare complex for Barking Riverside development

The manufacturing of anti-vandal steel that is currently based at Langley Mill will continue trading as AVDanzer. But its Brentwood depot will merge and become a part of Wernick’s depots in Essex and Kent.

Wernick’s Group Chairman, David Wernick, said: “We have strong admiration for Danzer’s manufacturing capability and products, and after initial discussion it quickly became apparent that both family-owned businesses share the same values of excellent customer service, outstanding product quality, focus on safety, and keeping things simple.”

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Developer Downing will submit ambitious plans in the autumn for a major student accommodation and events scheme in Leeds city centre, adjacent to the Leeds First Direct Arena.

It will seek detailed planning consent for purpose-built student accommodation across two separate but adjacent plots, and outline planning to develop a multi-purpose events space, which would be taken forward at a future date by Leeds City Council.

A 38-storey purpose-built student tower is planned for Merrion Way featuring 728 student bedrooms in a mix of six-bedroom and 296 studios.

High-rise building proposed for site fronting Clay Pit Lane, Merrion Way and Brunswick Terrace, with nearby events centre plan still at outline stage

Meanwhile, the existing Yorkshire Bank office building would be demolished to make way for the second phase, comprising a stepped building rising to 18 storeys, featuring 543 student bedrooms in a mix of five and six-bedroom clusters and 216 studios.

Second student accommodation building proposal for site located between Clay Pit Lane and Elmwood Close

If approved, the plans will pave the way for 1,200 flats and the creation of a 110,000 sq ft facility including an 800-900 capacity auditorium at the centre of the Leeds Arena Quarter, designed to attract additional corporate, cultural and live events.

The sustainable development will incorporate photovoltaic panels and air source heat pumps.

Each element of the plan promises to regenerate unused space in part of the city that will benefit economically from additional footfall. The proposals also have the potential to create approximately 390 jobs in the construction phase.

George Tyson, projects director at Downing, said: “It has long been recognised that Leeds is in need of an additional, flexible events space capable of hosting corporate banqueting, awards ceremonies and live entertainment. With 2,000 square metre flat floor space, this scheme has the potential to host conferences and exhibitions which can’t be facilitated at the Arena or other venues in the city centre, allowing Leeds to secure business that may otherwise be lost to other cities and regions.”

He added: “Attracting and retaining graduate talent is vital to the health of the regional economy and this relies on being able to offer attractive student accommodation. Our proposals will provide students with brand new, first-class living space in a dynamic part of the city, with fast access to university buildings and facilities.”

Specialist contractors have hit out at HMRC over the time it takes to reclaim VAT payments following a controversial change in the tax regime earlier this year.

The “domestic reverse charge” change came into force in March and means companies in the construction supply chain will no longer receive their 20% VAT payment when they submit bills.

The VAT cash is instead paid direct to HMRC by the customer receiving the service who will reclaim it in the normal way.

That has left a lot of specialist contractors no longer receiving VAT payments from customers but still paying them to suppliers.

In that situation subcontractors become known as “repayment traders” who are owed money at the end of each quarter by HMRC.

Firms have contacted the Enquirer claiming HMRC is not paying the cash back quickly enough.

One M&E boss said: “We are currently owed more than £35,000 which is a considerable amount of cash flow for a firm like ours.

“The scheme only came in six months ago and already there are problems claiming back our VAT cash.”

Another subbie said: “It is totally unacceptable.

“The whole scheme change was a hit to our cash flow and now this is making things even worse.

“We will be running VAT deficits each quarter which puts us under unnecessary pressure.”

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The BBMV joint venture of Balfour Beatty, Morgan Sindall and VINCI Construction has completed construction of the Crossrail station at Whitechapel in east London.

The contractor has now handed over the site to London Underground with Crossrail set to open in the first half of next year.

Steve O’Sullivan, BBMV Project Director, said: “As I reflect on this incredible feat of engineering, I have never been more proud of what our incredible team have delivered. It truly is testament to the collaborative culture of our joint venture, who have persevered throughout the challenges faced by the global COVID-19 pandemic.

“We now look forward to watching as the station plays a role in transforming travel across London, whilst also supporting wider regeneration in the local area through job creation and opportunities for local businesses.”

Stations that have transferred from Crossrail to TfL so far are Custom House, Farringdon, Tottenham Court Road, Woolwich, Liverpool Street, Paddington and Whitechapel.

Canary Wharf will be the next station to transfer to TfL later this year.

One of the country’s top 15 piling contractors All Foundations (UK) has collapsed into administration.

The Derbyshire piling contractor in last reported accounts delivered £13m revenue last year making just over £100,000 in pre-tax profit.

The Blackwell-based specialist employed around 60 staff who operated on jobs nationwide.

The firm hit the headlines several years ago when one of its piling rigs burst through the top of a busy British Rail tunnel near Old Street station in London, causing trains to stop running to Moorgate in the morning after augers dropped onto the tracks.

Administrators from FRP Advisory are handling the firm’s affairs.

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Build to rent specialist Packaged Living has picked JRL-owned main contractor Midgard to build its high-rise scheme of 352 flats in the developing Piccadilly East area of Manchester.

‘The Castings’ scheme consists of four stepped building elements rising to 25 storeys with smaller components at 7, 14 and 20 storeys.

Each building element will have a different coloured brick envelope

The 32-month project to be built on a one-acre site on Heyrod Street near to the planned HS2 station has been designed architect CallisonRTKL, with support from Arcadis, M&E engineer Crookes Walker and Curtins.

It will include a mix of studio, one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments, as well as 10,000 sq ft of retail and amenity space, a public square and car park.

Hertfordshire-based Midgard will soon start site clearance of two low-rise brick warehouses following approval of its demolition plan.

Mark Woodrow, joint managing director of Packaged Living said: “The Castings is the next exciting BTR scheme in our pipeline, which is now delivering over 3,000 homes in the multi-family sector across the UK.

“The scheme represents a fantastic opportunity to create next-generation homes developed by an experienced team, at a time where vital investment is needed into our city centres.”

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Civils contractor Peter Duffy Ltd has been fined £40,000 after multiple employees were diagnosed with Hand Arm Vibration (HAVS).

Leeds Magistrates’ Court heard that the company reported seven cases of HAVS between November 2016 and August 2018.

All of the workers involved had been carrying out ground works involving vibrating tools. Many of them had been working in the industry for over 20 years.

An HSE investigation found that in 2016 the company contracted a new occupational health provider to replace their existing one.

The diagnosis of the workers’ conditions resulted from these changes. Prior to the new company taking over the contract, there was no suitable health surveillance in place to identify HAVS.

Peter Duffy Ltd of Wakefield pleaded guilty to safety breaches and was fined £40,000 and ordered to pay £3,919 in costs.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Chris Tilley said: “The company should have undertaken a suitable and sufficient risk assessment to identify the level of vibration employees were exposed to throughout their working day and then put in place appropriate control measures.

“Furthermore, the company should have put in place suitable health surveillance to identify HAVS in their workforce.”

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