The good news for the 14 has been tempered by a £52m drop in funding for schemes across the region promoted by the North West Development Agency.

But projects still going ahead through councils and public bodies in the region will be procured through the North West Construction Hub Medium Value Framework over the next four years.

Manchester City Council, supported by the Centre for Construction Innovation, has led the framework development with financial support from the North West Improvement and Efficiency Partnership (NWIEP) and commitment from authorities and other stakeholders across the region.

The procurement arrangement is accessible for all local authorities and other public sector organisations in the North West region.

The 14 partners on the framework are:

Bramall Construction

Cruden Group Limited

Eric Wright Construction Ltd

FMP Construction Joint Venture

GB Building Solutions Ltd

Herbert T. Forrest Ltd

ISG Regions Ltd

Kier Regional Limited

Laing O’ Rourke

Mansell Construction Services Ltd

Morgan Ashurst Plc

Seddon Group Limited

Wates Group

Willmott Dixon Construction

This is the second of three regional frameworks to be delivered by the North West Construction Hub.

The framework will enable public sector organisations and the construction companies to work in partnership to deliver projects more efficiently, on time and cost, with an enhanced focus on quality and added value / sustainability outcomes.

John Lorimer, NWCH Lead said: “I am pleased with the outcome of the tendering process and look forward to working with our new partners over the coming years.

“The Medium Value Framework will eliminate costly procurement exercise for individual projects whilst providing benefits including cost savings for authorities, reductions in contract time, improved quality of work and the ability to deliver added value objectives that are not obtainable through traditional procurement methods.”

Andrew Thomas, Chief Executive, Centre for Construction Innovation North West (CCI), said: ” CCI will continue to provide ongoing support of the Hub’s work and deliver the benefits this framework will bring in providing a stable workload for local contractors and better value solutions to clients in the North West.”