Esh Construction has secured a place on the fourth consecutive Innovation Chain North (ICN) framework which will aim to deliver high quality, affordable and sustainable homes across the North of England.
Set up and managed by Great Places Housing Group, the four-year framework, running from July 2024, is designed for registered social housing providers and Local Authorities to procure new build and refurbishment contracts.
Esh Construction’s affordable housing division has been appointed to Lots 3, 4 and 5 which includes developments up to 34 units, as well as Lot H2 East for high value schemes of 35 units and above. Geographical areas covered in the respective Lots are Northumberland, Tyne & Wear, Durham, North Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, East Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, Derbyshire East, North Nottinghamshire, and Lincolnshire.
Zoe Cowell, Business Development Manager at Esh Construction, said: “ICN is a key framework for our affordable housing division and we are pleased to have been appointed to all Lots that we bid for.
“Earlier this year we concluded our first project secured through the third generation ICN framework by delivering 20 new affordable homes for Great Places Housing group in a scheme known as Fir View Gardens. Two further developments, known as Grove Hill and Gresham in Tees Valley, which were directly appointed through the framework by Thirteen Group are also making progress.”
The development framework will include a comprehensive focus on social value to benefit the communities served. Social value is integral to Esh Construction’s delivery, as evidenced throughout the Fir View Gardens scheme in Sheffield which saw 133 weeks of employment delivered for residents within 10 miles or site and 108 weeks of employment for previously unemployed people in the area. A further 250 learner hours were delivered in partnership with local schools and colleges while four full-time apprentices were hired, contributing to more than 230 apprentice training weeks during the project.
Cowell added: “Esh’s Constructing Local strategy represents one of the most comprehensive social value offers in the construction industry. On Fir View Gardens we delivered a social return on investment of more than £205,000, an exceptional outcome which was 90% higher than our tendered commitments. We look forward to bringing our quality delivery expertise together with our social value offering to the framework and its partners.”
Great Places Housing Group, one of the largest developing housing associations in the North, with a portfolio of over 25,000 homes, founded the ICN framework in 2012. To date, the framework has enabled the delivery of more than 8,000 homes and a spend of over £1 billion. It has been accessed by a total of 33 registered providers and Local Authorities. The maximum value of the latest iteration is £1.5 billion.
Joanne Whitehead, Great Places’ Development Performance Manager, responsible for managing the framework, said: “The new framework will continue to ensure Great Places and our peer organisations have tried and tested partners to help us to deliver our extensive development programmes and to help our collective ambitions to tackle the housing crisis.”
Esh’s Constructing Local strategy represents one of the most comprehensive social value offers in the construction industry. On Fir View Gardens we delivered a social return on investment of more than £205,000, an exceptional outcome which was 90% higher than our tendered commitments. We look forward to bringing our quality delivery expertise together with our social value offering to the framework and its partners.”