Partner Article

Procure Plus Crosses the Border with Wales Contracts

Trafford-based Procure Plus has extended its geographical reach by working with Wrexham County Council and Flintshire County Council to deliver three refurbishment and maintenance projects with a combined value of over £5m.

The North West regeneration consortium carried out a series of mini-competitions allowing contractors to bid for part of Wrexham County Council’s kitchen and bathroom improvements scheme; Flintshire County Council’s £1.8m kitchen and bathroom and £3.9m envelope projects, all of which will support the local authorities in achieving the Welsh Housing Quality Standard (WHQS).

The mini-competitions were designed by Procure Plus to allow contractors to bid for the works which will be rolled out over the next four years ahead of the WHQS deadline of 2020. Following the competitions, Mitie has been appointed to complete works for Flintshire County Council, and FT Finley and Top Notch to deliver works for Wrexham County Council.

Commenting on the company’s first venture into Wales, Matt Jarratt, senior operations manager at Procure Plus, said: “We’ve got many years’ experience working in the North West, so we jumped at the chance to apply this expertise in a new area and marketplace by working with Wrexham and Flintshire County Councils.

“The new Welsh Housing Quality Standards are a milestone for the country’s social housing standards, but with our knowledge of delivering on the Decent Homes programme in England and the North West in particular, we’re confident that we’re well placed to help both local authorities achieve the best possible standard of social housing and give better value to their communities.”

Tony Jones, capital works team manager at Flintshire County Council, added: “With a proven track record across the North West, Procure Plus is an ideal framework provider to facilitate our tenders. With their support, we’re able to carry out the refurbishment works on our housing stock and meet the WHQS deadline in good time.”

Wrexham County Council and Flintshire County Council schemes were open to bids from Procure Plus’ existing labour and materials framework partners. Procure Plus structures its labour and materials frameworks separately to allow Registered Providers to achieve significant savings on materials, while having the chance to choose smaller, local contractors to fulfil the works.

Procure Plus frameworks also require contractors to contribute towards community benefit targets to increase training and employment opportunities for residents. To that end, Procure Plus has been working with twelve Flintshire residents to introduce apprenticeship placements for them, commencing in July 2015. All those beginning apprenticeships will be fully supported by Procure Plus, receiving regular mentoring and a trade specific toolkit to assist them in starting their career in the construction industry.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Procure Plus .