JV North, which is made up of a dozen housing association and local authority members, wants smaller contractors and offsite manufacturers to deliver part of the 4,000 homes it will build in the 2021/26 Affordable Homes Programme.

Having launched a £560m contractors’ and consultants’ framework last August, it is now inviting smaller contractors and modern methods of construction specialists to bid for work via a dynamic purchasing system tendering portal.

Lot one is specifically for contractors with work valued at up to £2m and there is also a specialist section for MMC schemes.

A consultant lot sees the consortium inviting submissions for valuation services.

JV North chairman, Wayne Gales, said: “We first introduced a lot for SMEs four years ago and it was extremely successful in attracting a wider range of contractors to help us build more homes and address the housing crisis.

“This is not only a key element of JV North’s approach to ‘building back fairer’ but also backs the levelling up agenda with members able to support local and regional economies and employment.

“The simplified nature of the DPS is very attractive to smaller companies who invariably do not always have the capacity to access higher value schemes but still deliver outstanding work that we want to access, so we encourage as many as possible to register.

“There will be a significant number of schemes valued up to £2m in the coming years and developing smaller scale sites will play a crucial role in enabling us to provide a diverse range of homes and tenures to meet demand in our communities.”

JV North’s DPS is being managed by Saffer Cooper Consultancy.

SMEs can apply to register via JV North tendering site.